Newspapers / Meredith College Student Newspaper / Feb. 2, 2000, edition 1 / Page 5
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February 2, 2000 Meredith Herald Campus Extras 5 More winter weather? Ask a groundhog Chrjshna Holdi-r News Editor It musi be nice. For one day ouc of ihe entire year, all eyes are upon you. Hundreds of reporters stand poised as you sleep, awaiting the moment when you will open your eyes. Hey. people like you so much that they even name a day after you. Hometown hero? Celebrity? How about National Weath er I'orecaster? With the Nation al Weather Service's new IBM supercomputer making 690 bil lion calculations per second, yet predicting only three to six of the 20 inches the Triangle received last week, perhaps a second opinion is due. Enter the most popular weather forecaster for today. Take it away, Punxsutawney (punk-sa-tawny) Phil. Known as the Marmot, the WcHxJchuck. the Whistlepig and most commonly to us as the Groundhog, Phil was pulled out of his warm burrow at 7:25 a.m. in Gobbler’s Knob. Penn, today. Gobbler’s Knob, a knoll outside of Punxsutawney. Penn., is home to the state’s furriest celebrity. Phil draws thousands of peo ple each Feb. 2 to predict the next six weeks’ weather. A cer emony called the Inner Circle lakes place while Phil makes his prediction. As legend claims, if Phil sees his shadow, he will be frightened and return to his hole to sleep through six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t see his shadow, spring is pre dicted to come early. This day of superstitious predictions has its roots in ancient Ireland, when on Feb. 2, the mid-point of the Winter Solstice (approximately Dec. 21) and Ihe Spring Equinox (approximately Mar. 21). the pagan holiday of Imbolc (Oimeic) was celebrated. Fair weather on this day indicated a bitter second half of winter. A similar tradition was adt^ted by early Christians in Europe under the name of Can dlemas Day. a day in which (he clergy blessed candles and gave them to people to prevent the coming of a dailc winter. Like Imbolc, if the sun shone on Feb. 2, six more weeks of winter would soon ensue. Later, in the I7()0s, Ger man settlers arriving in America brought the tradition of Candlemas Day to the States. The settlers, looking for an animal to cast its shad ow, chose the badger as tlw symbol for predicting the weather. Groundhog Day we know began in Nonh America in 1723 when the Delaware Native Americans settled in Punxsutawney. Believing that all creation emerged from “Mother Earth,” the Delaware citizens believed that creatures called L«nni Lenapes sprung from her and developed into men. The ancestors of these crea tures were called oijiks (wojaks), which were later pro nounced as "woodchuck” by European settlers. Eventually the traditions of Candlemas Day and the belief in the groundhog as a sacred ancestor merged into Ameri ca’s official Groundhog Day. Pennsylvanians chose the groundhog as a replacement to the badger the German settlers watched each year. Punxsutawney became known as the famed home of the furry weather extraordi naire when in 1887 the editor of the Punxsutawney Spirit Newspaper wrote a story on whom he called the Punx sutawney Groundhog Club, a group that participated in the tradition of hunting ground hogs, and the groundhog who had not seen his shadow yet. In the years following, the story was magnified into new proportions, and the rest has been left up to Phil and his descendants. Thus, we arrive at the day Punxsutawney celebrates with a passion. And in tact, it seems to be a day that most Ameri cans look upon with a fond ness, if not for the superstition, then at least for Ihe entertain ment value. Columbia Pictures recog nized America’s fondness too. when in 1993. they released the Punxsutawney Phil, of Gobbler's Knob, Penn., will tell us on Wednesday how much more winter we will have. Photo by PuNscsuTAWNFr Cimm&FiB of Commerce appropriately titled film. Groundhog Day. in which TV weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) realizes, upon waking each morning, that his life is a perpetual Groundhog Day. Each year since the release of the movie, larger crowds have found their way into Gob bler’s Knob for the chance to see Phil. Other states have attempted to break into the meteorologi cal spotlight with rising stars such as Ohio’s Buckeye Chuck or Louisiana's Cajun Ground hog. Yet the fans of Punx- sutawney’s Phil claim they are impostors and continue to swarm around Phil’s burrow each year for the forecast despite Phil’s 39 percent accu racy rate over Ihe last 113 years However, Ihe folks in Gob bler’s Knob do not mind Phil’s relative inaccuracy. They insist that he has never been wrong. Indeed, today, Phil was put inside a heated burrow before he made his prediction. Usually, he lives at the Punxsutawney Library in a cli- maie-controlled home eating ice cream and dog food lo keep his weight around IS pounds. Today’s weather forecast for Punxsutawney, Penn, was part ly cloudy, leaving those who wanted to predict Phil’s predic tion lo sit and wail. 1999 Meredith graduate joins Peace Corps Paice RlSSt-K Peace Corps Erika Dean, daughter of John and Pam Dan of Rich mond. Va., has been accepted as a Peace Corps volunteer. Dean departed for Zambia on Thursday. Jan. 27, 2000. As a Peace Corps volunteer, she will work as a health edu cator, helping communities to identify their health needs to improve health care, programs and activities. Dean received a Bachelor of Science in Child Development in May 1999 from Meredith College. She is a 1995 graduate of Midlothian High School in Midlothian, Va. Dean had previously worked for the Coalition on Donation, a non-profit organization that provides public education on Ihe critical need lo increase organ and tissue donation. Today, there are nearly 7.000 Peace Corps volunteers serving in 78 countries worldwide. Vol unteers help bring clean water lo communities, leach children, protect Ihe environment, help start new businesses and pre vent the spread of AIDS. Campus Briefs Paralegal informa tion session oifercd Otocc of Marketing anij Communications Meredith College will offer a free infonnation session on the paralcgfll proffeswMi m Wednes day, Feb. !6. ^)00 a 7 p.m. in IMHanis. AttoKl a panel discu.'^iun with local paridegals and ^ director of rtie Meredith Isgal Assistants Program. Call (9T9) 760-2855 fw more infurmtaitm. Take a major leap at the Majors Fair Mai‘)cs AM$o)y On Feb. flic MerediSi Col lege CafMr Center will hott the seveiHh atntual Majors Fair in Befk Dining Hall belvwen 4:3(3 and 6,D0 p.m. *1% MajOTs iw is a great oppofUinity for freshmen and sofajomorc students who Mt: umdecided about dteir major U) speak with several depadments on campus at t«ne time.” said AsMSiant Direaor Toni Rhoren lt» addition to academic departments, Registrar's Oftiec. the Office of Acwtemic Advising and Ihe Career Center will ail be on band to answer questions related fo major w c^«er dtoice and preparation. of the great things ahtwt: tite MajoR Pair is tlial students can actually declare majoK or: miRuni on-iiite with Ote tm's Offia,” said Rhwer. Rcfresbnvent.s. as well as d»)or prizes including gift certificates for area re^orants and vendm. fw Meredith Qdlege clt^itng,: dry cJcaning cwipons signed novels by Cfydc Edg^iuB, vnll be distribated ihroi^bout ttie event. There wiJI even be a. ,grand- pfixt drawing fw dinner at the ..^gus Bam fc^taurant ■*H^ on Ov^ and join 8w fin at the 20n0 m^ocs fait ^ Submit yolr PRESS RELEASE TO THE Herald. The deadiine IS J P.M. ON THE Mo.SDAY BEFORE Wednesday's plblication.
Meredith College Student Newspaper
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Feb. 2, 2000, edition 1
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