Coming back to school from break is always exciting time. You get to sport new clothes, use new headphones, or just put to use all those great things Santa brought you. Unless he brought you a hoverboard.

After break, a hoverboard policy was put into place and distributed around campus by Chief of Campus Safety Cindy Birdwell. The new policy bans the use and possession of the hoverboards and similar devices because, “Recent information has revealed that the batteries in the devices are dangerous and prone to explosion, creating a safety and fire risk.” The policy states that if you have one on campus or use one on campus and an authority sees it, it will be confiscated.

“I cannot deny that a handful of the hoverboards have caught on fire, however, this is caused by improperly charging the board,” said freshman Josh Criscenti. “Overcharging an ion lithium battery can cause to catch on fire. What I believe most people don’t realize is that iPhones, laptops, basically anything with a rechargeable battery contains a very similar ion lithium battery that is found in the hoverboards.”

American University, George Washington University, Louisiana State University, University of Iowa, University of Arkansas, Kean University, the University of Hartford and Shawnee State University have all banned the boards from their campus. Ohio State University and Xavier University will only allow the boards on campus if they meet certain safety requirements.

The policy also states, “This ban has been put in place until safety standards for Hoverboards can be developed and implemented.” This gives hope to all of you Saints who bought or received a hoverboard over the holidays. Campus Safety is here to protect us, not take away our fun. Just to be safe, take home your hoverboards until we hear that they are safe for us to cruise on around campus!