Restored 'M' returns to central Diag home

The M is back. Finally.

After being restored and reset in a Brazilian granite, the brass M donated by the University's Class of 1953 will assume its place in the center of the Diag today.

Most students were thrilled to see the symbolic M back on the Diag yesterday, even though the area still was undergoing final construction.

"I'm glad it's coming back," said Peter Rose-Molina, an LSA sophomore. "We were even talking about it as a Spanish discussion topic today."

Sam Schoenfield, an LSA sophomore whose father graduated in 1953, said he is ecstatic to see the M back.

BRYAN MCLELLAN/Daily Workers prepare to replace the M in the Diag after it was placed in Brazilian granite. The new M is part of a larger renovation project the Diag recently underwent. The M was relaid just in time for midterm exams - traditional campus lore says new students who step on the M before their first bluebook exam will fail.

"I've been missing it all year," Schoenfield said. "The Diag was not complete without the M. Michigan is now complete."

As part of a larger renovation project, the Diag area underwent other changes during the past few months, including more trees, pathways, lighting and bricks. However, when it seemed complete, the brick area that usually held the M displayed only a brick M.

"The brick M that was there was a cheap imitation," said LSA first-year student Dave Tigay.

In May, the bronze M was removed and taken to Minnesota, where it was supposed to be attached to a granite slab. But the University changed its plans to instead use a specific type of granite, so the M returned to Ann Arbor completely unchanged.

"It's going to be just like it always was," Julianne Chard, coordinator of the Diag reconstruction project, said earlier this year.

Though it is the same M that has always resided in the Diag, the layout around the M is now different. The Brazilian granite now surrounding the M adds a slightly different touch to the Diag's centerpiece.

"The M will stand out more, just as Michigan should stand out in this world," Schoenfield said.

However, not all students like the newly restored M.

"They didn't polish it. They didn't make it better," said Nick Heilbert, an LSA junior.

"I expected some big improvement, but it's not restored."

With the return of the M, some students said their traditional superstitions also are back.

"It's part of Michigan tradition," Tigay said. "It's about time it came back. Now there's just one more thing I have to avoid walking on."

Rose-Malina agreed with Tigay.

"It really brings together a lot of the students," he said.

- Daily Staff Reporter Peter Meyers contributed to this report.

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