UT administration has installed two cameras that now livestream footage of the Rock, an on-campus structure that is often painted by students and organizations. The Rock was placed on campus in 1966 and, ever since, the Rock has been one of the staple features of UT’s campus and painting the dolomite Rock is almost a rite of passage among UT students.

Normally, students paint the Rock to display their art, advertise for an organization’s event or simply show UT spirit. However, the images featured on the Rock are not always so innocent and well-intentioned.

The online livestream of the location was implemented after the Rock was the location of several hate crimes. In the past year alone, the Rock has been defaced with anti-semitic hate messages three separate times. The most recent incident occurred late in the evening on 9/11; the statements “JEWS DID 9/11” and “Google: Dancing Israelis” were painted on the Rock.

The installation of the livestream is one of several actions taken by administration to address the hate. Since last month’s incident, UT administration has brought representatives from the non-profit organization PEN America to talk to students about free speech and hate crimes. Additionally, Chancellor Donde Plowman met with several members of UT’s Jewish community after the hate crime in order to understand how they were affected by the incident.

The 24/7 livestream shows the front and the back of the Rock. However, the livestream is not recorded by UT and is not used for any security purposes.

The livestream’s website emphasizes the importance of not confronting any hate crime perpetrators who may be at the Rock.

“Safety is our first priority. Please do not confront anyone at the Rock,” the website says.

The site also lists the phone numbers for the UT emergency police, (865) 974-3111, and non-emergency police, (865) 974-3114. The website also recommends downloading the LiveSafe App, which can be used to report crimes to the police among other safety features.