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Texas A&M bonfire will not return to campus (www.texastribune.org)

submitted 5 months ago by wjrii to c/[email protected]

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/16228461

Texas A&M bonfire will not return to campus

After a monthslong review, Texas A&M University decided not to bring back the student bonfire tradition it discontinued 25 years ago after a deadly accident, President Mark Welsh III said Tuesday.

For decades, students built a 60-foot bonfire every year ahead of football matches between A&M and the University of Texas at Austin. The tradition was suspended after tragedy struck in 1999, when a stack of logs collapsed in the middle of the night, killing 12 people and injuring dozens, some severely.

Welsh said reviving the tradition would not be in the best interest of the university.

“After careful consideration, I decided that Bonfire, both a wonderful and tragic part of Aggie history, should remain in our treasured past,” Welsh said.

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[–] HootinNHollerin 7 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Good that shit was stupid. My sibling lost a classmate / friend in that collapse

[–] wjrii 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, bonfire is just not safe, and at a minimum having it off campus somewhere makes it easier to let it diminish in significance to the fish, and lord knows Aggies do love a tradition.

[–] HootinNHollerin 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I’m glad I saw that cult culture and chose a different university instead of following my older sibling into that mess

[–] wjrii 2 points 5 months ago

I went to Florida, and one of my buddies moved to College Station to do grad work. He was NOT ready for the Cult of Aggie.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

After a monthslong review, Texas A&M University decided not to bring back the student bonfire tradition it discontinued 25 years ago after a deadly accident, President Mark Welsh III said Tuesday.

The tradition was suspended after tragedy struck in 1999, when a stack of logs collapsed in the middle of the night, killing 12 people and injuring dozens, some severely.

“After careful consideration, I decided that Bonfire, both a wonderful and tragic part of Aggie history, should remain in our treasured past,” Welsh said.

Sources close to committee discussions told The Texas Tribune in April that the regents spearheaded the proposal to resume the bonfire and did so mainly with older alumni in mind.

That’s in part because, in settlements with families of the victims of the 1999 tragedy, Texas A&M had committed to providing architectural and engineering oversight if they brought back the tradition.

A golf tournament and a run to carry the game ball from Austin to College Station are some of the celebrations the university will instead host to commemorate the rivalry, Welsh said.

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