Two Charged with Breaking Nittany Lion Shrine’s Ear

By Elissa Hill and Geoff Rushton

Two Penn State students are facing summary offenses of criminal mischief for allegedly breaking off the Nittany Lion Shrine’s right ear, as first reported by Aimee Lewis of WJAC-TV and confirmed on the Penn State Police crime log.

The ear was broken off on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Skylar C. Belden, 18, and Matthew I. Deutch, 19,  are both undergraduate students at the University Park campus, according to the Penn State directory. A summary trial is scheduled for April 17, according to court records. Both face fines if found guilty.

The missing ear was recovered by Penn State police, who kept it in their possession until Penn State’s Office of the Physical Plant repaired it the following Wednesday. In between, Penn State’s 3-D Printing Club fitted it with a temporary replacement.

This is the fourth time the Nittany Lion has lost its right ear; the shrine was vandalized in 1978 and again in 1994. Most recently, the ear was damaged in 2003, then appearing accidental.