Good Luck with Finals

I was hoping that someone would paint a new message to wish all the UConn students luck on their finals... I suppose that I could do it, but I'm really not that handy with a paint brush. :)

Things have slowed down for the semester, but I expect them to pick up again in January. If there is anyone out there who wants to paint the Rock over winter break, let me know! I'll still be watching for new paintings and will post them as I see them.

Good luck with finals, everyone!

Back from break

There was a little break in the painting action since everyone went home for Thanksgiving break last week.  But the painting has resumed!  

The brothers of Delta Chi painted the Rock today, and it looks like they are back from break and ready to hit the books for finals, perhaps?  Maybe not, but they are back in full force for something!

Only a few more weeks before winter break...  how many times can the Rock be painted before the campus empties?  Keep painting... I'm still watching...  

Alpha Gamma Rho paints the rock for Thanksgiving Break

Alpha Gamma Rho, the agricultural fraternity painted the rock in their colors yellow and green. The rock really shows their pride in their organization and in writing their inception at the University of Connecticut, 1958. Its great to see traditions such as fraternities as well as the rock last, especially during the beginning of our Thanksgiving break when valuing tradition is so important. Staying involved with your organization through the years is vital. Alpha Gamma Rho would probably not be at the status they are today without support of their alum spanning from 1958. This is why staying connected is so important! I hope everyone has a nice break, and remember when we come back..keep painting, and I'll keep watching...

Lambda Alpha

Lambda Alpha, the national honors society for Anthropology, did a great job! Love the globe!

Among the comments written on the back of The Rock I think my favorite - by far - is in the lower right corner in red: "Hire me I know stuff". Wouldn't it be great if you could just put that in a cover letter or on a resume and get hired?!? You can't really see it too well in this photo, so go check it out for yourself... until someone paints over it!

Speaking of "hire me"... did you know that the Alumni Association has a great online community for UConn alumni and students? One of the neat features is a Career Network with job searching and resume posting services. You just never know who is out there reading these "hire me" messages! Check it out at www.uconnalumni.com/HAN.

PSE Fall '08 Paints The Rock

Pi Sigma Epsilon, UConn's co-ed marketing, management, and sales fraternity represented their new Fall 2008 pledge class on The Rock. PSE is very active on campus through community service, social events, and in bringing speakers and seminars to campus. Not only that, but they painted a great rock! With only a week or so till Thanksgiving Break, get your organization on The Rock and in the blog! Keep painting..and I'll keep watching!

Happy CA Day!

This morning when I looked out I noticed the hot pink of the First Year Programs was gone and instead replaced with a Husky Blue and White. Within a "Jonathan Husky Paw" was CA enscribed. CA's are Community Assistants and they are recruiting now for all Resident Halls for next year! Happy CA Day! Congrats and thanks to the CA's who do so much for us on campus!

Anyone can do it...

A little birdie just sent me this link to a video of The Rock painting on YouTube. It seems as if Rock painting has gone viral!

Do you have a video of your group in action and painting The Rock? Send it to me and I'll post it on the blog.

Pretty in Pink

Based on my so-so investigative skills, I think that this painting is the handy work of the First Year Programs office. Some of the names match up with their staff list... and the giant "FYP" on the back side of The Rock kind of clued me in. :)

Keep painting, and I'll keep watching...

Red Rock

No, not the restaurant in Mansfield... The Rock has been painted red! The brothers of Kappa Psi did a nice job. And it's a color we haven't seen yet - which, I'll admit, is a refreshing change.

Keep painting, and I'll keep watching...

Another Political Message this time for, President Obama?

This morning I saw that there was another political message on the rock. This time there were there names in red white and blue as well as "Obama '08?" These groups don't seem affiliated with the College Republicans or College Democrats. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled..

Vote today!

As we get out to the polls today, it looks like some folks from the College Republicans expressed their choice for President by painting The Rock with a "McCain/Palin" message. Nice job guys, show your support for the candidate of your choice and VOTE!!

KAPPA KAPPA GAMMA PAINTS A PRETTY ROCK!

