View source for Aggie Bonfire

{{short description|Former tradition at Texas A&M University}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
[[File:198990bonfire.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Aggie Bonfire as it burned in 1989]]<!--The sign says 92 which would make it the 1989 Bonfire-->
The '''Aggie Bonfire''' was a long-standing annual tradition at [[Texas A&M University]] as part of the college rivalry with the [[University of Texas at Austin]].<ref name="dictionary"/><ref name="sherrington"/><!--reference here is because FA reviewers were confused--> For 90 years, Texas A&M students—known as [[Texas A&M Aggies|Aggies]]—built a [[bonfire]] on campus each autumn, known to the Aggie community simply as "Bonfire". The event symbolized Aggie students' "burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u.<!--lowercase t and u is intentional-->", a derogatory nickname for the University of Texas.<ref name="smith2007"/><!--odd ref in the lead is required for quotes. It has no other use than to substantiate the quote-->

The bonfire was traditionally lit around [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] in conjunction with festivities surrounding the annual football game. Early bonfires were little more than piles of trash, but the event gradually became more organized and eventually grew to an immense size, setting the world record in 1969. In 1999, [[1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse|the Bonfire collapsed during construction]], killing 12 and injuring 27 others. The accident led Texas A&M to declare a hiatus on an official Bonfire. However, since 2002, a student-sponsored coalition has constructed an annual unsanctioned, off-campus "Student Bonfire" in the spirit of its predecessor.

==Early years==
[[File:1928 bonfire.jpg|thumb|The Aggie Bonfire in 1928, pictured on the Drill Field with the Academic Building in the background.]]
The students of the [[History of Texas A&M University|Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas]], known as Aggies, burned their first bonfire on November 18, 1907, to congratulate the [[Texas A&M Aggies football|football team]] on a recent win.<ref name="Traditions"/> The first [[Texas A&M University campus|on-campus]] Aggie Bonfire, a heap of trash and debris, was burned in 1909 to generate enthusiasm for a variety of sporting events. A decade later, the focus of the event narrowed to the annual rivalry game between Texas A&M and the University of Texas, held near [[Thanksgiving Day]].<ref name="bernstein"/> Little information was recorded about the early Bonfires; the 1921 Texas A&M yearbook mentioned the "final rally" of the students before the game against Texas, but did not refer to a bonfire. Six years later, the school yearbook published a photograph of the event.<ref name="smith2007"/>

Freshmen were expected to build the early Bonfires to help prove their worth.<ref name="smith2007"/> For almost two decades, the students constructed Bonfire from debris and wood acquired through various, sometimes illicit, means, including appropriating lumber intended for a dormitory in 1912.<ref name="as" >{{citation | title = Vanities of the Bonfire | newspaper = [[American Scientist]] | date = November–December 2000 |volume=88|issue=6| doi = 10.1511/2000.6.486|page=486 | author = Petroski, Henry }}</ref> In 1935, a farmer reported that students carried off his entire barn as fuel for Bonfire. To prevent future incidents, the university made Bonfire a school-sanctioned event. The following year, for the first time, the school provided axes, saws, and trucks for the students and pointed them toward a grove of dead trees on the edge of town.<ref name="bernstein"/>

During the 1940s, the school paper described Bonfire as "the greatest event of the football season".<ref name="smith2007"/> The 1947 [[Texas A&M Corps of Cadets|Corps]] handbook stated that "bonfire symbolizes two things: a burning desire to beat the team from the University of Texas, and the undying flame of love that every loyal Aggie carries in his heart for the school"; this was often shortened to "the burning desire to beat the hell out of t.u."<ref name="smith2007"/><!--this reference says only that A&M students call UT "tu"--><ref name="sherrington"/>
The Bonfire design changed in 1942. [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]], filming the movie ''[[We've Never Been Licked]]'' on the Texas A&M Campus, built a bonfire as a prop for the movie. Their structure used a design similar to a [[teepee]], where all the logs rested against each other in a conical shape.<ref name="smith2007"/> The logs were placed at an angle between 23 and 30&nbsp;degrees, giving it "a tremendous vertical and horizontal resistance".<ref name="burka2000"/> This allowed Bonfire to grow from {{convert|25|ft|m|sigfig=1}} tall to over {{convert|50|ft|m|sigfig=1}} tall.<ref name="as"/> Subsequent Aggies adopted the new idea, and the teepee design became standard for Bonfires for the next 25 years.<ref name="smith2007"/>

