| The Rock | |
|---|---|
 The Rock's location on campus | |
| Year | 1873 (original site) 1985 (current site) |
| Type | Billboard, natural monument |
| Medium | Stone |
| Subject | Inscribed "Class '73" (covered by paint) |
| Location | Farm Lane at the Red Cedar River East Lansing, Michigan |
| 42°43′41″N84°28′39″W / 42.728088°N 84.477558°W | |
The Rock is a boulder on the campus of Michigan State University. Once popular as a trysting site, today it serves as a billboard for campus groups and events.
The Rock was unearthed in 1873 near what is now the corner of Grand River Avenue (M-43) and Michigan Avenue in East Lansing, Michigan. It was donated to the (Michigan) State Agricultural College by the class of 1873. [1] The college placed the rock in the "Sacred Space" near the modern day Beaumont Tower, where the stone became a common hangout for young couples and became known as the "Engagement Rock". [2] By the late 20th century, the rock had become better known for protest slogans than engagement photos. In 1985, it was moved to its current location, east of Farm Lane, on the north bank of the Red Cedar River. Today, the innumerable layers of paint obliterate the original inscription: "Class '73". [3]
The Rock can be painted on by anyone and is used for anything from birthday wishes and marriage proposals to political statements. The Rock is also a hot spot for rival universities to paint. As a result, during football and basketball season MSU students often camp next to the Rock to protect it.
One of the most poignant moments in the history of the Rock occurred on the evening of September 11, 2001. Within hours of the September 11 attacks, virtually every activist group on campus, along with the university administration, had organized an impromptu candlelight vigil at the floodplain next to the Rock. The Rock was painted green and white with the words "MSU students in remembrance and reflection" on the front, and an American flag on the back. Several thousand students attended. In a break from normal rock-painting etiquette, the university asked all campus groups to abstain from repainting the Rock for one week.
On Wednesday, April 9, 2014, at 9:00 pm, hundreds gathered at the rock to hold a vigil for Lacey Holsworth, dubbed "Princess Lacey", a young 8-year-old girl with terminal cancer who befriended the MSU Basketball team. A movement, highlighted by an article in the Detroit News, sought to ban all future painting of the rock and to preserve it as a permanent memorial to Lacey. [4] By April 21, 2014, four days after her memorial, it was repainted with the message "Congratulations graduates, be a hero to someone". [5]
Shortly after the MSU mass shooting that killed three students and injured five others, on February 13, 2023, the rock was painted black with the text "How many more?" in red paint and "Stay Safe MSU" below in white paint. [6] On February 15, the message had been painted over to show a message apparently supporting gun rights stating; "Allow us to defend ourselves & carry on campus." The message was replaced the same day with a memorial to the three deceased victims and those affected, "To those we lost / to those healing" with the deceased victims first names included in the message. [1] The Rock was painted a third time that day by Detroit-based artist Anthony Lee at the university's request. Lee's artwork included the Spartan logo and the message "Always a Spartan. Brian. Arielle. Alexandria," and remained the same for months, the longest The Rock has gone unchanged in recent history. [7]
East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital of Lansing, East Lansing is well-known as the home of Michigan State University. The city is part of the Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area.
Michigan State University is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. After the introduction of the Morrill Act in 1862, the state designated the college a land-grant institution in 1863, making it the first of the land-grant colleges in the United States. The college became coeducational in 1870. In 1955, the state officially made the college a university, and the current name was adopted in 1964. Today, Michigan State has rapidly expanded its footprint across the state of Michigan with facilities all across the state and one of the largest collegiate alumni networks with 634,000 members.
The Red Cedar River is a tributary of the Grand River in central Michigan in the United States. The river is approximately 51.1 miles (82.2 km) long and drains a watershed of approximately 461 square miles (1,190 km2) in the Lansing–East Lansing metropolitan area and suburban and rural areas to the east. The river flows through the campus of Michigan State University, and is considered a cultural symbol of the school, including being mentioned in the school's fight song.
Sparty is the mascot of Michigan State University. Sparty is usually depicted as a muscular male Spartan warrior/athlete dressed in stylized Greek costume. After changing the team name from "Aggies" to "Spartans" in 1925, various incarnations of a Spartan warrior with a prominent chin appeared at university events and in university literature. In 1943, MSU art professor Leonard D. Jungwirth designed a statue for the university, which had to be cast in terra cotta because of World War II rationing. In 2005, the university replaced Jungwirth's original statue with a bronze replica, moving the original indoors to protect it from the elements.
The Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the University of Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State University Spartans. The teams first played in 1898 and have met 116 times. The game has now been played uninterrupted, every year since 1945. In 1949 Michigan State was accepted into the Big Ten conference, though it was not until 1953 that the rivalry became a Big Ten conference game, due to protests from the University of Michigan administration. Prior to 1958 all but 6 matchups were played in Ann Arbor. The winner of each year's game receives the Paul Bunyan – Governor of Michigan Trophy, a four-foot wooden statue of a lumberjack that was first presented in 1953 to commemorate Michigan State's beginning football competition as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Spartan Stadium opened in 1923 in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It is primarily used for football, and is the home field of the Michigan State University Spartans. After the addition of luxury boxes and club seating in 2004–2005, the capacity of the stadium grew from 72,027 to 75,005—though it has held more than 80,000 fans—making it the Big Ten's sixth largest stadium. It has been nicknamed "The Woodshed".
Notable Michigan State University student riots occurred during the late 1990s and early 2000s (decade). The most recent riot occurred in 2021.
The history of Michigan State University dates back to 1855, when the Michigan Legislature established the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan under the encouragement of the Michigan State Agricultural Society and the Michigan Farmer, the state's leading agricultural periodical. As the first agricultural college in the United States, the school served as a model for other institutions of its kind established in the period, to give an instance, the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania.
The campus of Michigan State University is located in East Lansing on the banks of the Red Cedar River, and comprises a contiguous area of 5,200 acres (21 km2), 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of which are developed. Built amid virgin forest, the campus opened in 1855 with three buildings, none of which remain. As an agricultural college, the campus was originally located several miles outside of the city of Lansing, but as the population of the college grew, the city of East Lansing developed just north of the area's main avenue.
The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and white. The university participates in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision for football. The Spartans participate as members of the Big Ten Conference in all varsity sports. Michigan State offers 11 varsity sports for men and 12 for women.
The Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) is the public transit operator serving the Lansing, Michigan area, including service on the campus of Michigan State University. In 2022, the system had a ridership of 5,874,100, or about 22,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2023.
The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (MSUCHM) is an academic division of Michigan State University (MSU) that grants the Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree, emphasizing patient-centered care and a biopsychosocial approach to caring for patients. Required courses at the college reinforce the importance of ethics and professionalism in medicine. In 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked the college 46th for primary care. The college was also ranked for family medicine and rural medicine. More than 4,000 M.D.s have graduated from the college. Pre-clinical campuses are located on MSU's main campus in East Lansing, Michigan and in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, while the clinical rotations are at seven community campuses located throughout Michigan.
The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a total of six national championships, including two from major wire-service: AP Poll and/or Coaches' Poll. The Spartans have also won eleven conference championships, with two in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association and nine in the Big Ten.
The Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents Michigan State University (MSU). The team plays at the Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Michigan, on the MSU campus. The current head coach is Adam Nightingale, who took over coaching duties on May 3, 2022, after Danton Cole was fired. Michigan State currently competes in the Big Ten Conference.
The Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (MSUCOM) is one of the two public medical schools of Michigan State University, a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. The college grants the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree, as well as a DO-PhD combined degree for students interested in training as physician-scientists. MSUCOM operates two satellite campuses in Clinton Township and Detroit. The college is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and by the Higher Learning Commission.
The Michigan–Michigan State soccer rivalry is an American college soccer rivalry between the University of Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State University Spartans.
The 1956 Michigan State Spartans football team was an American football team that represented Michigan State University in the 1956 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third season under head coach Duffy Daugherty, the Spartans compiled a 7–2 overall record and were ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll and No. 10 in the final Coaches Poll.
The 2016–17 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 22nd-year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference.
The 2017–18 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 23rd-year head coach Tom Izzo, played their home games at Breslin Center in East Lansing, Michigan as members of the Big Ten Conference.
On February 13, 2023, a mass shooting occurred in two buildings on the campus of Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing. Three students were killed and five others injured. The gunman, 43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound when he was confronted by police off campus three hours later.
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