The buzz of summer means the Mid-State Fair is coming to town for one week only. From July 17 through the 28, there will be hundreds of people, including San Luis Obispo High School students at the Paso Robles Fairgrounds. The fair includes livestock showings, greasy food, concerts, and rides.

 The concerts at the fair are usually very enjoyable, the fair usually book new and upcoming artists and the crowds aren’t too big. The livestock showings give SLOHS students a chance to show their training and expertise in the field of animals.

 But what exactly are the rides for? The rides at the fair are dangerous and gross. I don’t think anything that can be put up and taken down in a matter of hours should be trusted with your life.     

  Before anything else is said, I want to say that I am a frequent concert goer at the fair and I quite enjoy them. I love livestock shows, they are very well done and I think it is a great opportunity for SLOHS students.

  The rides, though, should not be allowed. Besides the rough looking people who run the rides,  the rides themselves are not safe. NBC News put out in an article in 2017 stating that an estimated thirty-nine thousand and nine hundred injuries were seen in hospitals across the country in 2016 due to amusement park attractions.

 “The rides are put together in a matter of days by people who could care less. No thanks, I choose life,” said senior Alexis Nelson.

   Places like Disneyland and Six-Flags have serious safety measures and protocols to ensure safety, but does the mid-state fair? When a ride is somehow seemingly broken or not working Disneyland automatically shuts down a ride and a mechanic is on site to fix it. At the Mid-State Fair, I have never seen a ride shut down, and that does not mean the ride is not broken. Rides could have missing lap belts or missing screws and no one is checking.

  Just be advised next time you spend all that money on a ticket to the rides at the fair. You might be risking your life.