ALLENDALE, Mich. – It’s a story going viral in a way that would make Miley Cyrus proud.
Shortly after the release of her music video “Wrecking Ball” on Youtube, students at Grand Valley State University began making parody videos of their own using a large art installation as a wrecking ball.
Those videos spread through social media and it wasn’t long before the university took action.
The piece of art known as “The Pendulum” is a 42-inch steel ball hanging from a 50-foot steel cable was removed from the Padnos Science building.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17 the head of facilities at GVSU, Tim Thimmesch said it was removed for safety reasons. He said the decision to remove it came by consensus of himself and two other department heads.
After the ball was removed, about 50 or more students held a “sing-in” in protest of it’s removal. They gathered near the spot where the ball once hung and sang the lyrics to the popular song at center of the controversy.
FOX 17 spoke with university spokesperon, Dottie Barnes after the protest. We were told no disciplinary action against the students responsible for the videos is planned at this time. Barnes said the art installation has been removed and they anticipate the problems it may have been linked to will end as well.