The ladies of Kappa Kappa Gamma became the first sorority to paint the rock..and it looks awesome! They used their lovely colors of light blue and dark blue as well as gold paint for their symbols of the key and the mystical fleur-de-lis. They did SUCH a nice job. Its great to see new groups continue to paint the rock. Do other sororities and groups think they can do better than Kappa? There's only one way to find out. Keep painting, and I'll keep watching...

An Amazing Dedication Ceremony for The Rock!!

The Rock Dedication ceremony was awesome! So many students and members of UConn's administration came out to show their support. USG President Ryan McHardy and University President Michael Hogan made excellent speeches about the importance of the tradition. In addition, President Hogan discussed his "detective" skills to find The Rock, learn about its origin, and bring it back to once again reclaim its strong presence. As seen above, everyone had the opportunity to paint their names or a message on The Rock. For example, people wrote "Seniors 2009" or gave a personal shout out to their organization. The UConn alumni marching band played our treasured fight song, really setting the tone for this once in a lifetime event. Hopefully the new attention drawn to The Rock will push other student groups to get involved. Especially since so many people did an amazing job at lip sync and Homecoming! Keep painting, and I'll keep watching....

The Rock Dedication Ceremony is Today!!!

The rock dedication ceremony is today at The Rock, across the street from the North Garage. Come be apart of history and a UConn tradition! The Rock will officially be welcomed back to campus with a special ceremony starting at 4:00pm today. We invite all those who remember the Rock to come and help us "paint it" at its rededication. An informal reception will follow at the Alumni Center at 4:30pm.

We hope to see you there!! President Hogan will be in attendance as well as alumni and student leaders! You've been painting, now come show your appreciation!!

Painting in Action!

A little birdie circulated these photos to me of a painting-in-action. This is great stuff! Based on the first one, I'd say this is Kappa Sig.




If you would like to show off your late night/early morning paint sessions, send me the photos and I'll post them!

SAE strikes again

The rock had painting today (another mystery painter) that said 108. I'm not quite sure what that means, but in a quick turn SAE painted the rock and promoted their Homecoming King nominee, Ryan Mazzarella. The Homecoming pageant is tomorrow, I wonder what other groups will show their spirit before then?? Keep painting, and I'll keep watching...

The official plaque

Still not sure what this whole "Rock" thing is about? Then stop by and read the sign! The official dedication plaque has been installed, describing the history of "The Rock" and the symbolism to UConn students.

(That's the Alumni Center in the background.)

Mystery Painters?

Hello & happy Homecoming! An unidentified group painted the rock just in time for the parade yesterday. It was black with gold lettering, but it went unrecognized to me. Do any of you know who painted the rock?? Let us know on our facebook fan page, The Rock Watcher. It was painted over by the boys of Kappa Sigma, yet again! Also, keep in mind that the University looks towards groups for "spirit" points throughout Homecoming, and there's no better way to show your spirit than connecting with a highly esteemed and honored UConn tradition....paint the rock!

HOMECOMING BEGINS

Also, don't forget the Homecoming parade is this Sunday. This tradition is alllmost as great as painting the rock! Hopefully seeing all of our organizations march on Fairfield Way will inspire your group or organization to paint the rock!!

New Faces at The Rock!!

Some great changes occured at The Rock to kick off the weekend. Not one, but 2 new groups painted the rock to show their organization spirit and pride! Yesterday ADP painted The Rock and now Lamda Kappa Epsilon showed their spirit. Its awesome to see other students taking an interest in the tradition. Who knows what could happen over the weekend?? Keep painting, and I'll keep watching...

Kappa Sig must have a lot of paint...

Kappa Sig painted again...where do these boys get all of their paint? I hope to see all of them at The Rock Ceremony, I'm sure they would love to hear from President Hogan and alumni about their own rock painting experiences. Keep painting, and I'll keep watching...

Homecoming is one week away!

The rock dedication ceremony is next week along with homecoming!!! Get excited, this is the week to show your spirit and get involved!!

SAE shows their Husky Pride!

