Every August MU students roll up their sleeves and go to work on one of college football’s most recognizable landmarks.
On Friday morning many students painted the rock “M” at Memorial Stadium as part of a lengthy tradition at MU. Students used mops as brushes and poured buckets of paint on the rocks to get the job done. Afterward, volunteers had the chance to write with black and gold markers on their own rocks as a souvenir from the event.
“It’s a great way to kick off the year,” Alumni Association Student Board President Alan Keller said. “It really shows how students are willing to help out.”
The event is attended by mainly incoming freshmen, but upperclassmen help out as well, Keller said.
Keller participated in the event when he was a freshman.
“I lived in Gillett, and I thought the event was great,” Keller said. “I still have my souvenir rock in my room somewhere.”
Freshman Tyler Hastedt was one student who took part in the tradition, which began at 9 a.m.
“I really wanted to be a part of this tradition,” Hastedt said. “I’ve heard all about the tradition, and going to college here and doing this makes it all surreal.”
Freshman Jacob Shelton has been looking forward to this event ever since he decided to attend MU.
“You have to leave some kind of mark on this place,” Shelton said.
Because students were walking over wet, recently painted rocks, a few of them slipped onto the paint or spilled the buckets of paint they were carrying.
“It was very slick on the ‘M’,” Shelton said. “It was pretty dangerous.”
The tradition started in 1927 when Memorial Stadium was first built, according to the MU athletics website. Students created the massive “M” using leftover rocks from the construction of the stadium, and students have been painting the rocks annually ever since.
In the past, the landmark has been the victim of pranks. In 1957, University of Nebraska students changed the “M” to an “N” the night before the Missouri-Nebraska game. Because of quick thinking by the groundskeeper and some MU students, the “N” was rightfully changed back to its original form.
“The history has always been student-centered,” said Keller. “It’s a great tradition here at Mizzou.”