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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 27, 1990)
The Battalion Traditions Section E Monday, August 27,1990 § 3y LINDA BAYLOR 1 Special to the Battalion Jeff Kapcke e is not a ilue Mosqut, he city, I lems pray 11 To Prayer," r’re less tourists, s’ an America praying Iter—justto )slem. prayer, the ashamed at ving taken thi udy abroad J goodbye to ;n and id fun with :n traveled to vhich is a rme safe, the p. When/ arming, 1 path, as a tchen for th the same f me, and f Raisin not the same hat one iting other to realize i the people deep, shave res — just with an ope® cultures and ip your own g different ;am the tnitk nstead of riends orth f ed that MI' bon, or 24 »s. The would piny i videos, iean hit •• xles White arper—^ Houston. nte ,;! ; * tciety • •• lymbol of spirit lights up night, shows desire to win Aggie bonfire is one of the most renowned spirit Symbols at Texas Bonfire stems from A&M stu dents’ burning desire to “beat the hell outta t.u.” and is traditionally held the night before the Texas A&M vs. University of Texas foot ball game. The wooden structure is symbolic of the love Aggies have for their school, and the largest yell practice of the year coincides with it. Early bonfires were not much to look at. The first bonfire, said to have burned in 1909, was nothing more than trash and boxes collected by Corps of Cadets members bored with studies and excited over the en suing football game with UT. It stood only about 12 feet tall and had no centerpole, but was remem bered most by the stolen outhouse on top of the structure. The fire was welcome warmth to the cold night. Bonfire’s first yearbook appear ance was in the 1928 Longhorn, Ag- gieland’s original annual. The all-log tradition began in 1936 after a local farmer com plained his barn was stolen for the previous year’s bonfire. The college provided saws, axes and trucks to help cut down cotton wood trees for the first bonfire with non-stolen materials. Centerpole’s tradition began in 1946. The following year two logs were coupled together to form a 50- foot centerpole, which started the tradition practiced today. In 1969, bonfire reached a peak of 109 feet, 10 inches — the tallest ever in the United States. Concern for safety since has limited bonfire’s height to 55 feet. Safety concerns also caused bon fire to be moved in 1955 from its original location on the Gen. Or mond R. Simpson Drill Field, north of the MSC, to its present location at Battalion file photo Eight senior redpots lead an anxious crowd of students as they carry torches into the perimeter to light bonfire. Duncan Field. The MSC was constructed in 1955 and bonfire was moved for fear the flying embers would set the building on fire. Though nothing has caught on fire, bonfire has had its tragic mo ments. Bonfire workers can expect to re ceive minor injuries every so often, but two students have died from ac cidents relating to bonfire construc tion. In 1955, Cadet James E. Sarran suffered fatal injuries when he was struck by a swerving car while on night watch of bonfire. Sarran was hit after pushing a fellow 1 Aggie out of the way. A&M student Wiley Keith Jopling died in 1981 after falling under the wheels of a tractor. To prevent accidents from occur ring, all students working at the cut site are required to take safety classes. The half-hour classes are in Sep tember and teach students safety and basic use of axes. Students operating tractors or chain saws attend additional classes. To participate at the cut site, stu dents must have a sticker from the safety class on their ID cards. The cutting of trees for bonfire is referred to as “cut.” Cut starts the first weekend in October and contin ues for nine weekends. Both Corps members and civilians work on bonfire as long as they have taken the safety class. Bonfire is a structured, planned operation. The Bonfire Committee, consisting of senior and junior bon fire leaders, coordinates all bonfire activities such as