Put out the Aggie Bonfire
There will only ever be one true Aggie bonfire and that is the Texas A&M bonfire. Anyone who witnessed one of the ninety years of Texas Aggie Bonfire Tradition will agree it was an amazing sight. However, the tradition at Texas A&M turned to tragedy. As an A&M graduate and a current USU Assistant Professor, I caution the USU community to think long and hard before sanctioning such a high-risk, environmentally dangerous activity. Another Aggie Bonfire right here in Cache Valley is ironic, eerie and wrong.
At 2:42 am on the morning of November 18, 1999 while building the 59-foot Texas Aggie Bonfire, the mass of logs collapsed killing 12 students. I was there and I witnessed the 24-hour rescue attempts to save students trapped under the massive pile. The then-president of A&M, Ray Bowen, called it “perhaps the most difficult time in our 123-year history.” The picture of USU’s first bonfire in the Statesman was a chilling reminder of this tragedy. USU is attempting to begin a tradition that a peer university no longer practices because 12 students are dead.
I find it shocking that a university administration could support this activity while A&M is still facing lawsuits from the parents of the dead students. Am I saying that the USU bonfire will result in student deaths? No, of course not. But it’s important to point out that the A&M bonfire started small too. A student in The Statesmen was quoted as saying “I love fires, so the bigger the better.” It’s this kind of mentality that will lead to each bonfire being built bigger and taller than the last.
Can’t we find an activity that is environmentally friendly that can still unite the students at homecoming? Can’t we start an original tradition that doesn’t show disrespect for the 12 dead students in Texas? Let us remember the USU campaign – “THINK”- and realize it is time to think and create an intelligent tradition compatible with the values of the 21st Century and not an archaic 100-year-old activity.
Quinton WingerADVS797-7146