University of Texas School of Law - Peregrinus Yearbook (Austin, TX)

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9i Ai, r r . ' .i tufnn i • Its bushy tail brushes aside technicalities in favor of justice. •hs ong, pointeA. nose searches out truth. •The boots on its front feet signify sympa- thy with the rank and file of the workin.t; class. •The hoxxng gloves on its hind feet show a preparedness to fight for equity and the law. •Its arched back is ready to spring, just as the law is ever ready to protect rights and defend wrongs. •A white cap of truth crowns its head. Pereerinus William S. Simkins joined the Vxw faculty of the Unn ' crsity of Texas m 1899 and began a 30-year career as the most colorful character ever connected with the law school. Peregrinus, the symbol of the law school, came from a Simkins lecture, and he was often referred to as Old Peregrinoos. Simkins ' long white hair, his love of applause, his traditional lecture on the Ku Klux Klan and his encounter with temperance crusader Carrie Nation also became a part of law school lore. This is his own account of the birth of Peregrinus: Many years ago I was trying to explain to the class in Equity, the origin of the system in Rome and the sources of equity in the Roman Empire. At the time fledglings just from the high schools were admitted to the Law School. Many of them had never heard of the Roman Empire, and not a few spelled cow with a K. Well, 1 explained to them that when Rome conquered a nation it was incorporated into the Roman Empire subject to its own law and not to the laws of Rome — that the Roman citizen was not subject of the laws of these incorporated nations — that in due course commerce sprang up between the citizens of Rome and barbaric nations, and there was no law to determine and settle their contractual relations. The Roman Emperor, to settle the troubles arising out of the fact that there was no law applicable to control their contracts, appointed a Praetor or chancellor to travel among these nations and to settle all disputes without reference to the Laws of Rome, or of the incorporated Nations, but to do justice and decide all dis- putes, alone by the conscience o{ the Praetor. Peregrinating [traveling] from one nation to the other, he was called a Praetor Peregrinus. The boneheads of the class evidently thought that Peregrinus was an internal organ o{ the body tor they contin- ually greeted each other, ' How is your Peregrinus today? This fact seems to have developed the humorous side ot the incident, and Russell Savage developed a concrete expression of it on the blackboard and thus the tradition began. Russell drew better than he kne«-, for the nondescript animal symbolizes both in limb and attitude the maxims in equi- ty that guide the administration of the system. For instance, on one of the front feet as originally drawn was an Irish ditcher ' s boot — indicating the law ' s protection to the least of mankind. On the other front foot were naked claws, indicating that the greatest of mankind must fear its power. The arched back in the attitude of springing, indicated that the law was ever ready to protect right or prevent wrong. The sharp beak indicated the power to penetrate the myster- ies of the law which the true student must obtain by study. The bushy tail indicated that Equity brushes away the tech- nicalities of the law and does justice to the merits. History of Peregrinus

