2008 Woodie Awards
That's The M, I Think...
By Adam Freeland
4/11/07 - Opinion
For years the M has gazed down on our campus as a symbol of pride and a sign that we are home. But in the past few decades, a funny thing has happened. The M has turned from a permanent M to a Billboard for the school.
It was a long standing tradition many years ago that the M would always be lit at night. if it went out due to electrical failure or pranks, there were groups of dedicated students who would go up with flash lights and manually make an M in its place. This Pride is long gone. Now everyone could see that we have a giant elephant during E-Days (or a blob if you didn't look at it head on).
Perhaps the greatest misuse of the M is during the Graduation Countdown at the end of every semester. for many students this is the first time their family visits the campus. They look up to see the M they have heard so much about and only see a vertical line (the 1). It is easy to see how this could be angering to many soon to be Alums.
There was a time when altering the M was done with class though. One year students added a much smaller "TV" to the lower right corner of the M for an MTV parade. We should strive for this Wit. If we can't achieve it, we should set up a system that switches every 3 minutes or so from the traditional M to whatever sign those in charge wish to display.
It would be a great thing if our generation could restore the pride that once embodied the eternal M. if we can't generate that much support, perhaps we can save it from being made a commonplace billboard.
It was a long standing tradition many years ago that the M would always be lit at night. if it went out due to electrical failure or pranks, there were groups of dedicated students who would go up with flash lights and manually make an M in its place. This Pride is long gone. Now everyone could see that we have a giant elephant during E-Days (or a blob if you didn't look at it head on).
Perhaps the greatest misuse of the M is during the Graduation Countdown at the end of every semester. for many students this is the first time their family visits the campus. They look up to see the M they have heard so much about and only see a vertical line (the 1). It is easy to see how this could be angering to many soon to be Alums.
There was a time when altering the M was done with class though. One year students added a much smaller "TV" to the lower right corner of the M for an MTV parade. We should strive for this Wit. If we can't achieve it, we should set up a system that switches every 3 minutes or so from the traditional M to whatever sign those in charge wish to display.
It would be a great thing if our generation could restore the pride that once embodied the eternal M. if we can't generate that much support, perhaps we can save it from being made a commonplace billboard.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Tom Papiernik
posted 4/12/07 @ 1:14 PM MST
Thank you for this article. I had not really thought about it before, but now that you have pointed it out, I can see how the M is sometimes being used as a gimmick rather than a source of school pride. (Continued…)
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