If Bonfire returned to campus in a very sanitized, professionally constructed way with minimal student involvement?

well... give a bunch of cold students nothing to do, and what do you get?

They find some way to fix it...

Take it away 90 some odd years later and give them nothing to do, and what do you get?

They find some way to fix it...

undermine the wishes of the students by throwing money at it, and what do you get?

unhappy students who will find some way to fix it...

on the short term it would go away due to university pressure.

on the long term, who knows.

+1 TexasRebel

The only thing I'd like to add is what money are do they have to throw at it? budget cuts are across every department, some have imposed hiring freezes, and all the new buildings going up are going to equal more money being spent on maintenance when they get turned over. you're gonna have to have some permanent fund that ol' ags and donors just shovel money into if they're ever gonna pay for site grading and repair, not to mention insurance (if only to cover their own asses)...

This has been asked way to much before, but I'll repeat it: what's the feasibility of contracting the job out to SB?

[This message has been edited by Fitch 10 (edited 9/9/2009 4:09p).]

...+1 for not really...answering the question?

+1 for being a troll, and to think after some of your more recent posts that you were actually level headed.

To answer your question. Probably exactly what you think, it would probably go away, most likely not without at least a little fight but although there is a great following by 1500+ members that probably wouldn’t maintain.

Best bet is if you want it to stay as Aggie Bonfire and not General Contractor Bonfire leave it off campus where it started originally.

Can't exactly break out the crystal ball but I'd expect that despite the best efforts of idiots with power, bonfire will not return to campus in some bast*rdized contracted-out incarnation that would reek of east coast prep school pep-rally spirit orgies. There are enough people with (and more without) money and power to keep this from happening. If it were to happen I think the bigger question would be how the university would respond to a 98% drop in former student donations.

But lets say it does happen, Student Bonfire would definitely be dealt a tough hand and have to slug it out for their legitimacy and ultimately their survival. Luckily they already have the en masse blessings of those who did Aggie Bonfire, and one could argue the blessings of the 10,000 that showed up (or tried to show up) to burn last year.

It will be interesting to see if attendance this year will be as high as some predict (I'm predicting yes), but until its all done and I've got my bottle of ashes, AND rick perry has told me what form bonfire is coming back to campus in, I don't think I can appropriately respond to questions like this. Fun to think about though, certainly more so than accounting hw.

[This message has been edited by Fitch 10 (edited 9/9/2009 9:54p).]

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I think the bigger question would be how the university would respond to a 98% drop in former student donations.

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If my memory serves me correctly The Association of Former Students alone raise right around 6 million dollars annually. I'm curious as to where you got your 98% figure and how you suppose the university will lose about 5.8 million dollars a year in donations over Bonfire.

Absolutely no trolling going on here. I think Bonfire coming back to campus in any form not student run and built would be the bell that tolls for Student Bonfire. It would be a sad day if Bonfire ever came back to campus at such a cost.

I've two points to make. First, the former student association is not part of the Texas A&M system. The Clayton Williams building is the only building on campus not owned by TAMU, and along that same train of thought, any donations to the AoFS go only to the AoFS, as far as I know. Secondly, I totally pulled the 98% figure out of the air (100-2%'ers=98%). I was writing quick because the hot tub and lonestar were calling my name.

Hopefully by now you recognize I respect your opinion in the matter. I'll argue the methodology occasionally (this time no), but your point still resonates regardless. At any rate, I stand by my belief that there are enough sane people, and that corporate America hasn't penetrated Aggieland enough, that there is not a future contracted and/or sponsored Bonfire on the horizon. But if so, be sure I'll be among the group that fights it to the bitter end.

square, I am curious about your opinion on what you would like to see happen. What would you favor?

I would hate to see bonfire come back to campus costing student bonfire their endeavors. It wouldn't have all been done in vain, there's no doubt about that. Too much progress has been made in the past nearly decade both with the organization and on the personal level to even begin to say "well, we tried our best, nice knowing you guys."

That wouldn't be the case at all, however the opportunity to do everything that student bonfire has would be severely hampered if bonfire came back to campus in a different form.

That being said...what I would ideally like to see happen is for it to come back to campus in a way that students could participate in the greatest way possible while absolutely positively minimizing the risk factor involved. How do we do that? Sadly I don't know...I don't think many people do. It's a catch-22 in my mind because we all want it back on campus in the worst way, however I'm not willing to accept the risk that we know comes along with the way it was.

Could Student Bonfire continue their efforts on the campus of A&M? Sadly I don't think that would be the way this would work out. If it's going to take place on campus, it's going to be diluted.

What do you want to see happen?

What I want to see happen and what I actually think is possible are two very different things. I know that what I want is not possible, nor should it be. Many of us for years have talked about the day that Bonfire comes back to campus and wondered whether or not that would be what is good for Bonfire and its future as a student experience.

There is a significant part of me that says "just leave it off campus and let us attempt to grow on our own". Of course the other part of me has the opposite opinion. I think that Student Bonfire will have to take some concessions should the university attempt to bring it back on campus. As I have always been fond of saying when it comes to Bonfire; you have to fight the right fights, the ones you can win, and the ones that are worth fighting. All students, and former students, need to start think now about what level of involvement is acceptable.

One thing I am sure of is that whatever level of student involvement is allowed the first year it is back will be the highest level student will ever be allowed again. There will be no "retaking" of the tradition once it has started.

all very well said.

