Colorado Mesa University is increasing their control on the issues of mopeds on walkways and animals in the classroom. On Aug. 23, Vice President of Student Services, John Marshall sent an email to students welcoming them back for the new school year and informing them of changes made to the Maverick Guide. One change addressed mopeds and other motorized vehicles on campus. Another change discussed banning animals from university facilities ,with the exception of service animals.

Though low-powered mopeds and motorized vehicles do not require registration, CMU still considers them to be vehicles and thus bans them from use on campus walkways. Such vehicles are also prohibited from being parked in or near bicycle racks.

“You don’t drive motor vehicles on the sidewalk out on the roads, and you don’t do it in the middle of people’s paths on campus,” Marshall said.

Marshall understands the cost savings of using mopeds for transportation. The low-powered vehicles provide economic relief for students, whom are likely to have minimal income. The problem came when students possessing mopeds took their vehicles beyond the parking lots and onto campus.

“They were full-bore coming right down the walkways, pedestrian walkways,” Marshall said. “People jumping out of the way of a 40 mile per hour moped was just not safe. It’s actually an incredibly simple common sense issue.”

Students that violate CMU’s policy regarding mopeds and motorized vehicles may experience disciplinary action from university officials. Since driving motorized vehicles in pedestrian areas is a violation of state law, individuals not complying with the policy may also be cited by the City of Grand Junction Police Department.

Some students have been caught using mopeds on walkways, but so far only warnings have been issued. Marshall hopes that as students are made aware of the policy and the potential consequences, it will cease to be an issue.

“My hope is we’re not going to end up citing anybody,” Marshall said. “We’ve already had a couple of opportunities to educate and warn. We anticipate that through a series of warnings and some education this is going to stop being an issue for us.”

After mopeds, the next issue addressed in the message from Marshall involved barring animals from entry into university facilities and classrooms. Prohibiting animals from indoor campus facilities is out of concern for the health and safety of the campus community. While some students may love having their kitten with them, others may have an allergic reaction.

CMU is also concerned about the orderly operation of the university. An unleashed and untrained pet may pose a distraction from learning. Service animals are the exception to this rule. Service animals are permitted in all public access areas, including classrooms.

Though service animals are allowed in classrooms, assistance animals are not. The difference between service animals and assistance animals is defined in the Maverick guide to eliminate confusion.

Service animals are specialty trained dogs or, in rare cases, miniature horses that are well trained for a specific physical task to aid disabled individuals. Since these animals provide a physical function that their owner is incapable of performing, they are considered part of the person.

Assistance animals include therapy animals, emotional support animals and comfort animals. Assistance animals may be dogs, but they may also be cats or other small animals. This category of animal is not required to be trained to perform work or tasks.

“The reason this has become more of an issue in recent years is people have begun abusing it,” Marshall said. “What we’re trying to help the campus understand is that there is a very big distinction between service animals and pets and assistance animals.”

There is only one exception for assistance animals inside campus buildings. Assistance animals are allowed in residence buildings if the owners go through a full documented process with their provider and the housing team.

“That’s pretty rare,” Marshall said. “For all intents and purposes, assistance animals and pets are not appropriate inside campus facilities.”

Misrepresentation of animals as service animals to obtain rights and privileges violates both state and federal law.

If a student shows up to a classroom with a kitten claiming that it is a service animal, which, by definition, is not possible, they will be told their behavior is inappropriate and be sent out. If the student continues to make the attempt, then disciplinary actions may be taken.

“If people want to be a little stubborn, we’ll deal with that,” Marshall said.

Educational Access Services can be reached by calling 970-248-1856 for more information on service animals.