Do you have something to say that the campus could benefit from hearing? Grab some paint, register, and head to the Spirit Rock. Learn about reserving the Spirit Rock.
History
As you walk through East Campus, whether you’re coming from a filling E-Hall Brunch or rushing to an early class, you’ll notice the mountains, the glassy buildings, the wide expanses of field, and, in the middle of everything, a massive, brightly painted rock. This is the Spirit Rock, which was installed in the middle of East Campus at the beginning of Spring in 2011. The rock represents the JMU community’s diverse thought and allows for everyone to express themselves. This rock has become a fixture of the JMU campus community, but how did it come to be?
The Spirit Rock was the first project completed by The Madison Society here at JMU. The Madison Society is a university organization comprised of faculty, staff, and students who bleed purple and seek to make an impact on the JMU community. The organization was based on Ohio Staters at Ohio State University. Both organizations work to create and uphold positive campus traditions.
After its creation, at just fifteen members strong, the Madison Society set out to make a name for itself by working towards the implementation of the Spirit Rock. They wanted to create a place for respectful free expression on campus, and a paintable rock met this need. At the time, construction of the UPark Athletic Fields was in full swing, so the Madison Society used their connections to score a rock from the site. With the rock secured, it was painted bright white, set in the field on East Campus, and shrouded with a large box. In the coming weeks, campus was atwitter with speculations on what resided beneath that box, but the secret had yet to be revealed.
On March 16th, 2011, the box was lifted and the rock was displayed to the world. The day was cold and rainy, but there was a celebratory energy on campus as it was James Madison’s Birthday. Under the cover of a tent, students were able to sign their names on the white rock. While this new fixture was somewhat scary (as all change is) it was well received, and those who signed their name on the rock had no idea that some ten years later, their signatures would be covered by anywhere from 500-600 layers of paint.
The now-omnipresent Spirit Rock has seen a lot; whether that be small messages to friends, advertisements for events, marriage proposals, election opinions, or social justice issues, the rock has served and will continue to serve our campus by being a place of respectful, well-meaning free speech.