BON
FIRE 2013
Monday november 25, 2013 vol. cxxxvii no. 110 MERRILL FABRY :: PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
STUDENT LIFE
Victory pyre warms freezing students By Michael Granovetter senior writer
On the first day of the semester with temperatures that failed to reach above freezing, students, faculty, staff and townspeople huddled for warmth around a bonfire on Cannon Green to celebrate the football team’s victory in the Big Three for the second year in a row. While the traditional effigies of the Harvard and Yale mascots were absent from the event, crumpled portraits of John Harvard littered the perimeter of the pyre and at least one paper airplane flew over the outside barrier. “Through blood, sweat and
tears, [the football team] delivered us not one, but two bonfires, plus an Ivy League championship,” Class of 2014 president Luchi Mmegwa said in his opening remarks to kick off the events. The football team lost 28-24 to Dartmouth on Saturday, although the Tigers clinched a share of their first Ivy League title since 2006 when they defeated Yale the previous weekend, 59-23. “A raw, cold November night like this puts me in the mood for a bonfire,” President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 said to cheers from the crowd during his opening speech, acknowledging his respect for the foot-
ball team by adding, “There’s no team on this campus that can bring this University together the way that this team can bring the University together.” While students appeared to appreciate the warmth of the bonfire, which lit up Cannon Green at 7:40 p.m. and lasted for nearly an hour, this weekend’s weather conditions almost prompted a decision to postpone the event. Local fire marshals expressed their concern over the heavy wind conditions on campus Sunday, with gusts reaching at least 40 miles per hour at times, according to See BONFIRE page 3
STUDENT LIFE
Before bonfire, a debate ignited By Andrew Steele staff writer
An online student petition asking the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students to include the football team’s captains in decisions regarding Sunday’s bonfire has received 430 signatures as of Sunday afternoon. The petition came after to the decision not to burn an effigy of John Harvard or a Yale bulldog in the celebration. The petition asks ODUS to “bring the football captains into the decision-making conversation about upholding the bonfire traditions,” with the goal of giving members of the football team a
say in the event and to “repay them for their hard work,” according to Taylor Dunstan ’15, who created and circulated the document on Thursday evening. “The football players aren’t really in a position to voice their opinions. They have a game this weekend to focus on,” Dunstan said. “I felt someone needed to step in and stand up for the guys who work hard on and off the field for their accomplishments, especially if they can’t really voice their opinions.” The Department of Athletics and a representative from the football team were included in planning the
bonfire, according to USG communications director Richard Lu ’16. Lu added that the fire will be lit by the captains of the football team and that no other members of the athletic program will be passing the torch. Due to a forecast of high winds throughout the day, the bonfire’s coordination team may postpone the event until Monday. A final determination as to the day of the bonfire will be made at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Deputy Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne announced in an email to the student body today. See EFFIGY page 3
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Eighth case of meningitis reported
Rhodes, Marshall winners announced
Football shares Ivy title