You’ve probably noticed that our giant “M” has been MIA for a couple of weeks. I contacted members of Blue Key, the honors society that maintains the M, and learned the following:
In late October, the “M” was struck by lightning. This took out some of the circuitry, and when that was fixed, they learned that a couple hundred of the bulbs had burned out during the strike. Some nights, they’ve illuminated the M using red lights instead. They’re still working to get the M back into its usual shape and color.
They typically do designs for Homecoming, Halloween, and EDays. They often change it to red for winter break and sometimes for Valentines Day, and they generally do a countdown from 9 for graduation day.
Thanks to Clare Decker, Kyle Heser, Peter Consalvi, and Daniel Paul Dupuis for the low-down on the M!