THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2019 STUDENT MEDIA
20
years later
The Bonfire Memorial is dedicated to those who died in the 1999 Aggie Bonfire Collapse. It stands on the ground where the Bonfire Stack was constructed that year. Robert Castro — THE BATTALION
Hallowed ground The Bonfire tradition, the 1999 collapse and what it means to those involved two decades later By Sanna Bhai and Brady Stone @BhaiSanna & @bradystonex
T
exas A&M changed forever on Nov. 18, 1999, at 2:42 a.m., when the 59-foottall Bonfire Stack collapsed. Twelve Aggies died and 27 were injured. Today, on that same ground, there stands a memorial honoring those who lost their lives upholding a storied A&M tradition.
The history With the rivalry game against the University of Texas approaching, students in 1907 laid the groundwork for a new tradition that would come to be known as Aggie Bonfire. Bored with exam preparations and anxiety, the students set a 12-foot-high pile of trash on fire in anticipation of the matchup with the Longhorns, according to a 1979 Battalion article. In 1909, students came together to hold an official on-campus Bonfire the night before the UT game, said Dion McInnis, Class of 2003 and current advisor to the upper leadership of Student Bonfire. The student body, then made up of only men in the Corps of Cadets, worked together to construct the Bonfire. It was built annually on the Simpson Drill Field across
from the Memorial Student Center until 1955 when it was moved to Duncan Field near the Corps dorms. In 1992, Bonfire moved to the Polo Fields, where the Bonfire Memorial stands today. The Corps became voluntary in 1965, which led to the participation of non-reg students in the building of Bonfire and the creation of roles for each class year.
“
Bonfire was peak Aggie-ness. It was essential and fundamental and beautiful.”
Dion McInnis, Student Bonfire advisor
According to a 1968 Battalion article, the Bonfire was considered to belong to the freshman class that built it, as they furnished most of the manpower,
and the upperclassmen oversaw cutting, trucking and stacking. “Bonfire was peak Aggie-ness,” McInnis said. “It was essential and fundamental and beautiful. The motivation and the passion of Aggie students outgrew the structure, so the structure grew bigger and bigger and bigger.” In 1963, women were admitted into the university on a limited basis and began helping Bonfire preparations. According to a 1980 Battalion article, the actual date that women began to help is unknown, but in the mid-1960s, women provided refreshments for students taking part in the cut and stack. In 1979, women were officially allowed to help build the bonfire. However, some preferred to continue in their previous role, said Ann Goodman, who previously served as Women’s Bonfire Committee Advisor. “I worked with the women who helped support the red pots, and the efforts to keep people hydrated and fed during cut and stack,” Goodman said. “The ‘cookie crew’ was a number of women and students that would help out by sponsoring those participating in the cut by making cookies and decorating pots. It was very much a community-building activity.” Safety and security were a top priority for those involved in Bonfire, including the faculty and staff,
There’s a Spirit Can Ne’er be Told In times of tragedy, the Aggie Spirit only grows stronger. On the 20th anniversary of the Bonfire collapse, we celebrate the lives of the fallen, pay tribute to their memories and answer “Here” in their absence. May we never forget that the Spirit that binds us is what makes us Aggies.
HISTORY ON PG. 2