Spirit Rock guidelines cause frustration

by LAUREN BOYETT

Staff Writer

When students walk across campus towards the Simpson Library or the Hurley Convergence Center, it’s difficult to miss the large boulder that sits between Willard and Woodard Halls. This boulder, known as the Spirit Rock, provides an outlet for campus clubs and organizations to highlight various events. Whether it’s advertising upcoming dances or the latest theater production, the Rock appears to be painted something different multiple times a week. 

However, when it comes to actually using the Rock for this purpose, there has been some frustration among students this semester regarding the rules. While a club can, and is encouraged to reserve paints and supplies from the Office of Student Activities and Engagement, there is no official way for students to reserve the Rock itself. This has led to conflict between campus organizations who wish to paint the Rock at the same time. 

Despite the occasional frustration in overlap, there are currently no plans to update the rules and procedures regarding the Rock. 

“The Spirit Rock is a haven for speech and expression for students and clubs at UMW,” said Shadwick Yoder, a senior political science major and vice president of the Student Government Association. “While it is easy to say we need to have stricter guidelines and create rules of enforcement, SGA has debated and discussed this year many different possibilities ultimately concluding that the Rock should remain as is.”

SAE and the Department of Theatre and Dance are two organizations that have used the Rock for advertising this semester. Rylie Vann, a senior theatre and communication and digital studies major, has gone through the process of painting the rock and understands how the lack of a reservation system can be confusing. 

“I know this has created some difficulties with scheduling, as there’s no way to know if someone else will already be at the rock at the day or time you’re trying to paint,” she said. “When organizing this with a large group, this can be frustrating as there is no way to solidly schedule anything.”

According to their website, SGA is in charge of enforcing the rules of the Rock. However, the rules are based on precedent and there is currently no disciplinary action taken on violators. 

“Our office recommends each club to wait for at least 24 hours after another organization has painted the Spirit Rock as courtesy and to allow paint to dry, but this guideline is not harshly enforced,” said Margo Korsakava, the front desk staff manager for SAE. “It is also, of course, a rule of thumb to not use inappropriate graphics and language on the rock, but since nobody ‘owns’ the Spirit Rock, it can be hard to control at times.” 

Aside from the 24-hour rule, no policies are dictating how long a club or organization can use the Rock for advertising.

“I think it would be beneficial to implement more guidelines and have a formal sign-up process to keep things organized,” said Savannah Sinor, a junior international affairs and French double major and secretary of the Renaissance Club. “This way, clubs would have a better idea of how long their advertisement will remain on the rock.” 

However, SGA has concluded for the time being that creating a way to reserve the Spirit Rock would be more trouble than it’s worth.

“We are left in a tricky situation where a form of reserving the Rock may not be followed or filled out, leaving clubs simply not knowing the new rule or ignoring it,” said Yoder. “In addition, any type of punishment is not enforceable, we do not have authority over office policies, so while we could write a bill that allows us to ban a club from painting the Rock, it is practically useless due to the fact we have no enforcement power. Ultimately, any regulations would require SGA to monitor the process without having the ability to ensure clubs follow the rules.”

Regardless of the debates about policy enforcement and occasional scheduling frustrations, painting it has become a fun way for campus organizations to bond with their members in addition to the free advertising. 

“Part of our responsibilities at UMW involves painting the rock to promote our current productions,” said Vann. “This is something that I think is such a special part of our department’s outreach on campus, and I know that I enjoy the creative relief that painting the rock provides in the midst of a busy production.”

The Spirit Rock has been utilized by the campus community for decades, and according to Yoder, there are no plans to hinder that. 

 “At the end of the day, the Spirit Rock is a microphone for students at UMW, and SGA has not intended to impede on that,” Yoder said.