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Roosevelt Plaque
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 Latin inscription translates to: “One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off,” quoting a verse from the Old Testament. The top of the plaque has the initials T.R. and F.S.L., which stand for Theodore Roosevelt and Flavel Sweeten Luther.
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.
Sometime after 1974, a tradition began among students (which continues to this day) of not walking on the stone, the thought being that stepping on it will cause a student to not graduate. On Commencement Day, the graduating students make it a point to step on the stone when they process for graduation.
Sources
The Trinity Reporter, Spring 2018.
Trinity and the Story of Two Presidents (2008) by Ward S. Curran, pp. 2, 4, 5.
Trinity College in the Twentieth Century (2000) by Peter and Anne Knapp, p. 19.
Trinity Tripod, 06/22/1918.