Hello all,

It was a busy day today for the rock. SAE showed their nature as true gentleman and carried on the tradition of the rock painting. They wrote "2nd to none" which maybe is in reference to their upcoming annual Flag Football Tournament? That has been a campus favorite philanthropy for years. I hope their colors stay on the rock awhile, its nice to see the purple and gold..but again maybe some other organizations will show their pride too? Who knows..keep painting and I'll keep watching..

Let's see some other organizations show their spirit!!

AEPi painted the rock again today, hopefully it will last longer than it did Wednesday. It looks great and they event somehow managed to freehand their crest, very impressive from my view up here.
I'm so happy to see our campus' frats painting the rock, as it was a tradition in the 40's to have a competitive spirit to get their name on The Rock. With Homecoming coming up, it is probably going to be even more heated to see who gets claims on The Rock. Buuut..I would love to see some other organizations show their pride, especially those competing in Homecoming like our amazing cultural centers, or the Rainbow Center, or even SUBOG! The Rock is not strictly for the Greeks, lets see some other organizations show their spirit too in these exciting upcoming weeks! Keep painting, and I'll keep watching...

The Rock Dedication Ceremony!

Hey everyone,
Hope you're looking for Homecoming Weekend as much as I am! It's a such a great time for alumni to come back and celebrate their alma mater while remembering their undergraduate years here. As we all know, once a Husky, always a Husky and what better way to celebrate the past then attending the dedication of the rock, an honored tradition to our campus!

The Rock Dedication ceremony will take place Homecoming weekend on October 24th at 4pm at the rock. Guests are invited for hot chocolate at the Alumni House after the ceremony. President Hogan as well as USG President Ryan McHardy will be in attendance. The Rock will allow older alumni to connect to the University, seeing a piece of their past they treasured installed on our modern campus. In addition, they will be passing the paintbrush, or passing the tradition down, to current students, and everyone will have the opportunity to paint this piece of history together!

I can't wait for this event!! There is nothing better than Homecoming weekend on our beautiful campus!

Share your stories and photos with us by going to "The Rock" website at UConnAlumni.com/TheRock. You can read about its history, see photos and alumni stories. Or post a comment about this great event! Become a fan of The Rock Watcher on Facebook!!

For more information please check out the event's site.

Daily Campus Article

This is great! The Rock is on the front page of The Daily Campus! I'm so happy the University is welcoming The Rock. Its been so exciting watching organizations paint it, and now those who may have been confused about the rock or have yet to see our facebook group can understand the history! What people don't understand is that (if you follow the rules already posted) anyone is welcome to paint it! Is estimated that it has been painted over 1,200 during its time on campus, maybe this article will create some buzz and I'll have a lot more to action to watch soon!

Here is the link to the article.

Constant Changings with The Rock

Wooww..today has been crazy! The Rock was painted FOUR times. Sigma Alpha Epsilon painted it a beautiful purple and gold, and it read "True Gentleman." It looked great. Then Kappa Sigma painted over it again, they must really enjoy painting! Buut, SAE was at it again later in the day painting their colors once more, and they had a special tool as well, way more advanced than brushes. The purple and gold didn't last for long when Kappa Sig reclaimed The Rock. I wonder how long that will last (you never know when SAE will be at it again)?!? Keep painting, and I'll keep watching!

Rules

I was curious about how people knew that they could paint the rock, what kind of paint worked the best, and how it was determined who could or couldn't paint.

Did you know that there were official rules to paint the rock?!? I didn't!

With the help of my friends in Student Affairs, I tracked this down. Click here for the "official" Rock-painting rules.

Double Painting

Before 8am this morning, I noticed a group of guys finishing up their artwork. It looked great! But - less than an hour later - I got word that it was painted AGAIN! I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes...

This photo was snapped at 7:55am.

And this one at 8:45am.

I can't believe it was painted again!

Wow, this Rock thing really seems to be taking off! I was wondering if people would really start to paint it again. I happened to be walking by and snapped a picture of it... Whoever this was, I hope you made it in time before the rain started last night!

The Rock

I happened to see this thing on campus, and wondered what was going on. Then I saw it on President Hogan's blog and thought it was pretty cool! Seems like this is one of those rocks that frats and sororities like to paint over and over again, so why not see where this goes? :) I'll be posting new pictures... if it should get a new coat of paint!