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Cornell’s Rock has been a campus icon since it was brought
from the Pal in 1889. We are not alone, however. Many other colleges
and universities also have rocks and traditions—some more colorful
than others. Macalester’s rock was stolen by rival Carleton
College and sent back C.O.D. At Kent State, a faculty member cored
its rock and discovered that the layers of paint were an inch thick
(most people expected it to be much thicker). Whittier College’s
magazine, The Rock, was named for its campus icon. A completely
unscientific, non-random survey of college communities indicates
that where there’s a rock, there’s usually a hardware
or art supply store doing a bang-up business in spray paint.
 The
Rock was moved from Palisades-Kepler State Park by seniors from
the Class of 1889 who dragged it by sled to campus and carved “1889”
on its granite face. That was the first class to erect a monument
in its memory and since then the 5 000-pound Rock has been kidnapped
defaced and even burned. The practice of moving the Rock began with
the junior-senior rivalries of the 1890s. Moving the cumbersome
thing around was a kind of tug of war between groups and began to
infect not just juniors and seniors but other rivalries as well.
Relocating it required muscle and often money to borrow or rent
equipment. The Rock was sometimes buried and hidden, its kidnappers
sworn to secrecy. In May of 1948 the Rock went underground, courtesy
of that year’s freshman class and was not dug up until April
of 1951, their senior year. It has been above ground since 1977.
 Whittier
College
Whittier, Calif.
Whittier classmates Frank Crites, Nofle Rennecker, and Milton White
were aided by A stin Marshburn ’10, who had what it took to
bring the small but dense granite boulder to Whittier College from
the foothills of Sierra Madre—a flatbed, horsedrawn wagon.
According to Chuck Elliott ’67, atthor of Whittier College:
The First Century on the Poet Campus, the Rock was buried its
first day on campus by jealous members of the junior class. Crites,
Renneker, and White later dug up the boulder, using a hand-operated
crane to reposition it, and imbedded it in reinforced concrete where
it rests today near the walk leading to Founders Hall. Founders
Hall was destroyed by fire in 1968, but the Rock remains, albeit
a little worse for wear—the boulder now stands waist-high instead
of shoulder-high, and it’s been burned at least once. Societies
now paint the Rock on a regular schedule, and it stands as a unique
message board, celebrating birthdays, graduations, and other special
events. It is even the namesake of the college’s magazine,
The Rock.
 University
of Redlands
Redlands, Calif.
Orientation for residents of Fairmont Hall at the University of
Redlands includes training in the Rock Attack Defense System. Dorm
residents have been fiercely guarding Fairmont Rock ever since the
900-pound boulder was hauled to the front lawn from a nearby stream-bed
more than 25 years ago. Rival residence halls or Greek pledges frequently
stole the rock until it was cemented down about 10 years ago. Attacks
today are made with spray paint as groups attempt to leave their
symbols or letters on the rock’s surface. The raids are no
longer surprise attacks, however, according to Fairmont resident
coordinator Aaron Abrahamsen. “They call us ahead of time now
because it’s more fun,” he said. “We prepare our
arsenal—water guns, water balloons, hoses—and their challenge
is to keep painting while being soaked from our balcony. Some groups
bring tarps or other protection. They get pretty creative.”
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