After Miley Copycats, School Yanks 'Wrecking Ball' Art

A Michigan university has lost a landmark, and it could be all Miley Cyrus' fault. Grand Valley State University removed a giant pendulum sculpture Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press reports. The pendulum, a big metal ball hanging from a steel cable, looks like, you guessed it, the wrecking ball Cyrus rides in her latest music video, and students have long taken to climbing on and swinging ... in some cases while naked, as Cyrus is in her video. A GVSU Wrecking Ball Twitter account was created, NBC 8 reports, and students started posting pictures and videos of their exploits.

Students aren't happy with its removal, and Tuesday night 100 to 200 of them staged a protest at the site the sculpture ("Untitled" by Dale Eldred) had occupied since 1995. Hilariously, the protesting students sang Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" while waving their cell phones, Michigan Live reports. But officials insist the sculpture was removed simply so its structural integrity could be assessed, considering students have been riding it (while fully clothed) long before Cyrus' video came out. And one associate VP even says the new nude trend has "given us a few chuckles." (In other Miley-related news, Liam Hemsworth has most definitely moved on.)