Is it even really possible? I have heard anything from 2 to 50 years.

"I have concluded that any announcement, decision or change in the status quo regarding the future of Bonfire would be inappropriate while litigation is still on-going." -- Dr. Gates, February 26, 2003.

the hearings are sometime this year. i forgot when, May or around there i think. i'm just waiting for the excuse they come up with after that.

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the hearings are sometime this year. i forgot when, May or around there i think.

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I thought they were supposed to be in March, but it's March 28 already and I haven't heard anything about it in the news.

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i'm just waiting for the excuse they come up with after that.

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I think they'll say that there's no room in the budget for it.

... or no room in the wonderful, faultless campus master plan.

Sorry, but it won't be back on campus.

The administration's hostility toward an off-campus event is proof enough.

Forgive me if I seem stubborn, because I appreciate your question. I hope you can understand that asking that question seems to discount the fact that Bonfire is here, and with the exact heart we would all look for on campus. As I said, I don't mean to be overly particular but questions like that truly weigh on the students working so hard on a good thing.

To clarify the dates, the original litigation date was set for mid-March of 2005, but after the Bonfire Memorial dedication this fall a group of the members of the class action suit that was dropped their case. The lawyers of remaining members ask to get the date moved and the judge granted it for them to re-evaluate and prepare their case. That date is August or September of this year. This means the university will at least begin to talk in official terms beginning this fall. What their stance will be in the case, who will support it, and who will go against it remains to be seen, but conversation is the first step to determining anything that will happen in the future.

November 19, 2005.

I don't know how to post a link, but this is the website to The Eagle article I got my info from.

http://www.theeagle.com/aandmnews/020205bonfire.php

I'd be surprised if that September trial date actually happens. I think the judge is going to insist on as much mediation as possible. Then, given a one month jury selection, according to the article, and the number of defendants in the case, this is looking like a 3 month trial, minimum. 6 months isn't out of the question.

Assuming there isn't a mistrial (10 out of 12 required to agree, or due to some other issue), there will be post trial motions and appeals lasting a minimum of 2 years. Do not think for a second that the defendants are going to wait this long to go to trial, then just accept any judgment (other than a take-nothing) at face value.

This litigation will not end until close to the end of this decade, unless there is a complete settlement.

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The administration's hostility toward an off-campus event is proof enough.

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i did see a lot more positive views in 2004 than in 2003. if we can continue to build a safe and successful bonfire, attitudes can change. it's obviously years from now, but until then, btho student bonfire.

Until then BTHO Student Bonfire. But what about after? Who else could be entrusted with the lives, tradition and responsibilty of Bonfire? Certainly not University appointees to bullsh t positions. The point is, the only difference between Bonfire and "Student" Bonfire is an imaginary line.

I for one am sick and tired of people (even active participants) feeling like all of this work won't count unless one day it is back on campus. I used to feel that way, and it is the worst perspective. On campus? Honestly, who gives a sh t? And if you do, what the hell did BONFIRE really stand for to you? And where exaclty did proximity to dining halls fit into that experience?

whoa, whoa, calm down man. nobody said that. whether it returns to campus or not, the hours of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears will not be for nothing. when and if the final word comes in that says bonfire will not return to campus, do you think we're just gonna quit student bonfire? you can't seriously think that people who work on student bonfire are working just to bring it back to campus. that's probably the view of outsiders and the administration which is most likely why they don't understand it, but i don't know of anyone who has been out there that feels that way.

Bonfire should be on campus because it is the one thing that Aggies have in common that bind us as a group that is unique to A & M. It is the beating heart of tradition, and without it, each year we have a few more people who have gone thru our school without the understanding, feeling and respect for the school that they should have.

Until then, as long as the students keep building a bonfire each year, the spirit continues. Gig um.

Of the 3 off campus Bonfires I have helped to build, I have never really done a poll on why people are out at Bonfire. I would assume that in the end, we all want it built and burned.

I know there are those at cut and stack that can't wait for Bonfire to be back on campus. It's either wait for aTm to sanction a Bonfire or work on the one off campus.

Others are out there because they think Bonfire is a thing of the students, not the University. They think that if aTm sanctioned an on-campus Bonfire in the future, they would adulterate it so much that it would be unrecognizeable as "Bonfire." More extreme thinkers blame the University for '99 and never again want Bonfire to be supervised by Universtiy employees.

