High Life: A Weekly Forum For High School Students : The Ultimate School Board : When Class Is Out, Sidewalk Surfing Takes Over at Fullerton High

School on Saturdays? Not a regular occurrence for most students. But some look forward to spending seven hours of their day at Fullerton Union High School.

By Friday nights the campus is calm and peaceful. But by midday Saturday, it becomes a haven to skateboarders who buzz through the campus like bees in a blooming orchard.

“Fullerton’s the best place to skate,” said Bill Penland, 14, a Riverside middle school student, as he stopped shortly between jumps. “It’s smooth.”

Although use of the school grounds for skateboarding is officially not permitted, the site attracts skaters from a wide area. Most do not attend Fullerton High.

On a recent Saturday, Penland was one of 14 skateboarders who had come to the campus from Riverside for a friend’s birthday. Fullerton High, they said, is “a special-occasion place.”

To practice their maneuvers, skaters are on a constant lookout for sites with stairs, curves, bends and handrails. It is known in the skating world that Fullerton has such obstacles, in part because the campus was mentioned in a recent issue of Thrasher, a skateboarding magazine based in San Francisco.

Skateboarders cite numerous reasons for their addiction to the sport. Skateboarding, they said, is a way of keeping themselves out of crime and gangs.

“It’s better than getting pulled over,” said Xeno Mezei, 15, a former Fullerton resident who now attends Ramona High School in Riverside. “It’s better than tagging and gangbanging.”

Penland, who was led into the skating world by a friend who also led him out of the world of drugs, shared a similar viewpoint. “You don’t need drugs,” he said. “You get high on skating. I’m totally free now.”

At 11 years old, Brian Middleton, a student at Acacia Elementary in Fullerton, is new to skating but offered a gastronomic rationale for his involvement. “I enjoy flying through the air and landing while the stomach acids rise to my head,” he said.

Al Gilpin, 13, of Riverside cited another reason for skating: “We like to get chicks. They like us because we’re different. (We wear) tight jeans and different hairstyles.”

A goal of most of the skaters at Fullerton is to get sponsored by a skateboard manufacturer. If a company such as World, Plan B or Real sees talent among certain individuals, it will offer to pay for all fees, equipment and skateboard clothing. Usually, skaters must place high in at least one skating contest to be considered for sponsorship.

With the acrobatic moves common in skateboarding, injuries do occur.

Ian Graban, 13, of Anaheim, has been injured many times. He once broke his collarbone when a jump from a small ramp went awry, and just two days later tried to get back on his board. His mom wouldn’t let him. Graban also suffered minor bruises when he was hit by a car. He was clinging to the back of a car while riding his skateboard, and when he let go, he was struck by the car in back, sending him over the hood.

Because of the possibility of injuries and the school’s potential liability, skateboarding is officially banned at Fullerton High at any time on weekdays and on weekends, although enforcement appears to be lax.

“They’re not all bad kids,” Fullerton Principal Ed Shaw said. “But enough problems have been caused to cause a lot of concern.”

Windows have been tagged and broken. Retaining walls and benches have been corroded. Doors have also been broken. Shaw stressed that the vandalism means a loss for the students, because cleanup money comes directly from the students’ funds.

If students are caught vandalizing the campus, whether they are skateboarding or not, they are liable for all repair costs. Shaw suggested that a skate park be formed to give the skateboarders a place to legally enjoy their sport.

Graban, however, discouraged people from stereotyping skateboarders. “People think we’re stupid head-bangers,” he said. “We’re not druggies.”

Gabe Long, 15, of Anaheim, agreed. “We express ourselves through our skateboard,” he said.