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One of the holiday's hottest presents is now considered contraband at many U.S. colleges, with some Utah schools banning them from student housing.

At least 20 universities have banned or restricted "hoverboards" on their campuses in recent weeks, saying the two-wheeled, motorized scooters are unsafe. Beyond the risk of falls and collisions, colleges are citing warnings from federal authorities that some of the self-balancing gadgets have caught on fire.

"This whole fad came on with such notoriety," said Southern Utah University Assistant Vice President of Finance Michael Beach, "that we weren't willing to take the risk."

The public school of roughly 8,800 students issued a dormitory ban on hoverboards on Dec. 28, telling students in an email that the possibility of explosions made them too dangerous to be stored in campus housing. But they still can be used to get across the Cedar City campus. Administrators in February will decide whether to prohibit the technology in classrooms and other university buildings.

Hoverboards, which are made by several brands and don't actually hover, already have been banned by the three largest U.S. airlines, citing potential fire danger from the lithium-ion batteries that power them.

An outright ban has been issued at Ogden's Weber State University, where riding skateboards and rollerblades already is outlawed, said Police Chief Dane LeBlanc. Some of the reported hoverboard fires have occurred while the boards were being charged, LeBlanc said, spurring Weber's risk management office to also ban them from student housing.

The flagship University of Utah has no policy against hoverboards as a way to get around campus, but they are banned from dorms, said university police spokesman Garth Smith. Utah Valley University also bans the scooters from buildings. Salt Lake Community College has no policy against them, a school spokesman said Thursday.

Brigham Young University is considering a ban, said spokesman Todd Hollingshead, but hasn't issued one to date. The boards already are banned in downtown Provo, said spokesman Corey Norman. A city policy outlawing skateboards and "similar devices," Norman said, is meant to keep sidewalks safe for pedestrians.

The University of Colorado in Boulder and George Washington University in Washington, D.C. forbid the scooters, while Louisiana State University and the University of Arkansas are blocking them from campus buildings but not school sidewalks.

The devices also are prohibited on New York City streets, and a new law in California requires riders to be at least 16 and wear a helmet in public.

Outlawing the technology from the dorms can present problems.

After banning hoverboards from dorms in December, officials at the University of Hartford in Connecticut are now considering a full ban because of concerns over how to store them safely, said David Isgu, a school spokesman.

At Ohio State University and Xavier University in Cincinnati, students were told they can bring a hoverboard only if it came with a seal showing that the board meets certain safety standards. At SUU, Beach said SUU may consider allowing safer models.

Bryce Colegrove, a sophomore at Shawnee State University in Ohio, got an email from his school on Tuesday telling students to leave their hoverboards at home after the holidays. It was bad timing for Colegrove, who had just received one as a gift from his girlfriend and had even plotted his new routes to class.

"Honestly I was really disappointed," said Colegrove, 20. "I don't think it's right to ban them. I mean, it's a college campus; it's not a high school."

Others took to social media to voice their frustration, with some saying they planned to bring their scooters to school anyway.

On Monday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that it's now investigating 28 fires in 19 states tied to the motorized scooters. Fire officials from New Jersey to California have blamed the boards for fires that damaged homes. The federal commission also said there have been serious injuries caused by falls.

Colleges reported that even though the gadget has been gaining popularity, it's still relatively rare on campuses.

Dolan, of Kean University, said he saw about six students riding the scooters last fall. News of swift sales over the holidays, plus the reports of fires, led him to propose the ban.

"If that may inconvenience a couple dozen students, then that's what it's going to have to be," he said.

Fire officials in several states have issued their own warnings about the devices, including in New Jersey, were authorities recommended that all public colleges ban them.

Still, several colleges have suggested that they may allow hoverboards in the future. American University said its ban is temporary, but will last "until further notice." At Wellesley College near Boston, a policy bans the motorized scooters "until safety standards can be developed and implemented by the manufacturers."

Tribune reporter Annie Knox contributed to this story.