By Donald Osmond
Punxsutawney Phil has done it again. He forecast another six weeks of winter after seeing his shadow Wednesday morning on Gobbler?s Knob.
According to the Associated Press, the chubby critter delivered the prediction after being pulled by a top-hatted handler from his Pennsylvania burrow in an oak stump at 7:31 a.m. His prediction was greeted by boos from the thousands in attendance.
?He is only the messenger!? said one of the members of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.
Some students at both BYU and UVSC said they have mixed feelings about having six more weeks of winter.
?He actually exists!? said Jared Moore, a senior at UVSC. ?I think I am going to follow the example of the groundhog and get some more sleep.?
While some students want to catch up on some missing sleep, others are excited to continue the skiing season.
?It will be nice, and hopefully it will snow more,? said Dave Pepper, an avid skier and BYU student from Sandy.
The groundhog may have forecast another six weeks, but Pepper said he is wondering when winter is going to start, referring to the unusually warm Utah weather.
In Punxsutawney, a crowd of about 2,000 people was already assembled by 3:30 a.m., according to the Associated Press.
Nikki Wehrmann was present in that crowd with her 9-year-old daughter, who missed school for the event.
?We consider this an educational purpose,? Wehrmann told the Associated Press. ?Anything that brings 20,000 or 30,000 people on some years we have to do at least once.?
Robbie Preece, a BYU junior from Boston majoring in print journalism, said some people enjoy the winter months and others the summer. However, some are indifferent on having another six weeks of winter.
?It depends on the sports that you are into,? he said. ?I love to ski and mountain bike, so anytime of the year is great for me.?
Preece said he wishes it would snow in the mountains constantly and stay dry and warm in the valley. That way he would have the best of both worlds.
The extra weeks of winter could possibly help some businesses here on campus.
Outdoors Unlimited receives a lot more business in the winter than the summer, said Preece, who works there.
?The bulk of our business comes from winter sales and rentals,? he said.
?Whether or not the groundhog has direct influence in sales is yet to be seen.?
In the years since The Punxsutawney Spirit first carried word of the groundhog?s failing to see its shadow in 1886, Punxsutawney has been dubbed the ?Weather Capital of the World,? according to the Associated Press.
The tradition of groundhog forecasting has lasted for 118 years. During that time, Phil has seen his shadow 95 times. He hasn?t seen his shadow 14 times, and records are missing for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney club.
?I hope that this winter is just like what Bill Murray said in Groundhog Day, ?cold, gray, and lasts for the rest of our lives,? so I can ski for the rest of my life,? Preece said.
