THE ROCK REPAINTED FOR FIRST TIME

By Shakyra Mabone smabone@statenews.com

The Rock on Farm Lane was painted over for the first time in months the week of July 17, marking the end of one of the longest stretches in recent history that it has sat still.

The Rock serves as a community landmark that is usually painted over almost daily. Following the Feb. 13 mass shooting on Michigan State University’s campus, which killed three students and severely injured five others, The Rock was painted four times in quick succession to express messages about gun violence and remember the students impacted.

The fourth design, which the university commissioned Detroit based artist and owner of Hidden Gate LLC Anthony Lee to paint, had remained as a memorial since Feb. 15, the day of a candlelight vigil on campus.

Last week, a picture of The Rock began circulating on social media, which showed that it had been painted over with a new message.

Chemistry education senior Rylee Warner said she first heard about The Rock being repainted on YikYak, a popular social media app among college students.

“I was really confused at what it was supposed to be, I thought it didn’t look very planned out and it looked really sloppy,” Warner said. Warner then mentioned that one of the messages was a Bible verse, which also appears on the Beaumont Tower: “Whatsoever a man soweth.”

“That was really hard for me to see, considering they painted over the memorial and we already have Beaumont Tower,” Warner said.

But the repaint was short-lived.

Social work junior Michelle Goldberg said she was planning to repaint The Rock, but other students beat her to it. Goldberg said she was happy to see the update on YikYak.

“I’m not sure if they meant any harm, but they for sure knew there would be uproar from people,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg said she believes it would be appropriate to repaint The Rock during welcome week in the fall. She