[[File:Late 50s Aggie Bonfire.jpg|thumb|An Aggie Bonfire under construction in the late 1950s]]
Beginning in 1952, the bonfires were constructed entirely from fresh-cut logs.<ref name="smith2007"/> The event suffered its first fatality in 1955, when a student was struck by a swerving car.<ref name="bernstein"/> For unrelated reasons, that same year the Bonfire was moved from Simpson Drill Field in front of the Memorial Student Center to Duncan Field, near the dorms of the Corps of Cadets (whose leaders oversaw construction). In 1957, the structure collapsed two days before Bonfire was to be held, but students worked around-the-clock to rebuild it, and the bonfire burned as scheduled.<ref name="homeland"/>

During this period, University of Texas students attempted several stunts, trying to light the stack early, but to no avail. In both 1933 and 1948, students from UT rented an airplane and tried to drop fire bombs onto the stack. In one of these instances, the plane ran low on fuel, and was forced to land at [[Easterwood Airport]] in [[College Station, Texas|College Station]]—the wooden portions of the plane found themselves part of Bonfire that year.<ref>{{Citation | last = Stratton | first = W.K. | title = Backyard Brawl: Inside the Blood Feud Between Texas and Texas A & M | publisher = Crown Publishing Group | year = 2002 | location = [[New York, NY]] | isbn = 978-0-609-61053-4 }}</ref> In 1956, there was an unsuccessful attempt to plant explosives at the Bonfire site,<ref name="homeland"/> and, in the late 1970s, a College Station police officer was fired after trying to ignite the bonfire several days ahead of schedule. Students spotted the officer before he could succeed and chased him across campus.<ref name="bernstein"/> In 1999, a Longhorn fan hired someone to build a six-foot model airplane designed to carry a bomb into the wood stack to ignite it prematurely. "He was actually in the process of building that plane when they had the tragedy at bonfire", Mel Stekoll said. "At that point, we scrapped the plan. It would have been the next year that we planned to try it."<ref name="Longhorns for Life"/>

==Organizational change and expansion==
{{further|Aggie Bonfire leadership}}
In 1965, membership in the [[Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets|Corps of Cadets]] became voluntary for students at Texas A&M. Before, Corps leaders directed construction of Bonfire. However, because the Corps had no authority over the "non-regs", or civilian students, a separate [[Aggie Bonfire Leadership|Bonfire leadership]] structure was instituted. The new leaders were designated with colored [[hard hats]], or pots, with the overall leaders known as redpots.<ref name="smith2007"/>

The first Bonfire built with both Corps and non-reg participation was in 1963.<ref name="creel"/> The stack was scheduled to burn only days after the [[John F. Kennedy assassination|assassination]] of [[US President|President]] [[John F. Kennedy]]. Out of respect, the students dismantled the stack.<ref name="bernstein"/> As [[Aggie Yell Leaders|Head Yell Leader]] Mike Marlowe explained, "It is the most we have and the least we can give."<ref name="creel" >{{citation | last = Creel | first = Brady | title =...And they call it 'Aggie Bonfire'| newspaper = The Battalion | date = November 19, 2001 | url =http://www.thebatt.com/2.8482/and-they-call-it-aggie-bonfire-1.1214336 | archive-url =https://archive.today/20130626162357/http://www.thebatt.com/2.8482/and-they-call-it-aggie-bonfire-1.1214336 | url-status =dead | archive-date =June 26, 2013 | access-date = April 5, 2013 }}</ref>

In the following years the structure became more elaborate, and in 1967 the flames could be seen {{convert|25|mi|km|sigfig=1}} away. In 1969, the stack of logs set the world record for the height of a bonfire at {{convert|109|ft|10|in|m|0|abbr=on}} tall.<ref name="bernstein"/><ref name="WorldRec"/> Out of concern for the safety of participants and the community, the university limited the size to {{convert|55|ft|m|0}} tall and {{convert|45|ft|m|0}} in diameter.<ref name="as"/> As an added precaution, nearby campus buildings were equipped with rooftop [[Fire sprinkler system|sprinkler systems]]. Despite the new height restrictions, in the 1970s, the ''[[Guinness Book of Records]]'' listed Aggie Bonfire as the largest bonfire in the world.<ref name="bernstein"/>

