Remember. Discover. Invent. These three words are displayed on the stone steps of the most beautiful, and controversial, building on campus — Catt Hall.

These three words on threshold of this much-adored and much-hated building can be applied to the lives of all students, faculty and administrators regardless of their views of Catt.

Remember

Knowing our history provides us the knowledge we need to work toward a better tomorrow. We can examine historical happenings and see how we arrived at where we are today.

Remembering can also help us make tomorrow better than today. Remembering can help us prevent yesterday’s unpleasantries from re-occurring in tomorrow’s society.

As we complete another academic semester and 1996 calendar, we remember the lessons we have learned over the last 365 days.

Discover

Discovery is the entrance ramp to knowledge. When we discover something, we examine it and try to figure out its intricate workings.

ISU discovers what works and what does not. Everyday we find out more about ourselves and what we we are capable of doing. We find out more about others, and we encourage them to do more.

Classes, meetings, concerts, athletics and other extra-curricular activities introduce endless possibilities. At ISU, we can discover our needs, our dreams and our potential.

Invent

When I hear the word “invent” I typically think of some sort of contraption that helps make our lives easier.

The people of ISU invent. Year’s ago John Vincent Atanasoff invented the computer.

This fall the Design 129 the class designed something to propel pumpkins across campus. Engineering students will be inventing and building bridges, creating chemicals, and making life easier for us with little electrical chips.

All of these tasks vary in societal impact; nonetheless, they demonstrate our invention characteristics.

But we can make invent mean more than that. Invent an idea. Invent a dream. Invent yourself. We make ourselves the people we want to be.

As students, faculty and administrators at Iowa State, we remember the past, we discover ourselves and others and we invent our future.

The message displayed on the stone steps is a message for everyone. These three words displayed on the stone steps of Catt Hall are words that define this institution and life, because this institution is life.