Fury as Rio festa called off

Students at Rio de Janeiro's Pontificia Universidade Cat"lica are hopping mad over the university's decision to cancel this year's June festa.

PUC rector, Father Jesus Hortal, told the daily newspaper O Globo that he did not want a repetition of last year's festa, when 8,000 students transformed the campus gardens into open-air public toilets, destroying both the gardens and a number of rare botanical species in the process.

Students who attended the festa blamed inadequate chemical toilets and insisted that improved facilities would solve the problem. They said they would not accept the rector's decision as final and that they would continue pressing him to change his decision.

But Father Augusto Sampaio, the vice-rector, said the noise and general confusion during last year's festa were such that he was forced at one point to retire to the campus chapel in order to pray for the safety of all involved. He added that it would be irresponsible to allow this year's festa to take place and it would risk total destruction. He said the rector's decision was final.

The June festa had gained steadily in popularity among students since it was first introduced at PUC five years ago. Last year's Friday and Saturday night attendance was 3,000 up on the previous year. The likely attendance for this year had been estimated at more than 10,000.