==Design change==
{| class="wikitable"  style="float:right; width:40%; font-size:90%;"
|+style="font-size:100%; color:#500000" |Stages of bonfire construction (1970s–1999)
|-
!style="background:#500000; color:white"|Stage
!style="background:#500000; color:white"|Description
!style="background:#500000; color:white"|Length
!style="background:#500000; color:white"|Approx. start
|-
|Cut / load
|Trees cut down, logs loaded by hand onto trucks and unloaded on campus
|4&nbsp;weeks
|October
|-
|Stack
|Logs wired into place against the center pole
|3&nbsp;weeks
|Early November
|-
|Push
|[[24/7]] effort to finish the first four levels
|10&nbsp;days
|Last 10&nbsp;days of Stack
|-
|Finish
|[[Aggie Bonfire leadership|Redpots]] build the final two levels.
|1&nbsp;day
|Day before Burn
|-
|Burn
|The stack is doused with [[jet fuel]] and lit on fire.
|1&nbsp;day
|1 or 2&nbsp;nights before the football game versus [[Texas Longhorns|Texas]]
|}
In 1978, Bonfire shifted from its previous teepee design to a [[wedding cake]] style, in which upper stacks of logs were wedged on top of lower stacks. The structure was built around a fortified center pole, made from two [[telephone poles]] spliced together by cutting matching notches, approximately {{convert|10|ft|m|0}} long, and with {{convert|5|gal|L|0}} of glue. Four steel plates were bolted to the two poles, and a {{convert|3/8|in|mm}} cable wrapped around the joint and secured to the pole with steel staples. Four perimeter poles were placed {{convert|150|ft|m}} away and ropes were stretched between the perimeter poles to center poles and tension placed on them to hold the center pole together. After the center pole was erected, logs were placed vertically around it in a multi-tiered wedding cake design composed of thousands of logs.<ref name="homeland"/> By 1984, the logs were sloping only 14&nbsp;[[Degree (angle)|degrees]].<ref name="burka2000"/> The [[spiral]] arrangement of the logs was designed to make Bonfire collapse into itself in a twisting motion, thus protecting spectators.<ref name="homeland"/> Although the tradition stated that if Bonfire burned through midnight then A&M would win the following day's football game, the introduction of the wedding cake design drastically reduced the time it took for Bonfire to fall, sometimes burning for only 30 or 45&nbsp;minutes.<ref name="burka2000"/>

Despite the complexity of the design, there were no formal written instructions or architectural blueprints for the construction of Bonfire. Knowledge on how to build the structure was passed verbally from one redpot to the next. By 1999, the only written documentation on the building of Bonfire was the rough schematic printed on the back of the official Bonfire T-shirt worn by participants from the freshman honors dormitory, Lechner.<ref name=espnEden/>

While the Bonfires of the 1960s were constructed in five to ten days, working primarily in daylight, by the late 1970s, changes in the school led to a more elaborate and lengthy construction schedule.<ref name="smith2007"/> Construction began in late October with "Cut", obtaining wood by cutting down trees with axes, which took several weekends.<ref name="smith2007"/><ref name="homeland"/> After Cut, students brought the logs to campus during "Load", a process by which the logs were loaded by hand onto flatbed trucks and brought to campus.<ref name="homeland"/> In early November, crews began "Stack", a three-week period in which the logs were wired together and Bonfire took shape. Near the end of stack, known as "Push", students worked around the clock in rotating shifts. The first four of the six stacks were built with the efforts of all safety-trained participants. The day before Bonfire was scheduled to burn, junior redpots would build the fifth stack, and then senior redpots would build the sixth.<ref name="homeland"/>

[[File:Yelllead-Bonfire.jpg|thumb|Yell Leaders and the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band follow the Redpots around the bonfire prior to Burn in 1992.]]
During Cut, all logs were felled by hand, with students working in teams to chop down each tree with their axes. The manual labor ensured that participants were invested in each log that went into the Bonfire. Once the trees had fallen, brownpots, the "executive lumberjacks", used chainsaws to cut limbs and prepare the logs.<ref name=espnEden/>

