If you were to chisel through the layers of paint, what would you find? This semester alone, the rock on Farm Lane has changed faces almost every day, advertising everything from rallies to engagements — some days green, other days silver, every day bold.
And to think, aerosol spray paint wasn't even invented until 1949.
Wednesday, Oct. 11
Meg Depky wields a can of blue spray paint, talking a mile a minute. She sprays the hue onto the base of the rock with the other members of her Pi Beta Phi pledge class. It's so dark that the surface looks black, not blue. A cloud of mist hovers in the air, made visible by car headlights and camera flashes.
The 29 fall pledges paint the rock together, a way to foster a sense of community and a bond between sisters. Depky will spend four hours later that night guarding the rock, protecting the sorority's name until daybreak.
"I have my car, and I have a chair, and I have a blanket and chips. I'm set," says Depky, a kinesiology junior. "I'm so excited. I know it sounds kind of lame, but it's really prideful. I'm a junior and I've never painted the rock, so I'm really excited."
Painting the rock has been a campus tradition for years. Campus organizations typically stake their claim the night before they paint it and spend the night guarding the rock so another group doesn't swoop in and paint over it. The area where the rock is located, just south of the Auditorium on Farm Lane, is one of the most heavily trafficked areas of campus, with thousands of students passing by each day. For campus groups, this is the ideal location to publicize their messages.
Marketing freshman Emily Jacobson bends over to wipe her paint-covered fingers on the grass, to no avail.
"All right, this is getting a little out of control here," says Jacobson, who is part of the pledge class. "Good thing I wore my dad's sweatshirt."
Wednesday, Oct. 18
It's the middle of reproductive rights week, aimed at raising awareness about reproductive rights around the world and promoting healthy sexuality. Coincidentally, it's also National Take Affirmative Action Day, so the rock is painted bright blue with the words, "Prop 2 Vote No Nov. 7," written in red.
Members of Women's Council and MSU Students for Choice hold signs along the guard rail of the Red Cedar River bridge on Farm Lane. They cheer as motorists honk their horns when they pass. Anti-abortion students also hold signs on the bridge.
"The rock kind of serves as its own piece of information," Lydia Weiss, sociology junior and Women's Council president, said later. "You can use it not only as a backdrop, or to write a powerful statement.
"It's really central on campus and there are a lot of people who pass by, so it's a really good way to be visible to the students and anyone else on campus."
Donated by the class of 1873, the rock was dug up at the site of the present-day Beal Botanical Garden and spent at least 100 years north of the MSU Museum near Beaumont Tower. Once called "Engagement Rock" because of the many marriage proposals that occurred there, it hasn't always been painted.
In September 1977, the rock was moved near the campus police department due to student graffiti, according to information from University Archives and Historical Collections.
"A university official says the school wanted to save the $500 it costs to sandblast the rock," the Detroit Free Press reported Sept. 30, 1977. "But students rebelled and rallied to save what was dubbed the 'pet rock.' The administration relented and the rock went back the same day."
The rock eventually was moved to its current location, and now often serves as a focal point for larger events.
Although Women's Council hasn't hosted many events near the rock, its members have helped other groups paint it — such as for last year's production of "The Vagina Monologues" and World AIDS Day, Weiss said.
"We actually use the space quite a bit," she said. "It's a comfortable place, I think, for a lot of people to be, too, because it's right by the river and it's a good gathering place."
Monday, Nov. 20
Shortly before 7 p.m., Mike Magner and Brian Davis wait near the rock. The two new recruits for Air Force ROTC's Arnold Air Society will paint the rock in about an hour as part of their requirements to join the society. The freshmen have been there since last night, but won't spend the entire night guarding it.
"We've got physical training in the morning, so I told them, 'You guys have to get sleep,'" says Brie Kreutzfeldt, a telecommunication, information studies and media junior and society member.
Plus, it's freezing.
"Last night was torture," says Davis, a criminal justice and psychology freshman.
"Tonight's comfortable compared to last night," agrees Magner, a mechanical engineering freshman.
Arnold Air Society paints the rock at least once every semester — sometimes more, depending on different events it holds. The detachment's office is across the street in Bessey Hall, and Kreutzfeldt says the rock can be seen from the window.
"It's kind of a hot spot on campus," says Dave Bresser, a telecommunication, information studies and media senior and Arnold Air Society commander. "People walk by, and it's a good way to get the word out about your organization."
Not only that, but it helps new members feel part of the larger group, Kreutzfeldt says.
"It's really cool, because we always take the picture of all the candidates in front of it," she says. "It's more of a camaraderie sort of thing."
