It’s the pride of the Russell Group university
Cardiff University has made an unorthodox appointment to its law department, with students being greeted at freshers’ week by a creature calling itself the Welsh Legal Lion.
Dr Russell Sandberg, head of law at the Russell Group university, told Legal Cheek that the big cat will pitch in with his department’s recruitment and engagement strategy, attending open days and induction events to give “an alternative view on what it’s like to study law at Cardiff”.
A warm welcome from @WelshLegalLion #CUOpenDay pic.twitter.com/lLPqIv1H03
— Cardiff Law (@CardiffLaw) September 16, 2017
The Cardiff cat “may or may not have eaten people in the past”, Sandberg cautions, but as law students know, ferocious lecturers and sharp-tongued tutors are an occasional hazard on any campus. You can follow his or her adventures via Twitter at @WelshLegalLion.
The leonine appointment is thought to be a law school first:
I think Cardiff must be the only UK law school with its own official mascot. Slightly jealous. https://t.co/vgyuK59x3j
— James Chalmers (@ProfChalmers) September 20, 2017
But Oxford Brookes prof Peter Edge claims that his uni now has an Illegal Iguana on the prowl:
@WelshLegalLion has competition. @brookes_law, following fresher's week, now has Illegal Iguana. pic.twitter.com/OB7N7C0eNF
— Peter Edge (@edge_law) September 21, 2017
Not exactly as cuddly as it could be, but an improvement on the mascot on offer at UCL. The top rated London university has on display the mortal remains of 18th century academic and jurisprudence syllabus staple Jeremy Bentham.
Jeremy Bentham was born #OnThisDay in 1748; his auto-icon has resided @UCL since 1850: https://t.co/DVw7dKbdtL pic.twitter.com/YjpOAv40f3
— UCL (@ucl) February 15, 2017
Sandberg won’t be drawn on the lion’s identity, saying that the question causes the big cat “philosophical angst”. Even the Legal Lion moniker is only temporary: Cardiff students will be able to vote on a permanent name next week.
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