To ensure safety during the Stack period, the organizers maintained a perimeter around the working area, and allowed only safety-trained students through. Cranes, donated by local construction companies, assisted in getting logs onto the upper tiers, and volunteers from those companies were on-hand at all times to offer advice. [[Emergency medical technician]]s were also required to be on site at all times and no more than 70&nbsp;students at a time were allowed on the stack.<ref name="homeland"/> Once the stack was finished, a burnt-orange outhouse with "t.u frat house" painted on the front was placed on top of the stack.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theeagle.com/news/a_m/thousands-gather-to-witness-evolving-aggie-tradition/article_3633059f-94a1-5a20-8dae-2349a50b2fcd.html |title=Thousands gather to witness evolving Aggie tradition |work=[[The Bryan-College Station Eagle|The Eagle]] |last1=Watkins |first1=Matthew |date=November 21, 2006 |access-date=February 21, 2019 }}</ref><ref name="turef"/><ref name="eagle1"/>

Although between two and five thousand students participated in the construction of Bonfire each year, most worked only part-time, and many worked only one or two shifts.<ref name="smith2007"/> Student workers were organized by dormitories or Corps units, with a separate off-campus student team. Many former students participated with teams they belonged to as students. Each team had assigned shifts, although individuals were not limited to working only the assigned shifts.<ref name="homeland"/> Students working on Bonfire wore "grodes"—old T-shirts, jeans, and boots. By tradition, grodes were either not washed until after Bonfire burned or not washed at all.<ref name="stratton"/>

In 1983, the city of College Station began manufacturing [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] [[city limits]] signs for students to place at the summit of the Bonfire so that students would stop stealing signs from Austin.<ref name="bernstein"/> The [[Fightin' Texas Aggie Band]] began building the outhouse, ending the tradition of stealing Bonfire's components.<ref name="bragg1985"/>
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:88 bonfire.jpg|400px|center|1988 Aggie Bonfire]] -->

==Controversy==
[[File:Killtree-Bonfire.jpg|thumb|Student felling a tree for Bonfire]]
Although women were allowed to serve coffee and provide first aid in the late 1960s, in 1974 they were officially banned from both Cut and Stack. The ban was partially rescinded in 1979, when women were again allowed to participate in Cut, and completely rescinded in 1981. Few women participated in the early years, as female volunteers were subject to verbal abuse from their male counterparts.<ref name="smith2007"/> In 1987, two female photographers from the school yearbook alleged that male workers shouted obscenities and threw dirt on them as they tried to take pictures of the raising of the center pole. The redpots responded that women were always welcome to participate as long as they did their share of the work, and that the photographers were standing dangerously close to the stack.<ref name="bragg"/> To find their own place in the Bonfire hierarchy, female students founded the all-female Bonfire Reload Crew to provide refreshments to those working at Cut and Stack.<ref name="women" >{{citation | last = Lebas | first = John | title = Women Have Increasing Role in Bonfire | newspaper = The Bryan-College Station Eagle | date = November 19, 1999 | url = http://www.theeagle.com/bonfire/storyarchive/november1999/191199d.htm | archive-url = https://archive.today/20070930200927/http://www.theeagle.com/bonfire/storyarchive/november1999/191199d.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 30, 2007 | access-date = February 28, 2007}}</ref>

Injuries plagued the construction process. In 1981, student Wiley Keith Jopling died after being run over by a tractor at the Cut site.<ref name="chron15Nov1989"/> At the 1985 Cut site, one student broke his hip,<ref name="bragg1985"/> and, in 1989, another student lost two fingers when logs crushed his hand.<ref name="rugeley"/> Fractures and amputations were rare, but many students suffered cuts, scrapes, or exposure to [[poison ivy]].<ref name="bernstein"/><ref name="bragg1985"/> [[Hazing]], including beatings with ax handles, was common.<ref name=espnEden>{{citation|last=Eden|first=Scott|title=The Burning Desire of Texas A&M|newspaper=ESPN|date=November 26, 2014|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11937545/texas-bonfire-burns-fifteen-years-collapse-kills-12-students}}</ref>

The 1980s also saw increased alcohol consumption during the Bonfire ceremony. In 1988, police issued 140 [[Minor in Possession]] (of alcohol) citations and arrested six people. The following year, the local police department brought a [[paddywagon]] to the site for the first time, as they anticipated mass arrests for alcohol violations.<ref name="rugeley"/> As many as 150 police officers were on duty during the Bonfire burning from the Texas A&M and College Station police departments and the [[Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission]].<ref name="fox"/>

In 1989, the Campus Ministry Association, representing 17&nbsp;religious denominations, unanimously approved a resolution asking the university to change Bonfire because of concerns about safety, participant academic performance, humanitarian considerations, and the environment. Shortly afterwards, the Faculty Senate's Committee of the Whole approved a resolution asking for a panel to explore alternatives to Bonfire.<ref name="chron15Nov1989"/>

