The LSU Student Senate unanimously passes a resolution urging the university not to repeat the stunt of bringing a live tiger inside Tiger Stadium.
It comes in the wake of Gov. Landry procuring a tiger from Florida after the university told him it would not bring its official live mascot, Mike VII, out of his on-campus habitat and onto the field.
Speaker Pro Tempore Ethan Elmer, a junior majoring in computer science, says the resolution, which he authored, also goes a step further.
“It also asks that we don’t try to use this moment as an advertisement for the university,” says Elmer.
Elmer says he’s disappointed that LSU caved in to Gov. Landry’s desires.
“There’s a lot of ethical concerns regarding bringing a predatory wild animal into Tiger Stadium with 100,000 people all screaming,” Elmer says. “There are a lot of sensory and stress issues related to that.”
Another LSU student sharing those views is Ariana Tashakkori, a senior majoring in natural resources ecology and management and a member of the school’s chapter of the Wildlife Society.