by Nathan Hlavka

hlavkana@mnstate.edu

What was once a mere concept in “Back to the Future” is now a 21st century reality.

Though the actual hoverboard isn’t quite the product filmmakers dreamt of, they’ve become exceedingly popular over the last year.

The simplistic segway’s strong media presence made it a hot item this holiday season, with millions of people wanting a hoverboard of their own.

But the board’s not all fun and games. There have been instances around the country of hoverboards malfunctioning and starting on fire. So are they a danger to the public, or are those just rare circumstances?

MSUM has concluded the former. The university ruled to ban hoverboards from campus Jan. 15. Junior Jared Eischen bought a hoverboard in October.

“I had seen an ad for a cheap one from Amazon and thought, ‘why not?’” Eischen said.

Eischen’s never brought his hoverboard to school, only cruised the halls of his off-campus apartment.

“It was one of those dumb purchases that was basically for fun,” Eischen said. “Since I am a film student, I thought it would be a cool way to get shots and clips in motion.”

Though Eischen said the ban didn’t really affect him, he thinks the decision is somewhat useless.

“If you put in the percentage of people on campus who own one of these plus the percentage of people worldwide who have had issues, the odds are very slim,” Eischen said.

The ban’s announcement said university officials would continue to examine consumer research on hoverboards and update policy accordingly.