A few months back I went around Iowa State and took a few pictures. I started at Jack Trice Stadium to see the new Jack Trice Sculpture. It was around this time that they unveiled the new sculpture “Breaking Barriers” to honor Jack Trice.

Here is the public art statement on a beautiful piece of art:

By all accounts, Jack Trice was an exceptional student and a skilled athlete. In the pocket of a jacket he wore before his first game, was a note he had written to himself: “My thoughts just before the first real college game of my life: The honor of my race, family & self is at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will.” Jack Trice, the first Black student athlete at Iowa State, died two days later on October 8,1923 as a result of injuries sustained on the football field during that game.

At the time that Jack enrolled at Iowa State, only a handful of African Americans attended Iowa State, in a state in which less than one percent of the population was Black. Nationally, only a few African Americans played collegiate football at that time, with many schools having policies – formal or informal – against integrated teams. Jack was mindful of the risks, but also committed to rising to and above the challenges before him. “My whole body & and soul are to be thrown recklessly about on the field tomorrow,” he wrote. “Every time the ball is snapped I will be trying to do more than my part.” Jack Trice had overcome substantial odds to don the Iowa State uniform.

Jack Trice has been seen as both a hero and as a victim, and his story is one that remains relevant today. The legacy of Jack Trice is at once that of a yet-unrealized dream and an unfulfilled promise, as well as a call to the same bravery and conviction he showed. It is a legacy for our student athletes, for our students of color, for our institution, and for all members of the Iowa State community who make sacrifices to pursue their dreams against difficult circumstances.

At the same time they unveiled “Breaking Barriers” they also renamed the road that is south of Jack Trice Stadium after Jack Trice.

After taking a few pictures there I went to the campus and took a few pictures around the Memorial Union.

If you aren’t steeped in Iowa State University lore, first of all – how dare you! Secondly, you might be wandering about the Zodiac. Don’t worry baby birds, I’ll feed you.

From the Iowa State Memorial Union website:

Architect/designer William T. Proudfoot chose to incorporate the ancient symbols of the zodiac into the north entry floor — classic Greek/Roman mythology for a classic-Greek/Roman-style building. In the 20’s, the zodiac was not as well known as it is now. Proudfoot planned for intentional wearing away of the bronze forms by placing them above the surface of the floor – to be sculpted further by building users until, eventually, they would be the same level as the floor. We know that by 1929, students had decided that if you stepped on the zodiac, it was unlucky – that you’d flunk your next test. Rumor has it that the students created this “curse” because they liked the raised effect of the zodiac and they wanted to preserve the zodiac signs even though it went against what the architect originally intended. Now most students, hedging their bets, walk around. If you accidentally invoke the curse, you can throw a coin in the fountain to take it away!

Take that Proudfoot!

Currently The Fountain of the Four Seasons is being restored, so it is gone. Current Iowa State students can’t reverse the curse because there is no fountain to throw a coin in. If they walk across the zodiac, I guess they should just drop out of school or try transferring to a lesser academic institution. Good thing for them, there are a ton of those out there.