It happens in bursts. Things are quiet for a while at the College of the Sequoias' farm, 17 acres on the southwest corner of Linwood Street and Walnut Avenue, but then a car will be keyed, a classroom window broken, or animals will be let out of their pens. The latest victim was an American flag hanging from the horse barn. Someone spray painted some graffitti on it two weeks ago. "The more houses and shopping centers that are built and now with the new high school going in, vandalism is going to increase," said Larry Dutto, chairman of the COS Agriculture Department. "There's nothing we can do."

Once 160 acres on the outskirts of town, the farm has become surrounded by new subdivisions, fast-food restaurants and supermarkets. Adolescents on their way to and from La Joya Middle School or Linwood Elementary School cut through the farm on a daily basis, Dutto said. Vending machines have been broken into and people have even spent the night on the roof of the garage, leaving behind beer cans and broken air conditioners. Dutto said thousands of dollars' worth of damage has been caused by vandals this year. "We'd like to move to Tulare but we are stuck here for at least two more years, " Dutto said.

COS has asked voters for money to expand the campus, including the farm, twice and been rejected both times. Dutto said he doesn't expect to see another bond measure for some time. COS ag student Tim Holland's American flag has been hanging on the horse barn since Sept. 15. The fact that the vandals struck the flag got him fired up enough to write an article in the department's newsletter, the COS "Ag Tribune" asking students to keep their eyes open for people who don't belong on the farm. "With all of the students here, its kind of like a family, " Holland said. "You've seen the faces three or more times or you have had class with them. It's pretty obvious when there is someone you don't know."

The farm has campus security, but there is only so much that can be done, Dutto said. And most of the vandalism happens late at night when no one is at the farm. Ag student Brandi Blankenship said she is angered by the vandalism and the encroaching city. "Like our teachers say, as the town gets closer we are just going to have to deal with it more," said Blankenship, who also works in the farm's office. "Some lady called and complained that the cows were mooing one night. What are we supposed to do, give them an anti-moo pill?"

Hope Frizzell, who lives right across Linwood Street from the farm, has seen kids torment the animals and experienced vandalism herself. "They love to break our mailboxes," Frizzell said. "They take the fruit off your tree and throw it into the road." It's not just the humans that create problems, it's also their pets. Several sheep have been killed by dogs in the past two years and a baby llama was killed by dogs last spring. Frizzell has lived in her home for three years and has become very attached to the animals and the farm. Even finding a lamb on her doorstep at 3a.m. once didn't annoy her. "I hope the farm never goes away," she said. "It is a chunk of country in the middle of the city." Frizzell loves to take her grandchildren to the farm and introduce them to the animals. In the spring, she can watch the baby animals from her kitchen window. "My aunt just had a heart attack and I was so upset I didn't know what to do," she said. "Then I started washing dishes and looking out the window and the little bitty one (a calf) over there started playing in the field. Then I was smiling again."

But the growing ag program is bursting at the seams, Dutto said. There are 1,100 students who have classes at the farm, an 80-percent increase over four years ago thanks to new programs. "We are stuck between a rock and hard place," he said. "It's unfortunate to have these kinds of (vandalism) happen. If they don't get caught then they don't get caught."