I'm writing a paper on bonfire and was thinking that this would be a great place to come. I was hoping that someone would have a link to some of the Bonfire legislation and lawsuit rulings/any other info you could give. Thanks a lot.

sure

I'm classs of 2011 and on the Traditions Council... I dont know much about the recent legal news but I know quite a bit about the tradition itself. What do you need to know?

I think I know a lot about the tradition of bonfire, but was looking for a link to actual court papers, or maybe just an update on where we are now (legally).

http://justiceweb.co.brazos.tx.us/judicialsearch/

Go to civil records search. You can type in the names of the people named in the suit (i.e. bowen,r, or the names of some of those that died) the case will show "IN RE BONFIRE INJURY CASE." Go down to the bottom of the page click the blue links and open with windows picture viewer.

traditions council? you still teaching fish camps about the evil of student bonfire?


I almost walked out on 'em in '04 over that crap.

http://justiceweb.co.brazos.tx.us/judicialsearch/Scripts/UVlink.isa/bodreaux/WEBSERV/CivilSearch?action%253Dview%26track%253D55101

Thanks, this will help.

A picture is worth a thousand words
cushing.tamu.edu/collections/images/Pages/basicsearch.php?s=search
Do a search for Bonfire. Lots of great photos and captions.

www.studentbonfire.com

Also check youtube.com for videos and old stories of Bonfire. This could give you more of the heart and soul of bonfire and not just the facts.
The last on campus bonfire in 1998
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_kXxUWlFQw&feature=related

The 1994 Bonfire, which did collape and was rebuilt. This is the first one I saw. I was a senior in HS and my dad, class of '52/'57 took the family. It was then and there I knew where I wanted to be.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAuJ3hDsrBU&feature=related

Just a few more questions, I'm almost done with the paper.

How many man-hours were spent on the total construction of the on-campus bonfire?

How many people would you estimate worked on it each year?

How many on average have attended the off campus bonfire since they started building it?

Thanks

I'm bumping some old posts from the past few years for those who would like more info, pics, and videos from previous bonfires.

Thanks guys. I got an A on my paper.

someone with the time should write a real paper about bonfire... and include the psych departments memo's to university officials, the research being done unbenounced(sp) to the student body, and the ultimate results of those decisions.


thanks and gig em.





(cushing library is a great place to start)

Cushing has two binders about 2.5 inches thick that are nothing but catalogues of all the material they have on bonfire. Literally row after row after row of references listed in an unordered sequence for page after page after page. It took me an hour to just read one binder's content list. And there are at least two collections: the one assembled for the Bonfire Commission and the "Bonfire Tragedy" file. The first is about 16 boxes, the other is about 60 boxes including an offsite warehouse that stores all of the items left at the fence line following the collapse, plus a separate collection with VHS tapes. Add to that everything that is still privately held. Simply put there's a lot.

A fairly good piece about Bonfire's history and influence was published in 2007 by a prof at A&M, look up "The Texas Aggie Bonfire: A Conservative Reading of Regional Narratives, Traditional Practices, and a Paradoxical Place" by Jonathan M. Smith. It can be dry, and sometimes might seem attacking, but its largely an objective work (and does do the service of highlighting the occasional detractors that Bonfire can produce so that they can be corrected!).

quote:

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(and does do the service of highlighting the occasional detractors that Bonfire can produce so that they can be corrected!)

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What the hell does that mean?

the author talks about a lot of the stupid sh*t people have done thru the decades that inevitably makes the news and makes bonfire look bad. and knowing about that stuff helps chiefs/whoever look out for it and keep people from effing up so that they will not reflect poorly on SB.

Yeah. More than ever those that participate regularly have to be model builders, and while we've all seen our share of inappropriate behavior, a reference of jackassery we may not have seen firsthand could definitely be handy!

In preventing it, not replicating it (thought that was worth adding--for you repeat offenders...Moses).



[This message has been edited by Bobunk RAB (edited 11/13/2009 7:11a).]