History of The Rock

The Story of The Rock(s)

There are two large, paintable rocks on campus, one on the East side of  the McKimmie Library Block and the other on the South side of the MacEwan Student Centre. Tradition at the UofC allows students to use these campus icons to deliver a wide variety of messages and announcements to the student body and campus visitors 365 days of the year.

While there are no formal rules around the Rocks, tradition and etiquette require that there be no profanity or inappropriate language or statements as well as an understanding that any posting on a Rock must stand for at least 48 hours before it can be painted over.

The largest of the two Rocks was unearthed during Campus construction in the late 1960s and has experienced innumerable coats of paint, political exhortations, concert invitations, wedding wishes and some decidedly puzzling artistic displays since then. Additionally, at one point there was a Volkswagen perched atop it, and a campus committee - “The Save the Rock Committee”- had to be struck after it was once encased in concrete.  Oh, and the experienced among us advise that spray paint works best, and it takes about 4 full cans to get a complete covering.

Because of the unique position The Rock has in campus tradition, it has become the symbol of our on-line question and answer system, informing students "virtually" as it does physically.