Penn State's storied Nittany Lion shrine has history of vandalism

Penn State’s Nittany Lion remained without an ear on Monday as university police continued to ask for information regarding the alleged vandal or vandals, who also tossed red paint onto famed statue.

It is not the first time the statue has been targeted since its dedication in 1942.

Two years later, according to the Daily Collegian, someone poured black paint onto the statue

In 1966, someone painted the statute orange ahead of a game against Syracuse. Years later, Sue Paterno confessed and she and the wives of other Penn State coaches did the deed themselves with washable orange paint, according to the Centre County Historical Society. The goal was to bump up school spirit ahead of the Syracuse game.

“I painted it because everyone would sit on their hands and didn’t clap — we knew we wouldn’t get caught and it worked,” she told the Collegian in 2009. “It’s gone beyond my wildest dreams.”

ICYMI: The Lion Shrine, Old Main, and the Hintz Family Alumni Center were targeted by a string of vandalisms. https://t.co/x5SEn6xZkj

— Onward State (@OnwardState) May 8, 2022

In 1978, someone smashed off the lion’s right ear, prompting original sculptor Heinz Warneke to return to campus and sculpt a replacement ear. The same ear was broken again in 1994, at which point university officials commissioned a cast of the entire lion so as to have it on hand should the statue sustain damage in the future.

According to the Collegian, the lion lost its right ear again in 2003 and 2018. A university press release from 2003 indicates that that damage was an accident. Two people were charged with criminal mischief in connection with the 2018 incident, according to PennLive.

This time, it was the left ear that was broken. Alleged vandals also threw red paint on the lion.

Other campus landmarks were targeted as well, according to police, including Old Main and the Hintz Family Alumni Center. PennLive reported that phrases like “Time is up,” “death by cop,” “death by hazing,” “death by suicide,” and “death by PSU culture” were written on Old Main entryways.

“These are profoundly disturbing acts, at a time when many families are taking photos and celebrating the educational accomplishments of their graduates,” officials said in a statement.