Today marks the start of homecoming week at UW-Platteville. This year’s celebration has been one century in the making. Faculty, staff and Platteville community members are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the university’s homecoming with old and new traditions. The lighting of the M caps off homecoming week at the university every year. Students gather at Platte Mound east of town, where whitewashed stones form the letter M, to watch the outline light up. Students in the Society of Automotive Engineers, tasked with maintaining the M year-round, use coffee cans containing kerosene to light the outline. After the whole outline is lit, fireworks go off and the Marching Pioneers play the school’s fight song.