Penn State University Police contacted the U. S. Secret Service after graffiti, including the phrase "Bush dies," was discovered early yesterday on the Nittany Lion Shrine.

"Any time there is a threat against the president, we contact the Secret Service," said Clifford Lutz, police supervisor for Penn State police.

The shrine was found splattered with red paint and the words "Bush dies" and "Iraq" written on it, Lutz said.

An anonymous caller notified police of the vandalism at 7:10 a.m.

Jean Mitchell, spokeswoman for the Secret Service, said the agency would work with university police to investigate the incident.

"Anytime we have [a threat against the president] we take it very seriously and open an investigation," Mitchell said. "It's consistent that we get daily referrals of threats like this from all over the country."

Police said part of the vandalism was unreadable.

"It looked as if there was another word on the shrine, but it was too smudged to clearly see what it was," Lutz said. "It seems to just be some sort of protest."

Police have no suspects at this time, and no witnesses have come forward. There are no security cameras that watch the shrine, Lutz said.

Penn State police Supervisor Dwight Smith said police are keeping the case open but it is at a standstill due to lack of evidence and a suspect.

"If we do get leads we will certainly move ahead further into an investigation," Smith said.

Paul Ruskin, Office of Physical Plant spokesman, said it took several hours to remove the graffiti using "specialized solvents" and there was no permanent damage to the shrine.

Ruskin added that Penn State is fortunate it doesn't have a major vandalism problem.

The shrine has not been significantly vandalized as a form of protest in more than a decade.

On Oct. 18, 1988, a swastika, a circle with an "A" inside of it and the words "PSU is ignorant" were painted with red and black spray paint on the shrine. One of the statue's eyes was also painted black.

In July, the lion's ear had to be repaired after a major portion of it fell off.

Police said that incident was not the result of vandalism.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Penn State police at 863-1111.