UW-Platteville students and alumni gathered at the BARn to celebrate the anniversaries of WSUP FM 90.5, the School of Agriculture and the Exponent on Oct. 11.

There were over 40 alumni of the media studies department who graduated between 1968 and 2013 at the BARn party. The oldest graduation date for an alumnus of the School of Agriculture who attended the party was 1958.

Mary Obetson, an alumna of UW-Platteville who also taught at the university with her husband, has many ties to the campus. Her grandfather was a retired professor and dean of the School of Agriculture who retired as of 1938. Obetson’s parents both taught at the university as well. Her mother worked for the home economics department and her father taught economics. Obetson’s children are the fourth generation of her family getting degrees at UW-Platteville.

“I love coming back because I love seeing the changes that the university is going through, and how the past is still shown,” Obetson said.

There have been many changes for WSUP since it began 50 years ago. Several new specialty shows are being added to the shows that already existed. Shows continuing include Rusty Razorblade on Tuesday nights, Heavy Metal Meltdown on Thursdays and Sonic Pulse on Fridays. New shows include a blues show called Stormy Mondays on Monday mornings and Hard Rock Haven on Friday mornings.

“The station is looking to get more involved with the campus by finding new members and adding to what WSUP plays on air,” senior computer science major and general staff member of  WSUP, Sam ‘Eagle’ Alexander said.

They are about eight freshmen involved that are looking at becoming on-air disc jockeys, as well as working behind the scenes for the station.

The UW-Platteville School of Agriculture also has changed drastically since it began 100 years ago. Enrollment has doubled and now offers opportunities to study abroad and many new programs.

The Exponent celebrated its 125th anniversary this year. Beginning in 1889 as a handwritten student newspaper called the Students’ OLIO, the newspaper has been continuously changing and has been published every year since then. After the Students’ OLIO it became the Normal Exponent.

“Begun by the students, it was less of a newspaper and more of an editorial on student life including fictional stories,” senior media studies major Regina Neenan said.

More information about the history of the Exponent can be found in the Oct. 10, 2013 article “Archivist teaches UW-Platteville history using imagery collection”.

Members of WSUP, The Exponent and the School of Agriculture are looking forward to continuing to grow their programs in the future.