The Spirit Rock on 2 April 2006.

The Spirit Rock is a rock located in the North Residential Village outside the Silver Spartan Diner that can be painted to announce events, send a message, etc.

Throughout the 2005-2006 academic year it was painted in memory of Doc Oc and was perhaps the most visible memorial to him. There are efforts to establish a more permanent memorial, so that the Spirit Rock may be returned to its original purpose.

[edit] History

The Spirit Rock arrived in the fall of 2004. It was first painted by Gregory Szorc and Christopher Parker within a week of its arrival to advertise Phi Kappa Theta's upcoming party, Blackout. There is an interesting account of the first painting at Gregory Szorc's blog.

Through May 2005, the Spirit Rock was used largely as a means of advertisement. Organizations would advertise events. Fraternities would advertise parties. USG candidates would use it for campaigning. With the passing of Doc Oc in May 2005, the Spirit Rock began its service honoring Doc Oc. For the next year, the rock would rarely be painted with a message not related to Doc Oc. This was mainly due to the actions of members of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, with whom Doc Oc was affiliated.¹

The Spirit Rock was painted on September 4, 2006 to honor Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter. One face of the rock read

RIP
Steve Irwin
1962-2006

The other faces contained an image of a crocodile, the word Crikey!, and the phrase Taking it Back, most likely a reference to a line by Randal Graves in the film Clerks II.

[edit] Rules and regulations

There used to be a page listing rules for the spirit rock at the Case Housing web site. However, that article no longer exists. The following is a list of the rules as Gregory Szorc recalls them:

• Content should adhere to posting policy restrictions (no profane/vulgar content)
• Decorations should not permanently alter the rock
• Do not paint over another painting within 48 hours of its arrival. This means if somebody paints it on a Wednesday night, it cannot be painted again until Friday.

1. See http://forum.case.edu/read/11/3382 ↑