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OGDEN, Utah (AP) -- Weber State University has banned the Weber School District's junior high solo and ensemble festival from the campus because of vandalism at the last festival.
WSU police Detective Sgt. Robin Helton said a group of students participating in the festival were in the Val A. Browning Center March 17 when the vandalism occurred. Helton said the students were the only ones in the building that day.
The damage included graffiti, displaced ceiling tiles and an organ that was damaged when a grand piano was pushed into it, she said.
"It appears they were also throwing chairs around, into walls," Helton said. "They pretty much wreaked havoc in our building."
She said there had been problems in the past, "but this time they went too far. There is no supervision. The kids just run loose."
Michael Palumbo, chairman of the university's Department of Performing Arts, said other festivals still will be allowed.
"We take things on a case-by-case basis," Palumbo said.
The extent of the damage, and the fact that police were involved, contributed to the decision to no longer allow the festival, he said.
District spokesman Nate Taggart said Monday that he was unaware of the incident.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
