Residents complain about vandalism

Some student groups were a little overzealous with their paint cans and brushes last semester, causing a storm of complaints from neighbors of the rock.

They trekked to the corner of Hill Street and Washtenaw Avenue to paint the rock, but they also doused surrounding sidewalks and pillars with paint, scattered paint cans all over George Washington Park and woke up residents during the night.

In response to a situation that Ronald Olson, superintendent of Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation, said was "getting out of hand," the city enacted The Rock Action Plan on Dec. 5.

"People were painting everything in sight," Olson said. "We removed the park sign because they even painted that. Our people were needing to go out there every day or every other day to clean up."

The action plan calls for increased enforcement of city littering and vandalism ordinances and urges University fraternities and sororities to enact an adopt-the-park program. Interfraternity Council President and Kinesiology junior Bradley Holcman

LOUIS BROWN/Daily The rock, located on Washtenaw Avenue and Hill Street, is an Ann Arbor mainstay. Residents have complained about the vandalism around it.

said that after receiving a letter from the city, IFC and the Panhellenic Association immediately took action.

"Ann Arbor told us we'd like you to educate members and tell them 'this is a public park,'" Holcman said. "At our Panhel and IFC meetings, we've educated presidents with letters and various articles."

So far, the Greek system has made a difference, Olson said. George Washington Park is noticeably cleaner and groups painting the rock have been making considerably less noise, he said.

"There haven't been empty cans around like there were (last semester)," Olson said. "If things had kept getting worse, we would have had to consider other options. The worst option would have required the rock to be removed."

Complaints from neighbors were not the only reason the city decided to take action. Cleaning the area around the rock was becoming a costly undertaking, Olson said.

"Cleaning the sidewalk is a very labor-intensive and expensive proposition," he said.

Holcman said the Greek system is going to amend its constitution to award fraternities and sororities that decide to adopt the rock.

"We have a point system for self-governing, where houses get penalty points for disciplinary reasons," Holcman said. "One of the projects to lose points is to adopt the rock by putting paint cans in the trash and cleaning up the park in the morning."

Olson said the city would like the tradition of painting the rock to continue. He said the tradition is not only for fraternities and sororities, with many students and local organizations also painting the rock.

"There is a sort of folklore surrounding the rock, and painting it is a neat thing to do," Olson said. "We want to cooperate with everyone so the tradition can continue without burdening others.."

Pi Kappa Alpha President Eric Ranka called the new rules "common sense" and said groups should respect the park and residents in the area. "I hope people conform to them so we can keep the tradition," said Ranka, an Engineering senior. "They even have a trash can right there to put your empty paint cans in."

02-16-98