Clovers by Wallace Hall
If you ever walk by Wallace Hall, the engineering-based building near Ablah Library, you might notice two bright green three-leafed clovers nestled in the cement walkway. According to campus legend, and former engineering recruitment coordinator Andrea Holzwarth, these clovers represent St. Patrick, the patron saint of engineers.
Nikky Bloomquist, the campus visit specialist and a former Shocker Navigator, said she’s always told campus visitors that if you step on one of these clovers, you’ll marry an engineer.
Wichita State also claims that somewhere, hidden on campus, is a third clover. If a student were to discover this clover and step on it, the curse is undone and your marital status is back within your control.
“One of my favorite stories someone told me about this once is that on a tour with a group of middle schoolers, a middle schooler asked, ‘Well what is an engineer?’ and one of their friends responded, “Oh, well they make a lot of money,’” Bloomquist said. “So all the middle schoolers ran to step on the clovers.”
Dawsyn Long, the undergraduate admissions marketing coordinator, wrote last year that WSU placed the concrete clovers to deter students from climbing the Morrison Hall clock tower. In the 1960s, students celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by scaling the clock tower and decorating it with shamrocks.
Eventually, the university compromised by placing green clovers on the ground — preventing dangerous St. Paddy’s climbs — so students could remember the tradition.
WuShock statue by the YMCA
Those who frequent the Steve Clark YMCA on campus might recall the 8-foot WuShock sculpture that stands guard at the gym’s east entrance.
The statute, which was unveiled in 2020, inspired a superstitious story that admissions tour guides often share with prospective students.
Legend has it that students who rub the nose of the towering bronze wheat sculpture will have good luck — however, whether it’s a year or a lifetime of good luck is debated.
This superstition isn’t unique to Wichita State, though. “Statue rubbing” is a common practice around the world, from cultural sites to university campuses.
At Kansas State University, students and their families touch the nose of the Wildcat statue in front of the K-State Alumni Center for luck. And at the University of Kansas, Jayhawks rub the nose of the bust of Chancellor Ernest H. Lindley, who now has a shiny nose to show for it.
Plaza of Heroines
Students may be surprised to learn that they walk past — or through — an area known for its bad luck regularly when they stroll around campus or walk to class.
The Plaza of Heroines is a tribute to heroic women whose friends or families purchased an engraved brick or granite paver. It can be found in front of Ablah Library, near Jabara Hall and the Shocker Success Center.
Some say that walking through the plaza warrants a curse — one that stops the stepper from graduating or ensures that they fail a semester.
Tearing up The Sunflower at basketball games
During some of Wichita State basketball’s best years in the mid-2010’s, fans would tear up editions of The Sunflower, creating confetti to shower the players in as they dashed up and down the court.
This tradition was originally inspired by the University of Kansas, but that doesn’t mean the practice isn’t rooted in Shocker history.
“Students making confetti out (of) copies of The Sunflower has been a tradition at Charles Koch Arena for as long as I can remember,” Shelby Kellerman, formerly Shelby Reynolds, the editor-in-chief of The Sunflower from 2015 to 2016, said. ”It was fun for us to be part of that tradition, though there was occasionally a small part of me that lurched whenever I’d see people ripping to shreds all that hard work.”
Last year, a representative from Wichita State Athletics reached out to The Sunflower, asking the publication to bring the tradition back.
The practice is gaining momentum once again, but we won’t know for certain until this upcoming season.
