Move over, Valor, there’s a new mascot in town. Penny the Pineapple was born during a student retreat in summer 2022. “Last semester was the first fully in-person, maskless semester that we’ve had in a while, so we wanted something to re-energize and revitalize campus life,” said Haley Planicka, Student Government Association president. Penny is “a symbol of chaotic energy while also bringing back the idea of hospitality with the symbol of the pineapple.”

 

SGA bought the costume. “We wanted Penny to be a student-run and student-supported initiative that would be kind of a campus inside joke,” Haley said. And the campus loves her. “We have even seen fan accounts being created on social media that post about her whereabouts and make memes of her. I think that Penny is emblematic of our resilient, unwavering and hospitable Bellarmine community.”