Millicent Hayberry has more than four weeks to confirm her candidacy for 2017 Park Official Prognosticator of Spring (POPS), but that hasn’t stopped political commentators and others from speculating on the effects her candidacy—and her career— would have on one of The Park’s few elected positions.
In an op-ed piece published today in The Simian Spectator, Magnus P. Marmoset, who holds the University of West Terrier’s Simian Chair in Political Philosophy, writes that he believes her candidacy would change the POPS landscape forever.
While Marmoset has always supported the decision to, as he puts it, “transition [the position] from an inherited one to a merited one,” he says he has mixed feelings about elections.
“So much of the election process is about performance, about favouritism, about alternate abilities, about things that do not relate at all to qualifications or to the position itself,” he writes.
And even though members of species other than Groundhogs have thrown their hats in the ring for POPS, Marmoset thinks that Hayberry’s candidacy would be a “game changer.”
“Her vocal skills, her acting skills, her reputation, her fame. These are the things she would bring to the table in addition to belonging to the hibernating class. I don’t doubt her prognostication skills or that she would be a good candidate. But I wonder if the other candidates will have an equal chance to appeal to the electorate if Millicent is among them. And I wonder whether future candidates will be reluctant to run if they can’t match her skills. I think it could have a lasting effect,” he writes.

January is one of The Park’s busiest months. To make sure you don’t miss anything, mark these dates on your calendar:
January-December 2023 
January 6-10: “Sortition Shakes” Pop-Up Clinic Learn more about this newly-identified condition that affects a large percentage of The Park’s adult population. The clinic will be staffed by therapists from the
January 7-14: Special Pre-Archon Selection Series of Discussions with Park Authors

January 15: New Archons Announced
January 1- March 31: The Park Museum presents, “The Means and the Message: An Appreciation of the Prognostication Pad”

If you think things will be winding down in November, you couldn’t be more wrong! What with hibernation preparation, debates, and elections and selections for POPS and Keeper of the Nut, November is one of the busiest months of the year. Mark your calendars now to make sure you don’t miss these important events!

Keeper of the Nut Selection

The Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations (DHFC) has released the Official Schedule of the 2020 Groundhog Day Celebrations.
January 5: “The Nature of Zoocracy/The Zoocracy of Nature.”
January 7-14: Special Pre-Archon Selection Series of Discussions with Park Authors
Until March 31: The Park Museum presents, “The Means and the Message: A Decade of Prognostication Pads”
If you think things will be winding down in November, you couldn’t be more wrong! What with hibernation preparation, debates, and elections and selections for POPS and Keeper of the Nut, November is one of the busiest months of the year. Mark your calendars now to make sure you don’t miss these important events!



February 2-9: Park shops to hold Groundhog Day sales
February 11: Book Launch at The Literary Apothecary
February 14: Anniversary of the birth of Jor
February 19: Official End of Hibernation
February 20: Return of the Nut
2018 Park Official Prognosticator of Spring (POPS) Sauville Marmotte has predicted an early Spring for The Park. The prediction came at 8:04 this morning.


