Every campus has that one character who turns up without fail, charms everyone they meet, and plays by nobody's rules. At Glasgow Clyde College's Cardonald campus, that character happens to be a ginger tabby cat.
His name — or at least the name students have given him — is Rebel. His real name remains a mystery, which only adds to the legend. What is known is that Rebel has been treating the college like his own personal kingdom for months, strolling corridors, popping into lessons, and winning hearts from 9am to 4pm like a furry, four-legged mature student keeping office hours.
Signs of the times
But all good things come to an end — or at least get redirected to the car park. This week, the college put up signs that read: "No cats allowed beyond this point. As cute as he is, for the cat's own safety and well-being, please don't feed him or encourage him to loiter as he has started to enter the building."
Rebel's rap sheet, as far as anyone can tell, includes wandering into active lectures, accepting food from soft-hearted students, and — perhaps his greatest feat — allegedly setting off a campus alarm. Whether that was intentional remains unconfirmed, though knowing cats, it probably was.
"He just wants to explore"
A source told STV News: "He just wants to explore. He likes the attention. He is very happy-go-lucky."
Happy-go-lucky is one way to put it. Brazen is another. Rebel has shown no signs of being deterred by doors, timetables, or the general concept of boundaries. Students and staff alike have grown genuinely fond of him — which is precisely the problem the college now faces.
A spokesperson for Glasgow Clyde College struck a diplomatic tone: "We're really proud that all our campuses are inviting, friendly spaces — but sadly we can't extend that welcome to cats inside college buildings."
They added: "The four-legged visitor, called Rebel, is a familiar face on the grounds outside Cardonald, and lately he's been keen to see what goes on indoors. We hope he enjoyed his little campus adventure, and I'm sure he'll be back outside soon."
Build Rebel a hut
Not everyone is content to simply bar the door, though. Some students have launched a campaign to have a hut built for Rebel on the college grounds — a compromise that would let him keep his campus social life without disrupting lectures or triggering fire alarms.
It's a solution with a certain Glasgow logic to it: you can't keep a good cat down, so you might as well give him somewhere warm to sit.
For now, Rebel remains a familiar face on the grounds outside Cardonald. He just can't come inside anymore. Whether he respects that boundary is, of course, entirely up to him.
And if history is anything to go by, the signs don't stand a chance.
