The price of Aggie Bonfire is too high.

Environmental

A common rationalization in Aggieland for burning 5,000-7,000 logs each year is "ranchers need their land cleared and will burn the logs anyway." That may be true... it may be more economical for a private individual engaged in business-for-profit to legally dispose of plant matter through combustion and the release of CO2. However, that doesn't mean that the State of Texas and the students of Texas A&M University need to endorse this method of disposal. Some will argue that "the logs used in Bonfire have no value", but that's not entirely true. Firewood, paper and railroad ties are just three products that the lumber could be used for. For a brief analysis of the potential losses incurred by burning Bonfire, see this page.

Utilization of Student Resources

Each year it is estimated that 125,000 student hours are expended on Bonfire. There must be a better way for students to use this time. At the very least, there are academic activities that should be the priority of any college student. Beyond that, there are a number of causes and organizations with more worthy goals then constructing a pile of wood so it can be burned to a pile of ash.

Present and Future Legal Liability

The collapse of Aggie Bonfire in 1999 took the lives of 12 students who were working on it and injured a number of others. The parents of some of those students are quite rightfully seeking retribution from those responsible for the tragedy. Although TAMU's damages are capped at $500,000 (one reason some lawsuits target administrators instead of the university), this is still a significant burden to a university that has publicly stated budget shortfalls in the near future. In light of the tragedy, A&M may further expose itself if Bonfire is continued on the TAMU campus since it is now obvious to all that there are significant (life threatening) risks in Bonfire activities. Although new designs and safety guidelines are being implemented to reduce the chance of harm, no plan is perfect and accidents do happen. The university has been put on notice that Bonfire is a dangerous activity [it should've taken notice when the 1994 Bonfire collapsed]. Continuing Bonfire could expose Texas A&M to significant monetary responsibility in the future.

Necessary Monetary Backing

Past Bonfires have generally cost less than $100,000 and have relied upon private donations to fund them. Dr. Bowen puts the cost of future Bonfires at $1.8 million each. Others say the number could be reduced to as low as $500,000, but that is still a considerable chunk of change for a University that presently has other budget shortfalls. At the very least, more outside funding will be needed. At worst, it has been proposed that a $20-$40/semester fee be forced on students attending A&M to offset the cost of each year's Bonfire. So, even if a student does not wish to participate in Bonfire or is actively opposed to the Bonfire tradition, they will still have to give it fiscal support if they want to attend this University. I'm sure a lot of students would agree that they have better things to spend their money on. Furthermore, one has to consider the rationality of a supposedly intellectual institution like Texas A&M University burning millions of dollars up in smoke when it could be much better utilized on other projects.

Reputation/Vision 2020

President Ray Bowen's Vision 2020 plan hopes to make Texas A&M University one of the top 10 public universities in the country by the year 2020. Although, we, as Aggies, have been the butt of Aggie jokes for years, we've always taken it in light-hearted fun since Aggie graduates typically get decent jobs and, using the catch-phrase of a local lawyer, "it helps us to sneak up on them."

Aggie Bonfire has made notice of itself in the past due to injuries, mishaps, and intolerance. However, nothing gave Aggie Bonfire national presence like the collapse of 1999. If we choose to continue the tradition that took twelve student lives, the nation might actually have cause to believe that we are as dumb as some Aggie Jokes make us out to be... which might lead some to think that the quality of education in Aggieland might be suspect (below par) as well.

Aggie Bonfire has had significant negative impact on Texas A&M University in the past. Although we as Aggies sometimes focus on the positive aspects of Aggie Bonfire, our perception elsewhere has sometimes been less than favorable. If we want to convince the country that we are one of the top ten public universities, we will have to repeatedly justify the existence of Aggie Bonfire. It might be better to just avoid such a situation if we want to achieve the Vision 2020 goals.

Last updated January 16th, 2002