Although students protested Bonfire's environmental impact since 1970, no changes were made for decades.<ref name="smith2007"/> In 1990, student Scott Hantman asked the Bonfire leadership to help him address the problem. The group solicited volunteers, and in the spring of 1991, they planted 400&nbsp;trees. The tradition, [[Aggie Replant]], has been repeated annually. The Replant organization became independent of Bonfire in 1994 when it gained its own Student Government Committee.<ref name = "Replant"/>

==Later years==
[[File:Rebuilt-Aggie-Bonfire-1994.jpg|thumb|Students finishing the rebuild of the 1994 Bonfire<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAuJ3hDsrBU rebuild of the 1994 Bonfire]</ref><!--It wasn't completely finished until hours before the burn--><!--This time-lapse of the 1994 Collapse & Rebuild is a publicly available video; youtube is simply the easiest format-->]]
After being held at the Duncan Intramural Fields on the south side of A&M's campus for 27 years, in 1992, Bonfire was relocated to the Polo Fields on the northeast <!--note that the source has the location wrong and its actual site can be seen with the location of the memorial-->corner of campus. This more isolated site, with a larger area for people to gather, made it a safer location.<ref name="move"/> After heavy rains in 1994, the partially completed Bonfire began to slowly lean to the side as the soil underneath shifted. Student officials had enough warning to clear the area and tear down the Bonfire one week before its scheduled burn date.<ref name="bernstein" >{{citation | last = Bernstein | first = Alan | title = Aggie Bonfire holds distinction as Texas symbol | newspaper= The Houston Chronicle | date = November 18, 1999 | url =http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/bonfire/386353.html | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071225220124/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/special/bonfire/386353.html | archive-date =December 25, 2007 | access-date = February 28, 2007}}</ref><ref name="women"/> Nine tractors, two bulldozers, and two forklifts dismantled the stack on October 26, 1994 (three weeks earlier than usual; the Aggies' game vs. Texas was moved from Thanksgiving weekend to the first weekend of November due to the NCAA's ban against Texas A&M from appearing on television that season), which, at 70% completed, stood {{convert|40|ft|m}} tall and {{convert|45|ft|m}} wide.<ref name="stewart"/>
Students and alumni flocked to the Polo Fields, working around the clock, to rebuild the Bonfire in time for the game.<ref name="creel"/> It was completed only hours before it was scheduled to burn.<ref name="rebuild"/> After the 1994 Bonfire was burned, two tons of [[Lime (mineral)|lime]] were spread on the Polo Fields to stabilize the ground. This layer hardened to a consistency similar to concrete.<ref name="lebas2000"/>

In 1996 a student, Greg White, died in a car accident on his way home from Cut. The student and several companions were riding in the bed of a [[pickup truck]] when the driver lost control and the truck rolled. Nine other students were injured.<ref name="1996accident"/>

In its later years, students building Bonfire used logs donated by local landowners who wanted their land cleared for construction or farming.<ref name="homeland"/> Over 8000&nbsp;logs were used each year in the late 1990s, taking about 5000&nbsp;students a combined 125,000&nbsp;man-hours to construct.<ref name="as"/> After being doused in 700&nbsp;[[Pound (mass)|lb]] (318&nbsp;kg) of [[kerosene|jet fuel]], applied by staff members at A&M's Fire Training School, the Redpots and [[Yell Leaders]] then lit the stack with torches the night before the annual football game against the University of Texas when at home and two nights before the game when it was played in Austin.<ref name="homeland"/>

This event was popular among current and former students and people traveled from all over the state and the nation to observe the burning of Bonfire. Hotel rooms within {{convert|65|mi|km}} of College Station were booked weeks or months in advance of the date Bonfire burned.<ref name="turner"/> Crowds ranged from 30,000 to 70,000&nbsp;people, depending on the weather and the strength of the Aggie football team.<ref name="homeland"/> The 1998 Bonfire was broadcast live on [[Fox Sports Net|Fox Sports Southwest]].<ref name="fox"/>

