Roosevelt Plaque

The Roosevelt Plaque, May 2023. Photo credit: Barbara Sternal

Also called the Luther-Roosevelt Stone, this plaque is located on the ground in front of Fuller Arch in Northam Towers on the Long Walk. It marks where former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt stood when he delivered a speech in 1918.

The plaque was made and installed in 1919 to memorialize Roosevelt, his visit, and his friendship with Trinity President Flavel Sweeten Luther. The top of the plaque has the initials T.R. and F.S.L., which stand for Theodore Roosevelt and Flavel Sweeten Luther. The Latin inscription translates to: “One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off,” a proverb from the Old Testament ¹⁾. The proverb warns that one cannot boast about their experience until they have actually experienced it – in this case, it refers to literal war.

Roosevelt arrived at Trinity just before the 1918 Commencement; he was invited partly as a result of the friendship between then ex-President Roosevelt and President Luther (the two had previously been involved with the Progressive Wing of the Republican party). On June 16, Roosevelt gave his speech at an open-air ceremony of over 5,000 attendees. The speech focused on World War I, urging support and patriotism while warning of boastful attitudes on the home front not followed by action abroad. He used the aforementioned Bible quote in his address, hence its inclusion on the plaque.

Legend

According to Trinity Legend, any student who steps on the Roosevelt Stone will not graduate on time or at all. Those who accidentally walk on the stone must run immediately to the Brownell statue to amend the mistake. As a result, on Commencement Day, graduating students make it a point to step on the stone as they process down the Long Walk. This tradition possibly originated during the 1970s, when the Commencement platform location changed so that students would process down the Long Walk.