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]
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[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society 2008, p. 20.
- ^ Ellie Olmanson (October 31, 2016), "'The Rock:' True Colors of WHS?", Trojan Tribune, Plymouth, Minnesota: Wayzata High School
- ^ "Dulaney Senior Rock Painting", The Baltimore Sun,
It's been a tradition since 1965.
- ^ "Senior Rock Delivered to MHS", School news official website, Malvern, Ohio: Brown Local Schools, September 2015, retrieved 2019-02-16
- ^ Brian Benson (February 19, 2017), Wayland: Seniors paint over rock's graffiti, Wayland, Mass.: Wayland Wicked Local
- ^ Kainber 2007, p. 96.
Sources[edit]
- Kainber, Jim (2007). Olympia High School. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0738548111.
- Deer Isle-Stonington Historical Society (2008). Deer Isle and Stonington. Arcata Publishing. ISBN 978-1439620328.
It has become a custom for the high school's senior class each year to paint on the rock the names of the seniors
Further reading[edit]
- Lenox Kamara; Steeven Tabuada (September 27, 2016), "Seniors rock traditions with spirited painting", The Current, Gaithersburg, Maryland: Watkins Mill High School
- Seamus Healy (May 31, 2018), "Senior rock", Providence Academy Word, Plymouth, Minnesota: Providence Academy
- Huntington's Class of 2010 Parents Paint the Rock, Huntington Station, New York: Huntington High School, May 2010