2017 started off with a bang. In the early hours of Jan. 1 a vandal was hard at work giving the Hollywood sign a little makeover. When the New Year’s Eve parties came to a close and Americans rubbed the sleep from their eyes on the first morning of 2017, they were in for quite a surprise. The Hollywood sign now read: HOLLYWEED. Social media was swamped with posts about the latest prank including photos of the incident and new memes regarding the sign. Rumors are spreading that this was done in celebration of California recently legalizing marijuana. “Personally, the prank was very comical, but it mocks the people who fought for the privilege of legal marijuana and the people who built Hollywood up to its monumental symbol,” senior Julia Giannelli said. “The people who did this are very childish and are the ones who are going to take the legalization of marijuana for granted.” The sign was altered by using tarps to cover up certain parts of the preexisting letters. The tarps were white and black containing a giant peace sign on both black tarps.

The vandal was a Pomona artist named Zach Fernandez. He goes by the name “Jesus Hands.” Fernandez and his “creative partner,” better known as his ex-wife, were the ones responsible for the artistic crime. He and his ex-wife have not been arrested, but detectives plan to submit the case to the district attorney’s office for possible prosecution.

Contrary to our recollection, this event was not new. Danny Finegood originally changed the famous sign to say “Hollyweed” also on New Year’s Eve in response to a marijuana law. Finegood changed the sign as part of his art project at California State Northridge. Finegood ended up receiving an A on the project. He also changed the sign for other events including Easter by changing the landmark to say “Hollywood.”

With 2016 being such a crazy year, seeing the sign say something different sparked some hope for new beginnings, especially for California citizens, in the New Year.