Then there are people like myself who are standing on the fence. Off-Campus Bonfire is doing just fine without any University assets or aide. It is a truely 100% student operation. If the students fail to set a completed Bonfire ablaze, they have no one to blame but themselves. On the other hand, it would be easier and more popular if it was on-campus. The liability would be on the University for any shortcomings or failures.

This topic rarely surfaces when it comes time to put axes to trees. Everyone out there is out to build Bonfire. Any underlying factors are just that: Underlying.

If you ask anyone out there why they are doing what they are doing, you will get a myrad of reasons. I drive 3 hours to CS on Fridays in the fall to spend the night on someone's floor and go to Cut. I drive back tired, cut, and worn out, but I help Build Bonfire. Why? I do it because I love Bonfire. It got me where I am today, helped make the friends I have right now, and was the last thing that 4 of my friends were working on before they died. I believe it is "Aggie Spirit" at it's purest. I don't want something I helped start to die. I want to help the leadership avoid mistakes I have seen in the past. I could go on and on, but I'd rather just show you all.

I'll see you at 1st cut on Sept. 25th.

[This message has been edited by opie03 (edited 5/19/2005 2:34p).]

.....still others are out there just because it's fun and it feels good to do some old fashioned work.

.....others are out there for multiple reasons. i go out because it's fun, a part of rich aggie tradition, it's the only thing that can still be considered a student run tradition, and i've longed to get a taste of what aggie culture was like before the collapse.

i've been thinking...there's always this issue about money and land that is hard to come by for student bonfire. that's because there are very few alumni that have been a part of student bonfire (not just burn). it's not like they're all gonna line up to give money and land for something when they don't know whether it's like old army bonfire or not. but as the years pass, there will be more and more alumni that have been out there and know that it is for a good cause. i, for one, probably won't donate a cent to the university, but i'll be more than willing to help out student bonfire if i have a little extra cash or land to be cleared.

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I drive 3 hours to CS on Fridays in the fall to spend the night on someone's floor and go to Cut. I drive back tired, cut, and worn out

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You didn't add the part about flying by me 90 MPH, like a bat outta hell... just to get to cut. Hell! You can see your enthusiasm in your driving!!! hehe

grimm - yes. Well, hopefully there will be more Former Student support once we become tax-exempt... which... hopefully will be happening soon.

i would like to be optimistic but im afraid ill have to be realisitic here, and i do not believe bonfire will burn on the A&M campus ever again. this is unfortunate, but its easy to see why, the liability held by the university if ANYTHING bad ever happened again at bonfire would be enormous and overbearing. not that this is a terrible thing, those who really wish to participate continue to at SB. bonfire is a great tradition, but unfortunately i do no see it returning to the campus.

NSG: You were talking on the cell phone in a stock PT Cruiser doing 55 in a 60. You didn't pull over to the shoulder when I came upon you, so I had to execute an "extreme pass on the left", or EPOTL per the TxDOT handbook.

Besides, after the week I had had at work, I needed to kill some trees before the stress gave me an ulcer.

I guess that is another reason why I come out to Bonfire...

If I was on a cell phone, I was probably talking to one of my Green sisters, complaining about the POS I had to drive.

There's not a shoulder in that area or I WOULD have pulled over because that's one of my pet peeves.

And the reason I was in that piece of crap was because my other piece was in the shop because some drunken jackass decided to rearend me.

So there. :-P

And, make sure to look at my emoticon thingie

Can we start cutting yet?

you can start with the brush around my house... i promise it will help bonfire.

So you can have more time to fine-tune the website and work on trailers?

Good call.

All I can say is bring it back...

"To promote peace, one must prepare for war" -Teddy Roosevelt

realistically,

sometime between the snowball fight in he** and before aTm genetically engineered flying pigs.

I'm nearly sixty years old and honestly don't expect there to be an on campus Bonfire again in my lifetime. Mrs. Ro and I would drive over from Brenham for Bonfire and brought our children from the time they were little, but I just don't think it's going to happen again.

What I'm afraid will happen is that with the passage of time there will be fewer and fewer of us who remember Bonfire around and a new generation will come in that just considers Bonfire to be something from the history books.

"From the outside looking in, you can't understand it; from the inside looking out, you can't explain it."

Well, I hope you have the newest versions of the history textbooks (which Loupots will charge you full price for) because Bonfire is still going on and the current students are learning all about it.

