SPARKING STUDENT

The Rock on Farm Lane is seen on July 21, 2023, after it was painted over, the second time. The Rock had displayed the same message for at least five months after the shooting, one of the longest periods with no changes in recent history.

added that MSU should keep The Rock as a memorial and invest in a new rock for campus.

MSU has previously said they did not have an official policy on when to repaint The Rock. Lee’s design is believed to be one of the only times the university has commissioned a painting for the landmark.

The university planted a memorial tree near Berkey Hall last week, using composted flowers that had been left near The Rock, the Spartan Statue and outside buildings like Berkey Hall and the MSU Union.

That tree honors all 23 students who passed away during the 2022-2023 academic year, not just the shooting victims. The State News attempted to cover the ceremony but was turned away by university communications.

The Associated Students of MSU passed a bill advocating for the creation of a memorial bench honoring the lives of the victims of the tragic events of Feb. 13.

Warner said she feels having only benches isn’t enough to honor Alexandria Verner, Arielle Anderson and Brian Fraser.

“I feel like (the benches) are expensive, I think we could be using that money towards a different memorial,” Warner said. “Maybe creating a space in the Botanical Gardens that could be used as a reflection that maybe does have a bench … but also has different resources from people.”

Warner added that any planned memorial should spread awareness about the tragedy itself, saying that not including resources and the victims’ names would feel like MSU is ignoring the impact of the tragedy.

“I think everyone knew that The Rock was going to be repainted eventually,” Warner said. “I just felt a lot of shock that it happened before school.”

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