Daily Pioneer News

The annual "M" Ball will be held Saturday, April 23 at UW-Platteville; the "M" will be lighted that night at midnight. The "M" ball, which has also been known as the Miner's Ball, has been held almost every year at UW-Platteville since 1937.

PLATTEVILLE - A decades-long tradition at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville continues this April, with organizers hoping to attract students and alumni from all university programs.

The UWP chapter of Theta Tau, a professional co-ed engineering fraternity, tends the giant "M" looking down on the city from the Platteville Mound. The group also sponsors the "M" Ball, an annual event traditionally geared toward engineering students and alumni, but this year Theta Tau members want to make it an inclusive campus-wide event.

Students and alumni will converge for the 2005 "M" Ball Saturday, April 23. "The 'M' Ball started out as a miner's ball, a celebration of Platteville and the rich history of mining," said Theta Tau vice president Dominique Detloff, a senior studying industrial engineering. "Everyone that goes to UW-Platteville associates with the 'M.' Everyone in the community associates with the 'M.' Since it's such a unifying symbol, we want to include everyone. It's a history everyone shares."

Two years ago, Theta Tau considered canceling the "M" Ball or making it a biennial event, due to dwindling student participation. But an outcry from alumni preserved the ball, and helped Theta Tau members realize the importance of the history of the event, which has been held annually almost every year since the late 1930s.

Theta Tau members want to make the "M" Ball a campus-wide event akin to Homecoming, a second opportunity for alumni to visit campus and mingle with current students, Detloff said. There will be activities throughout the day leading up to the "M" Ball dance beginning at 7 p.m., with the lighting of the "M" scheduled for midnight.

Consisting of 400 tons of whitewashed stone placed on the southwest slope of the Platteville Mound, the "M" was constructed by students in 1937. The "M" is a symbol of the Wisconsin Mining Trade School, which later merged with the Platteville State Teachers College to become what is known today as UW-Platteville. Measuring 214 by 241 feet, it has been described as the largest "M" in the world.

Alumni from any UWP program interested in the attending the 2005 "M" Ball may contact the Theta Tau organization by e-mail, (thetatau_uwp@hotmail.com), or contact Theta Tau faculty advisor Joanne Wilson at 608-342-1081.

Contact: Dominique Detloff, vice president, Theta Tau, thetatau_uwp@hotmail.com

Prepared by: Dan Lehnherr, UWP Public Relations, 608-342-1194, lehnherd@uwplatt.edu