Thousands build it and tens of thousands watch Bonfire burn each year....

...since 2002.

-------------------------------------------------------
If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read this in English, thank a Soldier.

opie, the off-campus event is bonfire, not Bonfire. It gets a capital B when it's back on campus, not until then. Sorry.

Off campus Bonfire is the only Bonfire the students have.. Notice that most of us do not call it Aggie Bonfire. Bonfire is alive and well. Untill you have come out and participated, do not judge our Bonfire.

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opie, the off-campus event is bonfire, not Bonfire. It gets a capital B when it's back on campus, not until then. Sorry.

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The students get to decide whether it is bonfire or Bonfire, not we old-f@rts. Hell, the students make it Bonfire, not the location. If it comes back to campus this year but is built by a contruction firm with a minimum of student involvement would you consider THAT Bonfire? No! That would be bonfire.

I will abide by your "B" vs. "b" for this thread only, for better understanding of my point. "The Bonfire" is short for "The Fighting Texas Aggie Bonfire," which is the spiritual experience, the work, and what most agree is what has happened in Aggieland for over 90 years. Because of the events of Nov. 18, 1999; "The Bonfire" doesn't exist in the same capacaty anymore.

I have built "bonfires" as parts of hundreds of camping outings, parties, and ceremonial events. The dictionary definition is "A large fire built outdoors, as for signaling or in celebration of an event." "bonfire" does not begin to describe what has happened off-campus for the past 3 years.

According to The Cadance, which is the handbook for the Corps, the Keepers of the Spirit; Bonfire is defined as "Before the football game with t.u. each year, Aggies gather wood and timber to build a huge Bonfire which symbolizes the burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u. and the undying spirit that all Aggies have for Texas A & M. The Bonfire is normally set ablaze the night before the game when it is played in Kyle Field and two nights before the game when it is played in Austin."

The Bonfire started off campus in the early 1900s. It was moved to Duncan Field, and later (in the 1990's) to the Polo Fields. Cut and Load, which are ESSENTIAL parts of The Bonfire ALWAYS occur off campus and at a different location every year. Bonfire or The Bonfire have never been solely about Stack. Since the placement of every part of The Bonfire has been different over the years, location doesn't matter. The only limitations to what "Bonfire" is are listed in the above description, and it says nothing about location.

I helped to work on Denton County A&M Club's Bonfire just North of Dallas in the late 1980s. It was built by former, current, and future students; just like in College Station. What was different between the DC A&M Club's fire and The Bonfire? Location and size.

Since we have ruled out "Location" as a requirement of Bonfire, only size remains as what differs "The Bonfire" from "Bonfire. " Campus Bonfire was so well attended and celebrated because (other than location) it was the largest in the state. Had there been a larger Bonfire built just outside of Houston by the same means and make-up of participants, I would believe that it would rival on-campus Bonfire in attendance (please don't take this out of context).

So, we can probably deduce that there is only one "The Bonfire." Which Bonfire gets the name "The Bonfire"? The one that embodies the Aggie Spirit and is both the largest and closest to campus.

Show me a "Bonfire" (not "b" ) that is larger and closer to Aggieland than Student Bonfire, and it will be a contender for the name "The Bonfire." Student Bonfire does not take the name "The Bonfire" out of respect.

If you still don't agree, I will personally find a way for you to make it out to Cut and/or Stack as well as pay for your entrance to Burn and we will show you that Student bonfire is Bonfire.




[This message has been edited by opie03 (edited 6/15/2005 9:39a).]

Couldn't have said it better, opie.

Ro, while we can see your point, it's hard for us to grasp.

Especially those of us who are so involved that Student Bonfire has become like a full-time job for us... year round.

Maybe it's not exactly the same.

But the heart of it is.

Until we can get backing from the old farts, as Kip calls y'all... we can't possibly do all that it is possible to keep Bonfire outside of "textbooks" as well as in them...

Come out. We'll welcome you, skeptical or not, with open arms. You can make your opinion for yourself after seeing the sweat, blood, and tears that the current students are putting into keeping Bonfire... with a capital B... alive.

You're right. It's not the same. It's smaller. It's off campus. But you can't tell me that the Aggie Spirit that I feel while being out in the woods is different from what Old Ags felt.

Some things will never change if we can get the support to keep it that way. Details might change... but the important, big picture of it all is in tact.