Although many students voiced strong opposition to implementing a campuswide helmet policy, DOTS officials are preparing for the mandate — which will go into effect next semester — by offering students helmets they can purchase on the campus.

To ease the transition, the Department of Transportation Services bought 109 black helmets from Helmet City International, which will cost students $50. When students register for parking this fall, they can choose to purchase a helmet — and avoid a $15 fine.

"We decided to sell helmets because we wanted to make them as accessible as possible for students," said DOTS Director David Allen.

The athletics department required all athletes to wear helmets last semester, and, shortly afterward, the University Senate approved a campuswide policy change in October — despite opposition from numerous students and some faculty and staff members.

Implementation measures, however, were left up to DOTS. If a student is found not wearing a helmet on the campus, a DOTS employee will take a picture, and the license plate of the offending scooter rider will be cross-referenced with DOTS registration lists. The offender will then receive a ticket in the mail.

Many University Senate members, including Marcy Marinelli, who chaired the committee that drafted the helmet legislation, said the policy will be simple for students to follow since they have easy access to helmets.

"I hope that people realize that it is in their best interest [to wear a helmet]," said Marinelli, noting she has seen more students wearing helmets on the campus since the mandate was passed.

The decision to sell helmets is DOTS' way of stepping up to the challenge and showing that safety is a top priority, Allen said.

But the policy has been a subject of controversy since it was first proposed in November 2010 — just weeks after right tackle Pete DeSouza broke his legs after he was hit by a car while riding his scooter on the campus. Two months after DeSouza's accident, cornerback Dexter McDougle and defensive end Isaiah Ross were involved in on-campus scooter crashes.

Under state law, the university has control over campus roads and the right to implement "reasonable safety policies that do not conflict other rights," according to the senate's website. However, the policy cannot be enforced off the campus.

An online survey conducted by the senate's Campus Affairs Committee between March and October of last year found a helmet mandate was unpopular among students. Only 44 percent of students said they supported such a measure, compared to 80 percent of faculty members.

Some students and senate members said they felt requiring riders to wear helmets would interfere with an individual's rights.

"I think it's a good idea, but since Maryland state law doesn't require it, it probably shouldn't be enforced on campus," sophomore chemistry major Akshay Kolluri said.

Junior finance and information systems major Brandon Carrera, a scooter rider, said since most senators do not operate scooters, they should not vote on such policies.

"It's out of control that the people who voted on this don't ride scooters and are trying to force me to wear a helmet," Carrera said. "That's about as unfair as it gets."

Despite the effort from DOTS to get students prepared for the upcoming policy change, some students say they don't want to wear them.

"My friends and I assessed the risks of riding scooters before we bought them. We understand that we will get hurt if something happens, and we're not wearing helmets," Carrera said.

But Mike Scaletta, owner of Mike's Scooters, a Laurel-based scooter store frequented by university students, said he sees most students purchase helmets.

Freshman journalism major Evelyn Avelar said the real battle is getting students to wear the helmets they already purchased.

"When I bought my scooter last semester, the guy who sold it to me told me that wearing helmets would be enforced, so I felt obligated to buy one," said Avelar, who bought her scooter from Scaletta. "I did not wear it at all."

Regardless of DOTS' efforts to put helmets into the hands of students, many students said their attitudes are unlikely to change.

"Unless the helmets are cheaper than the ones we are buying now, I don't think it will make a huge difference," said Terps women's basketball guard Sequoia Austin.

Marinelli said the true test will come once the mandate is officially in place.

"We'll just have to see what they ultimately do once the policy is enforced," she said.

blasey@umdbk.com