I admit I haven't kept up on all the bonfire issues, especialy the legal & political ones. And I know that a ceartin amount of time was needed after the tragedy for healing. But when in American history have we ever quit something that was noble & good becuase of a tragedy? Are we not supposed to learn from it, regroup and then make it better? I really am at a loss to explain this. This was the single biggest and best tradition at a school that is based on tradition. I have a son now in IRAQ if something where to happen to him I would be devestaded, mad, angry and grieve but utlimately I wouldn't change who and what I am or believe. I wouldn't join Cindy Sheehan....
I think it has been enough time and the leadership needs to be there to bring it back on campass as an officaly sponsered university activity!

I really wish I could reply to this in a very profound sence, but as I am not that intelligent I'll just give it a shot. There are many of us who would love to see bonfire back on campus. There are also many of us working on the off-campus bonfire to keep the spirit and hope alive. I am going to try and sum up all the legal issue discusions that have occured. It has been previously discussed that until the lawsuits end there isn't a chance to even discuss the possibility of bonfire coming back on campus. If the administration brings bonfire back they are going to want it to be back with certain changes. By having these changes occur that would be seen as apparent flaws or faults in the previously built bonfires. This would technically imply that the university was a fault by allowing a flawed bonfire to be constructed under their supervision. This would in turn cause them to lose the lawsuits and thus costing the university alot of money. So therefore off-campus is all we have and speaking for myself I am trying to keep it true in my heart. I hope this makes since and hopefully one day we can stand together on campus and watch bonfire burn again.

Thanks for the reply, is it just a legal issue? Is there any confidence once that is no longer a issue that Political Correctness won't keep it away? As a side note one of my fondest memories is being at Bonfire with my son when he was 12 and getting him to light my cigar from a log long after the stack fell, it was still a bit hot for me to get that close but he thought it was super cool to do that.

That is really amazing.

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If the administration brings bonfire back they are going to want it to be back with certain changes. By having these changes occur that would be seen as apparent flaws or faults in the previously built bonfires.

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So, then, they shot themselves in the foot by saying this back in 2000?

No sane administrator in the country would have it return to campus while litigation is still ongoing.

I may not be 100% correct on this, but I think they told us that because that is what we wanted to hear. If they had told us that they really never, ever wanted it back and would fight to make sure it never does come back...talk about riots in the streets!

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This was the single biggest and best tradition at a school that is based on tradition

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i disagree and bring up Aggie Muster


that being said, Bonfire back on campus would be great in an ideal world, however like i've said before it would just be a matter of time before something happens again and may God have mercy on Texas A&M... SB which i have been a part of for a few years now is a great solution in the fact that it is seperate from the U and liability is waived... if i were named president of TAMU i would love to see SB continue and be dissapointed that Bonfire could not come back in any official sense, but it is the right decision to make.

Aggie Bonfire today has its difficulties due to logistics, etc. (hey, 1000 people building a 45 foot verticle stack in a scouted location near campus blah blah is a HUGE undertaking!)
But I think the way it is run (Alcohol free, safety as #1 priority) is better than ever.
and to me, that means Aggie Bonfire is better than ever. Whoop!

I second that entirely.

Muster is it.

I have to agree with SquareOne for once, Muster is the biggest tradition followed very closely by Bonfire.

I remember hearing something about traditions a few years back, Aggie Bonfire was the second best know tradion on a national scale. I could be wrong though.

Call me a "debby downer" if you're a real cool guy, but I don't know how closely Bonfire is behind Muster in terms of the meaning and the signifigance behind it. I know everybody is quick to tell of their great memories of Bonfire and how it made them who they are, but Muster is different.

Muster and Bonfire are equally awesome and equally the greatest tradition just in different ways. They both impact people on a massive and deep way, again just on different levels of emotion.

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I remember hearing something about traditions a few years back, Aggie Bonfire was the second best know tradion on a national scale. I could be wrong though.

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If that was an internet poll, it doesn't count.

What does it matter what the most "popular" or important tradition is to anybody except Aggies?