What sorts of concessions do you think will have to be made on SB's end?

well from what I have heard from current and former leadership Bonfire will either be on campus as it is with no concessions or Bonfire will continue off campus.

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One thing I am sure of is that whatever level of student involvement is allowed the first year it is back will be the highest level student will ever be allowed again. There will be no "retaking" of the tradition once it has started.

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I agree. Those with the "just get it back and let it grow" mindset are delusionally optimistic.

the type of concessions that Student Bonfire would have to make all depends on what part of the process the University considers to be the biggest liability. I can see them thinking that Stack is the biggest liability, due to incidents in the past, but frankly its not, especially with the design currently in use. Cut is actually the part that is most dangerous, on a smaller personal scale. What I mean by that is cut is dangerous to an indiviual, but less likely to cause catostophic injuries to multiple people should something go wrong.

With that being said I think that too many lawyers will look at it as a numbers game, i.e. what could this possibly cost the university. When that is done Student Bonfire will have to give up the things that are "most expensive". Its kind of a harsh way to look at it but there it is.

I will also say that I think that Student Bonfire has already made many of the appropriate adjustments to design and mentality that would allow it to be on campus again.

There is a big difference between what I want to happen and what I think is possible.

SquareOne07- I have thought about that same question and here is my final answer. I would love to see Bonfire come back to campus as much as the next person, but I would rather have it be held off campus and built by the students than on campus and professionally done. The whole purpose of Bonfire is the students, so if it's done by someone else, what's the point? I know many are thinking "well because it's on campus." If the students don't build it, they don't learn what's suppose to be learned from it and it won't be a part of college that you will never forget.

+1

good point howdy.

I think there's no way around saying that as long as it's off campus, attendance will never be what it would be if it were on campus. Not that that matters, just my hypothesis.

That being said, and like you said -it's about the students- with Bonfire off campus it significantly affects a relatively small(er) group of students. With Bonfire on campus, it marginally affects a much larger group of students.

I suppose the question that has to be looked at is what is the true aim of Bonfire. I know that this is a very oversimplified examination, but I think it fits, and I think that it being off campus is the way to be.

[This message has been edited by Lobster Twins (edited 9/25/2009 10:18a).]

...I thought Bonfire signified the "burning" desire to beat the livin' hell outta tu??

If that is indeed the case, why would a more "sanitized" version of the event be such a bad thing?

The best question (in my mind) would be, where would its setting on campus be?? Cannot have it near the memorial...for obvious reasons...other side of the tracks?

Bring it back!!!

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If that is indeed the case, why would a more "sanitized" version of the event be such a bad thing?

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Depends how you define 'sanitized'.

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The best question (in my mind) would be, where would its setting on campus be?? Cannot have it near the memorial...for obvious reasons...other side of the tracks?

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Isn't there a nice big field near the Bush Library?

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the type of concessions that Student Bonfire would have to make all depends on what part of the process the University considers to be the biggest liability. I can see them thinking that Stack is the biggest liability, due to incidents in the past, but frankly its not, especially with the design currently in use. Cut is actually the part that is most dangerous, on a smaller personal scale. What I mean by that is cut is dangerous to an indiviual, but less likely to cause catostophic injuries to multiple people should something go wrong.

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FWIW, the university's proposal for Bonfire 2002 eliminated Cut but not Stack.

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Isn't there a nice big field near the Bush Library?

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That's where I'd think it'd fit in nicely... bemoan me if you want, I just don't see the logistics of putting it on the polo fields working out.

that would be a nice updraft for any departing/landing planes

haha, yah I imagine they would stop complaining about the dome being to shiny

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I thought Bonfire signified the "burning" desire to beat the livin' hell outta tu??

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well... sorta, but it grew to be so much more than that

It depends on what is actually important to people. Being that I am a first generation Ag and class of 03 (and didn't participate my fish year)...and only did bonfire off-campus, I don't have any memories attached with it being on campus. Therefore, it's of low importance to me.

As I put in the other thread, I have no problems with SB becoming more "underground" and building/burning independent of the university. To keep the university heat off, the design could be changed to look nothing like whatever the on-campus one looked like. I imagine recruiting would be difficult...but there's solutions to everything.

Just like diehard 03 mentioned, the students who were around when Bonfire was on campus are gone and the students that currently build Bonfire know it as being off campus or only have the experience of it being off campus and don't have the on campus version to compare it to. If it were to come back to campus, the current and future students won't "celebrate" because they never experienced it on campus. Current and future students know Bonfire as it is now...off campus. The tradition and spirit is there. If it were to be held on A&M property (on campus) it will probably have little student involvement, which defeats the purpose of the tradition. Student Bonfire has created a MUCH safer design, has tight security, and makes sure everything runs smoothly. Student Bonfire has fixed a lot of the bugs. A&M will never do as good of a job that Student Bonfire is currently doing because of the accident. There is a good chance that the students will have little involvement if it were to return to campus because A&M won't want to take the risk. Bonfire is and has always been about the students...let in continue to be.

Agreed Howdy. I feel that if bringing it back to campus even eliminated one part of bonfire, then it should stay off-campus. Bonfire is about students coming together to cut, move, load, transport, unload, sort, and stack every log that makes up the impressive but completely pointless structure. It is only through the entire process, in which through hard work we become better Aggies, that the stack earns a point. If even one of these parts is taken out I feel like the point would be lost.