{"id":5252,"date":"2018-03-30T09:50:22","date_gmt":"2018-03-30T13:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=5252"},"modified":"2025-08-23T17:46:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T21:46:51","slug":"winter-storms-spark-massive-protest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2018\/03\/30\/winter-storms-spark-massive-protest\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Storms Spark Massive Protest"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Late winter snowstorms are hammering much of the country. Now, protesters are gearing up their signs to take to the streets of a small Pennsylvania town. As one storm ends, more are due in the coming weeks.\u00a0 <\/span>People are outraged with Punxsutawney Phil.\u00a0 <\/span>One student said, \u201cIt just isn\u2019t fair.\u00a0 <\/span>Why do we have to pay because he is lazy?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>On Feb. 2, Phil made his annual visit outside his hole.\u00a0 <\/span>Given the nature of the weather, Phil decided to resume his nap. Now schools of people are staging walkouts to protest his decision.\u00a0 <\/span>Phil said that although he was sorry, it was his final decision and refused to change it. \u201cThe people have to know that they can\u2019t always have it their way. Sometimes you just have to deal with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Among the protestors was a well-known holiday icon, the Easter Bunny.\u00a0 <\/span>When asked why he was taking part he said, \u201cIt\u2019s bad enough I will be the brunt of several pranks on my one work day. Now, I have to hop through three feet of snow too?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Easter Sunday falls on April 1 this year.\u00a0 <\/span>Easter hasn\u2019t been shared with April Fool\u2019s Day since 1956.\u00a0 <\/span>The Bunny said, \u201cI\u2019m going to hide only white eggs around Phil\u2019s house. He will have fun finding those.\u201d According to the local police, his actions could be considered hazing and charges could be filed<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Some signs read, \u201cLazy Hog, Do Your Job\u201d and \u201cAre you a Groundhog or Mouse?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>Phil said he was very offended by their words. He said, \u201cMy narcolepsy has never interfered with my work and species bias is just mean.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>He is considering a lawsuit for slander, discrimination and animal abuse if it continues.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>These protests also come amid the rumors of a conspiracy between Phil and Jack Frost.\u00a0 <\/span>Some say that may have something to do with Phil\u2019s decision.\u00a0 <\/span>Jack Frost is currently in Russia and was unavailable to comment.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Several angry letters were sent to Mother Nature. As a result, the Committee of Holiday Icons called a press conference to address the growing tension.\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cIt is not up to me,\u201d Mother Nature said. \u201cIt is not in my power to overturn the decision that Phil has made.\u00a0 <\/span>We are asking that you be patient.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>The Leprechaun, Santa Claus and Father Time were all present for the press conference.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>Mother Nature said that though she understood the protest, it was the Laws of Nature and that he was completely within his rights to refuse to allow an early spring. Despite the inconvenience, it is not a crime. The other members of the committee refused comment.<\/p>\n

The National Guard is currently set up around Phil\u2019s hole.\u00a0 <\/span>They will remain there until April 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 Late winter snowstorms are hammering much of the country. Now, protesters are gearing up their signs to take to the streets of a small Pennsylvania town. As one storm ends, more are due in the coming weeks.\u00a0 People are outraged with Punxsutawney Phil.\u00a0 One student said, \u201cIt just isn\u2019t fair.\u00a0 Why do we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7381],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5252"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8693,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5252\/revisions\/8693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}