==1999 collapse==
{{main|1999 Aggie Bonfire collapse}}
[[File:Bonfire-Daylight-Recovery.JPG|thumb|Bonfire recovery, November 18, 1999]]
At approximately 2:42&nbsp;a.m.<!--The collapse time is disputed. Some eyewitnesses say the collapse time was before 2:42&amp;nbsp;a.m. and that 2:42 was the time of the police report--> on November 18, 1999,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9911/18/students.crushed.03/|title=Unlit bonfire collapse at Texas A&M kills at least 4, injures 25|publisher=CNN|access-date=December 20, 2007|date=November 18, 1999|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210031853/http://www.cnn.com/US/9911/18/students.crushed.03/|archive-date=February 10, 2007}}</ref> the 59-foot-high stack, consisting of about 5000&nbsp;logs, collapsed during construction.<ref name="homeland"/> Of the 58&nbsp;students and former students working on the stack, 12 were killed and 27 were injured.<ref name="homeland"/> Immediately after the collapse, Emergency Medical Technicians and trained [[Certified first responder|First Responders]] of the Texas A&M Emergency Care Team (TAMECT), a student-run, volunteer service, who staffed each stage of construction, administered first aid. TAMECT alerted the University Police and University EMS (also a student-run service), who dispatched all remaining university medics, and requested [[Mutual aid (emergency services)|mutual aid]] from the surrounding agencies.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thebatt.com/news/aggie-medics-recount-stories-of-sorrowful-day-1.1180232 |title=Aggie medics recount stories of sorrowful day |publisher=The Battalion |access-date=December 20, 2011 |date=November 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616165213/http://www.thebatt.com/news/aggie-medics-recount-stories-of-sorrowful-day-1.1180232 |archive-date=June 16, 2012}}</ref> In addition to the mutual aid received from the College Station and [[Bryan, Texas|Bryan]], Texas EMS, Fire, and Police Departments, members of [[Urban Search and Rescue Texas Task Force 1|Texas Task Force 1]], the state's elite emergency response team, arrived to assist the rescue efforts.<ref name="morton" >{{citation | last = Morton | first = Anissa | title = Aggie Community Bands Together | newspaper = The Bryan-College Station Eagle | date = November 19, 1999 | url = http://www.theeagle.com/bonfire/storyarchive/november1999/191199b.htm | archive-url = https://archive.today/20070930183610/http://www.theeagle.com/bonfire/storyarchive/november1999/191199b.htm | url-status = dead | archive-date = September 30, 2007 | access-date = February 28, 2007}}</ref>

==Bonfire Memorial==
[[File:Bonfire Memorial.JPG|thumb|The Bonfire Memorial Spirit Ring]]
A memorial was constructed on the university polo fields, the site of the accident. Construction began in October 2003 and was completed by November 2004.<ref name="spruce"/> On November 18, 2004, five years following the incident, the Bonfire Memorial was officially dedicated. The memorial is composed of three design elements:<ref name="mfon"/>
* Tradition Plaza – Marks the entrance to the memorial and reflects on Aggie traditions.<ref name="mfon"/>
* History Walk – Consists of 89&nbsp;stones representing the 89&nbsp;previous&nbsp;years of Bonfire. A gap in the timeline signifies the 1963 Bonfire, which did not burn due to the John F. Kennedy assassination. The three previous Bonfire-related deaths are also memorialized on this timeline.<ref name="mfon"/>
* Spirit Ring – The ring surrounds the site of the collapse and represents the spirit that brought the students together. Twelve portals are placed around the ring, oriented toward each student's hometown. Twenty-seven stones complete the ring, representing the 27&nbsp;students injured in the collapse.<ref name="design"/>

The memorial design has been recognized by several organizations as an outstanding architectural design and masonry accomplishment. The [[American Institute of Architects]], San Antonio Chapter, recognized the memorial as a winner of the 2005 AIA San Antonio Design Award.<ref name="AIA-SA"/> The memorial also was recognized as a winner of the 2005 [[Mason Contractors Association of America|MCAA]] International Excellence in Masonry Awards.<ref name="Masonry"/>

To further honor the victims, in 2000, the Aggie Replant Committee planted 12 [[live oak]] trees at the Polo Grounds.<ref name="Replant"/>

==Student Bonfire==
[[File:2007-SBF.jpg|thumb|upright|The 2007 Student Bonfire]]
Shortly after the university officially cancelled Bonfire, students began planning an unofficial bonfire for November 2002. Known as the "Unity Project", it became the first unofficial Bonfire since the 1930s. This fire consisted of three piles of wood, with the center stack being {{convert|35|ft|m}} high.<ref name="badger"/> Despite a lack of official advertisement, over one thousand spectators attended.<ref name="espnEden"/>

