The above quote is from Glenn Normile (Class of 1972). Read the full memory below:

In the 1970s, there were considerable problems with exhibitionists outside the ground level carrels on all sides of the Rock. Students who were studying were disturbed by men displaying their genitals and masturbating, only inches away but on the exterior side of the glass. There were usually delays in making reports of this behavior to campus police and security, since mobile phones did not yet exist. Complainants had to walk upstairs to use a Library phone to call about the problem, giving the suspect ample time to leave the area. Quite often when there were sufficient personnel on duty, surveillance the Rock exterior would be done, but arrests were few and far between. Finally, a creative solution was enacted. The glass in these windows was replaced. Students inside could see out, but those outside could no longer see people studying inside, so the primary “thrill” for the exhibitionists was removed. Students could still see the “flashers” and had sufficient time to make a report, so arrests grew in number until the problems became very rare.

The above quote is from anonymous graduate from the Class of 2011. Read the full memory below:

“What Brown memory didn’t happen at the Rock? This library was my second home from 2007-2011. Every paper I wrote I used books checked out from the stacks. Every important conversation I had with a friend happened in the café or one of the rooms. The steps of the Rock were the center of the social scene, a place where you took cigarette breaks from studying and bumped into friends and (hopefully) boys you were crushing on. There was a divide between “Rock” people and “SciLi” people—and everyone remotely in my social circle was firmly in the “Rock” contingent. We all thought we were much cooler/smarter/more interesting than people who did not hang out at the Rock. Lots of times, you would meet someone at a party and strategize to bump into them at the Rock the next day (mostly, by texting various friends to see whether your stalkee was at the Rock and where s/he was working). In the age of hook-ups, “See you at the Rock?” was the equivalent of asking someone on a coffee date. As far as I can remember, I’ve never hooked up with anyone inside the Rock (though friends definitely did, in the basement stacks.)”

The above quote is from John Ballantine (RISD Class of 1977). Read the full memory below:

“As a student at RISD from ’72-’77 the Rockefeller Library was the number one library of Brown University I used on a regular basis throughout all of those college years. I was able to obtain a library card through the RISD Library so I had borrower’s privileges at all of the Brown libraries. The Sciences Library was the runner up to the Rock and was a wonderful resource, as well!”

The above quote is from Neal Kane (Class of 1982). Read the full memory below:

“I was at the Rock one day when a friend of mine emerged from the ladies room and told me that a graffiti chain about me had been started on the restroom wall. It read:
• I wish more men were like Neal Kane.
• Who is Neal Kane?
• Neal Kane is dead.

Several months later, I was standing in the same spot with another female friend. I asked her to check the stall to see if anything had been added. When she emerged she told me that the following statements now appeared after “”Neal Kane is dead””:

• Therefore, I wish more men were dead.
• But who is Neal Kane?
• I don’t know, and I don’t care that he’s dead.
• I do – he was in my French class.”

The above quote is from Barnaby (Class of 1988). Read the full memory below:

I was in a very small market segment: a Eurotrash who did not smoke, wore colours, and actually studied at the Rock. I remember going through the Fishbowl, where my Euro brethren would smoke and hang out, waiting for someone to procrastinate with. I would walk by, index cards ready, get sucked in, and have a great hour or two talking about this movie and that friend and this party etc. It was so much fun, and really exhilarating to feel the stress from getting behind on my thesis get intertwined with the pleasure of hanging out…And then, settled finally into Carrel A36, still thinking about the conversations, the sweet smell of Marlboros lingering on my shirt…

The above quote is from Tia Heywood (Class of 2017). Read the full memory below:

The first time I was in the Rock I noticed a small exhibit of miniature totem poles by the first floor elevators. I’m from Southeast Alaska, home of the Tlingit, where totem poles are an important aspect of the culture. I stopped in my tracks and looked closer. Were these Northwest Coast totem poles? Yes. Were some Tlingit? Yes! Looking even closer at the caption I noticed the word “Haines”—the name of my hometown—and the name “Wayne Price,” a carver whom I know. I couldn’t believe it. It’s such a small world, even though I’m so far from home. It’s nice to have that small piece of home here so far away—that totem, if you will.

The above quote is from Robert G. Yizar (Class of 1974). Read the full memory below:

During my four years at Brown I loved going to the “Rock” to read the original New York Times papers. If there was a past event that I studied or raised my curiosity, I knew I could read about it in the NYT. My favorite subject periods were wars and civil rights.

The above quote is from Stephen Cole (Class of 1977). Read the full memory below:

I always loved the views of downtown Providence and even Route 95 from the west side, 3rd & 4th floors of the Rock. In the afternoon light, there was the world beyond the academy—a busy, pulsing place very different than our own.

The above quote is from Gina Grubbs Funk (Class of 1988 AM). Read the full memory below:

As a graduate student entering the Creative Writing program in 1986, I felt so out of place at first. It was hard being a “southern girl” in the world of Brown and Providence. My first point of reference was the library, and I spent many happy days there in study, research and writing. Later, I got my “sea legs” and felt a part of everything at Brown and Providence at large, but the library was always a dear refuge. Happy Birthday, Rock! Gina Funk, A.M. Creative Writing, 1988 P.S. I worked for a period at the Hay!

Briana McGeough graduated in 2012. She shared this Rock memory:

As a neurotic freshman, I spent my mornings poring over my textbooks and feverishly typing my lab reports well into the night. As a sophomore, I held hands with a boy in the stacks while watching the sunset. I didn’t get the kiss that I wanted, but he did read me some lovely poetry. As a junior, I won a storytelling competition. My prize: leading my class in an activity of filling condoms with shaving cream and enough money to buy a handle of vodka. As a senior, I wandered the aisles in the buff, distributing doughnuts to neurotic freshmen poring over their textbooks and feverishly typing their lab reports well into the night.