Rock cairns are popping up around NDSU and we don’t know who’s building them

Over the course of the semester, The Spectrum staff has watched rock cairns be built, knocked down and stacked again. This rock cairn, in particular, was spotted behind Minard Hall.

Rock cairns have existed since prehistoric times. The origins of the word “cairn,” are traced back to Scottish Gaelic which literally means, “heaps of stone.” In ancient times, cairns were at first used for landmarks and burial monuments. Fast forward to present day cairns are now primarily used to function as a universal way to communicate a trail marker.

Cairns have started to pop up in the most random of places (including NDSU) thanks to the newfound popularity of posting pictures of built cairns on social media.

This brings me to the burning question, who’s building them? Is it one student or a number of anonymous individuals who have an unannounced pact to build them? Or, my favorite thought (even if highly unlikely) maybe, it’s Dean Bresciani building them when he takes a stroll around campus.

So, next time you walk to your next class keep your eyes peeled to the landscaping, a rock cairn may be stacked in plain sight and may very well be gone the next day. To the covert builders; The Spectrum staff has noticed, and I say, keep building.