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

Page 19 text:

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

Page 18 text:

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

Page 20 text:

Robert Driegert, 70, Dan Hedges, 74, and his wife The Honorable Adele Hedges visit at the Sunday evening gal Law Alumni from the class of 1953 remi- nisce at the UT Club at Darrell K. Royal- Texas Memorial Stadium during Alumni Weekend. Law Alumni ynfeekend Law alumnus and reunion co-chair Harvin Moore, ' 63, and Dean William Powers dis- cuss the activities planned for Alumni Weekend. The oldest law alumnus, Brad Pickett, ' 36, shares a moment with his granddaughter. Student host Veronica Carjabal, 2L, chats with Nancy Sutton, ' 41, and her husband UT law professor and former dean, John Sutton, ' 41 , at the gala. Dean Powers gives a tour of the UT Club before the Reunion Celebration. Law Alumni Weekei