Senior rock

The senior rock (also called spirit rock) is a rural and suburban United States tradition in which youth, often a high school senior class, paint a prominent local rock with class colors, graduating year, or names of the members of the class.[1] A rock at Northwestern University is said to have "inches of paint after 80 years of the tradition".[2] The tradition may have started in the 1950s or 1960s at universities and high schools.[3]

"Spirit rock" redirects here. For the poker player, see Prahlad Friedman. For other uses, see Spirit rock (disambiguation).
A "spirit rock" at University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Rocks are usually indigenous but they can be delivered to the school as a specifically designated senior rock.[4] In at least one case a rock has been donated from one graduating class to a following class of seniors.[5] A senior rock at Olympia High School was "dumped" from a local quarry after another one had been removed.[6]

Council Rock High School North in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is named for a rock which is frequently painted.

See also

References
  1. Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society 2008, p. 20.
  2. Ellie Olmanson (October 31, 2016), "'The Rock:' True Colors of WHS?", Trojan Tribune, Plymouth, Minnesota: Wayzata High School
  3. "Dulaney Senior Rock Painting", The Baltimore Sun, It's been a tradition since 1965.
  4. "Senior Rock Delivered to MHS", School news official website, Malvern, Ohio: Brown Local Schools, September 2015, retrieved 2019-02-16
  5. Brian Benson (February 19, 2017), Wayland: Seniors paint over rock’s graffiti, Wayland, Mass.: Wayland Wicked Local
  6. Kainber 2007, p. 96.

Sources
  • Kainber, Jim (2007). Olympia High School. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738548111.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society (2008). Deer Isle and Stonington. Arcata Publishing. ISBN 1439620326. It has become a custom for the high school's senior class each year to paint on the rock the names of the seniorsCS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further reading
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