The College Fix

Original message is ‘commentary on how queer identity is commodified, fetishized, and sometimes… monetized,’ student group says

Someone repainted The Rock on Northwestern University’s campus to promote a pro-Christian and Easter message, replacing the pro-Grindr and gay porn content previously on it.

The Rock is what it sounds like; students and groups regularly use it to share a variety of messages, as part of a tradition at the university.

However, this year, on Good Friday, the group “Homo NU” used it to promote gay hookup app Grindr and “Gay4Pay,” which refers to heterosexual men acting in gay porn for money.

It is not clear who, but someone then painted over The Rock with Easter colors, a cross, and the phrase “He is Risen” in time for Easter.

The group painted The Rock on April 18 with the Grindr and Gay4Pay logos to promote its annual party. They uploaded a promotion video, captioning it “Go to the Diary of a Gay Fundy tonight. Be ready to serve tomorrow.”

The group posted a photo of the newly painted Easter theme with the caption “Jesus in the front, Judas in the back.”

When asked about the motivation and intent behind painting The Rock with the Grindr and Gay4Pay logos, the LGBT group said The Rock is for everybody to paint, so they did.

In a subsequent Instagram message, the group declined to provide a name for attribution and said the organization is “not affiliated with Northwestern University.

The group told The College Fix via Instagram:

Was it provocative? Sure. Was it sacred? In its own way, absolutely. There’s a reason it still hasn’t been painted over yet. Grindr is our generation’s burning bush—except instead of God, it just says “Sup?” at 2am. Grindr and “Gay 4 Pay” are bold, loud, unapologetically queer—and yes, a little scandalous.

It’s commentary on how queer identity is commodified, fetishized, and sometimes… monetized. I’m not here to make people comfortable. I’m here to spark a reaction—and maybe a few chuckles. If it made someone clutch their pearls, mission accomplished. Grow up. Get a job. Touch some grass.

Homo NU included official Rock cam footage in their video. “y’all I literally had to wait for NUPD to give me permission to spray paint— I was working HARD to chef it up trust,” homo_nu commented.

It is unclear whether the group followed the rules for painting The Rock: any student group painting The Rock should camp out at The Rock for 24 hours prior to painting it and paint it in the dead of night. The display is then guaranteed 24 hours before another group can paint over it.

The group did, however, post on April 22 screenshots of a chat talking about The Rock’s design.

“I never complained when they defaced my Grindr logo with the cross,” the caption read.

The group describes itself as “NU’s Gay Party Org.” It advertises on its Instagram that it is “Donald Trump’s Nightmare… [President] Michael Schill’s Wet Dream… [and] Certified Willie Lover.” It appears to be a sub-group of Northwestern’s Queer Media Association.

The Fix reached out to Sheil Catholic Center and Northwestern media relations for comment. The media team did not respond and the Catholic Center said it could not comment due to a busy work week and the Pope’s passing.

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IMAGE CAPTION AND CREDIT: Several paintings of The Rock at Northwestern University; Homo_NU/Instagram

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