The following year, the unofficial event was rebranded Student Bonfire.<ref name="windle"/> Now a [[501(c)(3)]] nonprofit organization, Student Bonfire has official bylaws and a Board of Directors comprising former students. The bylaws specify the design that must be used each year, and no changes have been permitted since the first burn in 2003. This design, based on the recommendation of the 2002 university task force and approved by a structural engineer, results in a Bonfire less than half the size of those from the 1960s.<ref name="espnEden"/> In a departure from previous practice, every log in the stack touches the ground. To maintain the traditional wedding-cake design, the logs are cut to different heights, with the tallest set reaching {{convert|32|ft|m}} high. The lowered height eliminates the need for a spliced center pole. Instead, a single utility pole, sunk {{convert|15|ft|m}} into the ground, serves as the center pole. As in the pre-1999 versions of Bonfire, each log is tied to the log next to it with baling wire. To further fortify the structure, aircraft-grade steel cable is wrapped around each tier.<ref name="espnEden"/> For added support, four {{convert|24|ft|m|adj=on}} poles are spaced evenly around the stack and then bolted to the {{convert|45|ft|m|adj=on}} center pole, each with a steel pipe. These poles are known as Windle-sticks, after Levi Windle, a staunch supporter of Student Bonfire who died in an unrelated accident in 2003.<ref name="windle"/><ref name="hensley"/><ref name="thebatt"/>

The Board changed or eliminated many of the minor traditions that had proliferated during Aggie Bonfire, primarily for safety reasons. Alcohol is prohibited, and hazing has been banned. The Bonfire leadership structure has remained in place, although in 2014 only 10 of the 26 dorms were represented by Bonfire crews.<ref name="espnEden"/> Attendance for Student Bonfire ranges from 8,000 to 15,000&nbsp;people and the event is held in [[Brazos County, Texas|Brazos County]] or one of the surrounding counties.<ref name="windle"/>

The 2013 Student Bonfire attracted 12,000 people, despite being postponed until January due to flooding.<ref name="espnEden" /> There was a virtual Burn in 2020 due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], and the only persons allowed to attend in-person were those that built it. In 2022, the stack site was moved up the road, but the new site was located on a flood plain. Frequent rain during Stack season causing deep mud at the site, and forecasted rain for Burn night, forced Burn to be delayed to January 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Surette |first=Rusty |title=This year's Student Bonfire rescheduled for January 2023 |url=https://www.kbtx.com/2022/11/28/this-years-student-bonfire-rescheduled-january-2023/ |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=KBTX|date=November 28, 2022 }}</ref>

In July 2025, Student Bonfire leadership and members responded to the [[July 2025 Central Texas floods|Kerr County floods]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bright |first=Kynlee |title='That's what an Aggie is' |url= https://thebatt.com/life-arts/thats-what-an-aggie-is/ |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=The Battalion |date=2025-08-23}}</ref> On October 9, 2025, the College Station City Council declared the same date to be "Bonfire Day," to recognize the group's efforts in Kerr County.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marino |first=Nicole |title=College Station declares Oct. 9 'Bonfire Day' for Texas A&M student group's flood relief efforts |url= https://www.kbtx.com/2025/10/09/student-bonfire-honored-kerrville-flood-recovery-efforts-we-had-power-help/ |access-date=2025-10-09 |website=KBTX |date=2025-10-09}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=

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}}

==Further reading==
* ''The Texas Aggie Bonfire : tradition and tragedy at Texas A&M'', (2000), {{ISBN|978-0-9679433-0-5}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Aggie_bonfire.ogg|date=2009-07-13}}
{{Commons}}
*[http://bonfire.tamu.edu/ The official Aggie Bonfire site] (now an official memorial site)

{{Texas A&M University|traditions}}
{{Texas A&M Aggies football navbox}}
{{Featured article}}

{{coord|30.6227|-96.3352|region:US-TX_type:landmark|display=title|name=Bonfire Memorial|notes=&nbsp;- Bonfire Memorial}}

[[Category:College Station, Texas]]
[[Category:Fires in Texas]]
[[Category:Recurring events established in 1909]]
[[Category:Recurring events disestablished in 1999]]
[[Category:Texas A&M University traditions]]
[[Category:Bonfires]]
[[Category:Traditions involving fire]]
[[Category:University folklore]]
[[Category:Observances based on the date of Thanksgiving (United States)]]