Aggie Bonfire
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The Aggie Bonfire was a long-lasting tradition at Texas A&M University before a tragic accident in 1999.
TexasAggieBonfire.jpg
Beginning in 1909, Texas A&M students worked together to build a massive bonfire on the grounds of the school. Students cut down logs on their own and brought them to campus, working around the clock to construct a massive bonfire before the annual game versus the University of Texas on Thanksgiving weekend. The idea behind the bonfire was to symbolize the Aggies' "burning" desire to beat the "hell" out of t.u. ("t.u." is a derogatory nickname used by Aggies to describe their rivals in Austin.) An orange outhouse (orange being the colors of the University of Texas) was placed on top of the bonfire stack, painted with derogatory statements against their rivals.
This tradition continued annually (except in 1963 in honor of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy) until November 18, 1999 when the annual Aggie Bonfire collapsed during its construction at 2:42 AM, killing twelve students and injuring 27 others. A commission put together by Texas A&M University discovered that a number of factors led to the collapse of the bonfire, including "excessive internal stresses" on the logs and "inadequate containment strength," where the wiring used to tie the logs together was not strong enough. Many people further blamed the school for the accident, saying that, in the name of tradition, they turned a blind eye to an unsafe structure being constructed with very minimal engineering and safety protocols followed.
Following the accident, several student groups (without the support of the University itself) have attempted to continue the Bonfire tradition off-campus calling it "Student Bonfire." Bonfire Coalition for Students is a recognized student organization that is trying to bring Bonfire back on campus.
A memorial was constructed on the university polo fields, the site of the accident. Construction began October 2003 and was completed by November 2004. On November 18, 2004, five years following the incident, the Bonfire Memorial was officially dedicated.
External links
- The official Aggie Bonfire site (http://bonfire.tamu.edu/) (now an official memorial site)
- The Special Commission on the 1999 Bonfire (http://www.tamu.edu/bonfire-commission/)
- Student Bonfire - Rebuilding the Tradition (http://www.studentbonfire.com/)
- Bonfire Coalition for Students (http://www.bonfirecoalition.com/)
- Bonfire Memorial Site (http://bonfirememorial.tamu.edu/)