The stone was moved across campus to a forested plot of land known as the "Sacred Space," the present-day location of Beaumont Tower.

The Rock's current location on Farm Lane at the Red Cedar River is in a clearing, addressing the university's concerns about paint damaging trees and sidewalks near the Beaumont Tower site.

In one instance, the MSU surplus property department donated pieces of the paint to local jeweler Mel Swartz, who began making jewelry from the material in 2016.

Pet Rock has been shown at the Kresge Art Museum, and is currently displayed in MSU's Wells Hall.

Messages include personal remarks, political statements, memorials, and promotions of campus organizations such as fraternities.

The Rock is often repainted nightly, but some messages have remained in place for longer periods, commemorating notable events in the university's history.

The 9/11 memorial remained in place for a week after the attacks, and was expanded to include a number of flags planted in the open grassy space that the Rock sits in.

With the magnitude of Holsworth's death, some argued for the Rock to become a permanent memorial, including MSU graduate and Detroit News sports writer Tony Paul.

"[12][13] Shortly after a mass shooting on February 13, 2023 that killed 3 MSU students and wounded 5, the Rock was painted black with the text "How many more?"

[15] The same day, the university commissioned Madison Heights-based muralist Anthony Lee to create a more permanent memorial.

The artwork by Lee was the centerpiece of a long-running memorial at the site, which remained on the Rock until July 2023, the longest-running message to date.

[16][17] The Rock is a large glacial erratic, deposited in East Lansing by a receding glacier during the late Pleistocene era.