Fratsutawney Phil Sees Shadow, Predicts Six More Weeks of Pledging

Groundhog Day is a tradition dating back as far as 1841, according to Wikipedia, and an affair which provided the basis for the popular 1993 film Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray. Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog (replaced often) from Punxsutawney, PA is treated as a meteorologist. Generally, he is expected to predict whether winter will continue for six weeks or spring will come early. 

It's a little-known fact that the Penn Greek community has a groundhog of its own, named Fratsutawney Phil. Living on a diet of primarily beer and chex mix, this groundhog does not predict weather patterns. Instead, Fratsutawney Phil decides a far more important thing: when pledging will end.

If Fratsutawney Phil sees his shadow, pledging continues for six weeks (at least). If he doesn't, pledging ends sometime before spring break, as the University mandates it must. For a groundhog, Phil holds a lot of power.

This year, Phil saw his shadow. The pledges at the event let out an audible sigh, while brothers seemed pleased with the results. One brother, who chose to remain anonymous, said that he did not feel bad. "I mean, I didn't make this choice. The groundhog did," he told us. "Anything that happens now is the groundhog's fault, not ours."

Suspiciously, Fratsutawney Phil has seen his shadow every year for at least a decade. Lights are often placed around the animal such that his shadow shows in four or more directions, nearly guaranteeing that he will see the shadow. When confronted about this, our anonymous source shrugged. "I don't make the rules."