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1900 PereyrinLis horn from the mind of a savage, namely RlisscH Savatje, a student in Justice Simkins ' lec- tures. 1901 The hanner hearing a Peregrinus insignia is sei:ed and shredded. 1902 The Cactus yearbook features a humorous song ahout the Peregrinus. 1908 Alexander Frederic Claire unveiled as the patron saint of engineering students on April Fools Day. 1910 Law students kidnap Alec from the engineers on his second birthday. 1912 Peregrinus dismembered and shipped to the far comers of the state. 1913 Law students hide Alec on a Ptlugerville Engineering students retrieve the statue and put bank vault. 1916 Law students charge Alec with vagrancy. He is It Go -. Imi Pa Ferguson pardons the mascot ma returns hnn to the engineering students. This flyer circulated in the law school after the theft. No culprits were ever named, but the Peregrinus was surrendered to the engineering dean, whose staff returned the mascot to the law library. Tm not sure where it will ultimately reside, but it is safe for now, law librarian Tobe Liebert said 19 lo Law students seize and shred Alec. Pieces are mailed to engineering alumni around the world. Perry is put in a bank vault and law students boast that Never has the begrimed, uncouth and hairy hand of a flannel- shirted minion of Alec been laid upon his sacred person. 1921 Engineers capture Peregrinus. He is returned in 1925. 1927 Engineers fail to capture Perry as several law stu- dents carry him from the bank vault to their annual ban- quet. They succeed three years later, and the law banquet is suspended for several years after Perry is dismembered.. 1934 Law students again lose a Peregrinus to the engi- neers at the annual banquet. 1937 Alec and the Peregrinus appear together tor the irst time in a Loyalty Day parade. The Daily Texan calls the event the first treaty of alliance for the rivals. 1938 Peace is short-lived as law students steal Alec, dis- member him and hang his torso froin a tree on campus. The torso is later displayed with Perry in the law library. 1939 A fistfight breaks out at the heavily-secured law banquet when eng«eers attfmpt to capture Perr 1943 s nab Ijec wh the ileers ar ftheir annual dance. Two weeks later, engineers dunk a few laws in the Littlefield fountain and shave the heads of a few others. The laws return Alec a week later in exchange for hair. Both groups buy V-Day bonds as restitution. 1950 Perry returns to his bank vault. 1953 The original Peregrinus head is dis covered by Texan reporters in a campus building during renovation. 1 968 A Peregrinus sketch appears in the Hmiston Chronicle. 1978 The Student Bar Association authorizes the casting of 100 bronze Peregrinus sculptures to raise money for a first-year student loan fund. 1987 Two engineers steal Alec ' s torso from the law brary and demand the Peregrinus as ransom. Judge Harley Clark, a UT Law alumnus, orders that the torso be surrendered to the court. Law Dean Mark Yudof and stu- dent Paul Begala represent the law school in court, but the engineers regain custody of the Alec torso. 1998 Engineers fill Townes Hall with fliers claiming that 26th Street, renamed for former law dean Page Keeton, has been renamed for Alexander Frederic Claire. 2002 The Peregrinus goes missing yet again, as does Alec. Perry is returned in early 2003 and sequestered.

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How a UT law tradition started with a simple error of omission ir yc ■ott etioie ' V Because cultivated sunflowers from florists have thick stems and don ' t lie flat when pinned to a lapel, Assistant Dean Susana Aleman prefers wild sunflowers for the graduates. She gathers them herself when they are in bloom. I ' ve had this fear that one of these days I ' m going to get arrested for picking sunflow- ers, she told the Caau% yearbook in 2000, If I ever get arrest- ed, I hope some of OLir lawyers will come to my defensel Graduates of the university did not wear caps and gowns for graduation ceremonies until the turn of the 20th century when a salesperson offered to rent seniors caps and gowns. At that time, the School ot Law was in the basement of the Main Bmldmg, and no one thought to send a message downstairs and invite the law seniors to the meeting. A committee of faculty and seniors met and decided that graduates would look sharp in caps and gowns, and it was ordered that all sen- iors were to wear caps and gowns for the com- mencement. Annoyed because they had not been invited to the original meeting, the law seniors refused to wear caps and gowns. They argued that caps and gowns at such a time were tradi- tional to and representative of the academic school and not the professional school. Even though judges had worn the wig and gown for centuries, it was worn for a purpose entirely dis- tinct from the purpose ot the commencement ceremony. The law faculty met with the president of the University, and it was decided that the law students must either conform to the wishes of the senior class or wear a significant insignia at the exercises instead. It was not in a spirit of conciliation or in appreciation of the c ignity of the occasion that the sunflower was chosen as the distinctive insignia. It was agreed, howev- er, that the senior law students would wear white suits. After the flower was chosen, stu- ilcnts generated reasons to justify its use. The sunflower, genus Helianthus, belongs to a family with worldwide distribution. So, also do lawyers. As the sunflower always keeps its face turned to the sun, the lawyer turns to the light of justice. The Sunflower Ceremony used to be held once during the year, on Commencement Day. As the School of Law student population grew, it was decided to have two exercises during the year, cine in November for the December gradu- ates and another one in May for the May and August graduates. Originally, a sunflower was pinned on each senior by his or her best friend. This cus- tom changed, however, and an Associate Dean or Assistant Dean of the School of Law assumed the responsibility. Sunflower Story