fundraising and ac quisition of equipment. The head of the committee and all bonfire activities is the “head stack,” a senior who acts as a liaison between University officials and students. Flead stack has the final word on bonfire activities and does most the public relations for bonfire. Deci sions are made as a group, but the head stack deals with advisers, the University president and the Corps commander. Bonfire leaders are called “pots.” Pots make up the chain of command for bonfire construction. The name comes from the safety helmets all bonfire workers must wear while within the perimeter area of stack. Pots are grouped by their color and are chosen the year before they serve by outgoing seniors. Seniors, called “dads,” pick who will replace them by looking at the E erson’s previous bonfire work and :adership skills. Juniors learn the ropes through this father-son relationship. Redpots lead the rest of the bon fire crew. Senior redpots basically supervise the whole production, while junior redpots do most of the actual organizing and instructing. The head stack is always a senior redpot. There are five senior corps redpots and three senior non-reg redpots. Junior redpots are divided in the same way. The five brown pots also are se niors — three are Corps members and two are civilians. Brownpots help junior reds get the stack built by providing much of the skilled labor. Greypots are more commonly re ferred to as “climbers.” Consisting of three seniors and three juniors, climbers work with lights, centerpole and perimeter poles. Climbers also man the ax-handle See Bonfire/Page 7E REGISTRATION Begins Sept. 3rd -12 noon MSC Basement - 845-1631 NONSTUDENT Workshop Fees are an additional $4 per class. FITNESS SPECIAL INTEREST Bellydance: $30/student Star Gazing: $30/student T/Th, Sept 18-Nov 8 8:15-9:15pm T/Th, Sept 25-Oct 18 6:30-9pm Hawaiian Dance: $ 15/student Potpourri: $ 12/student Tues. Sept 18-Nov 6 9:15-10pm Tues. Nov 6 6-9pm Tae kwon do: $22/student Wine Appreciation: $25/student T/Th, Sept 25-Nov 1 7-8pm Wed. Sept 26-Oct 17 7-8:30pm Self Defense: $22/student Creative Writing: $28/student T/Th, Sept 25 - Nov 1 6-7pm Tues. Oct 2-Nov 6 ,6:30-9pm Yoga: $22/student Matting & Framing: $25/student M/W, Sept 24-Oct 31 8:30-9:30pm Wed. Oct 10, 17, 24 6-8pm Intermediate Yoga: $22/student Ju££lin£: $ 14/student T/Th, Oct 9-Nov 8 8:30-9:30pm Wed. Oct 3. 10, 17 6-8:30pm COMPUTERS Plan Your Wedding: $22/student Mon. Sept 24-Oct 15 6-8pm Intro to Macintosh: $ 15/student M/W, Sept 10 & 12 6-7:30pm Wedding Cakes: $10/ student T/Th, Sept 11 & 13 6-7:30pm Wed. Sept 26 7-9pm T/Th, Oct 2 & 4 8-9:30pm Flower Arranging: $18/student Pagemaker 3.0/Mac: $40/student Tues. Oct 2, 9, 16 6-9pm M/W, Oct 22-Nov 19 5:30-7pm Electronics: $26/student Microsoft Word/Mac: $20/student Thurs. Sept 27-Oct 25 6-9pm T/Th, Sept 25-Oct 4 6-7:30pm Auto Mechanics: $ 18/student Intro to DOS/IBM PC: $ 15/student Thurs. Oct 4, 11, 18, 25 7-9pm M/W, Sept 10 & 12 6-7:30pm M/W, Oct 8 & 10 8-9:30pm Bike Maintenance: $20/student Tues. Sept 18-Oct 9 7-9pm WordPerdect 5.1: $40/student M/W. Spet 17-Oct 10 6-7:30pm Guitar: $28/student T/Th, Oct 9-Nov 1 7:30-9pm M/W, Oct 1-Oct 24 7:30-9pm Thurs. Sept 20-Nov 8 • 7-8:30pm Lotus 1-2-3 $40/student T/Th. Sept 18-Oct 4 6-7:30pm Intermediate Guitar: $28/student M/W, Oct 22-Nov 7 6-8pm Thurs. Sept 20-Nov 8 8:30- 10pm MSC Craft Center 845-1631 Connnsetlon an I Mu* al-] C*m*ra J Barber ] MSC Basement BUSINESS Beg. C&W Dance: $20/student Wed. Sept 19-Oct 17 6-7:15pm Adv. C&W Dance: $20/student Wed. Sept 19-Oct 17 7:30-8:45pm Ballroom Dancing: $ 18/student Tues. Sept 25-Oct 23 7:15-8:30pm Jitterbug: $ 18/student Sun. Sept 16-Oct 14 6-7:15pm Sun. Sept 16-Oct 14 7:30-8:45pm Mon. Sept 17-Oct 15 7-8:15pm ARTSftCRAEXg Calligraphy: $26/student Tues. Sept 18-Oct30 7-9pm Calligraphy II: $22/student Thurs. Sept 27-Nov 1 6-7:30pm Cross Stitch: $ 12/student Wed. Oct 3,10.17,24 6-7:30pm Accounting: Mon. Sept 24-Oct 15 $25/student 6-8:30pm Business Etiquette: Tues. Sept 25-Oct 16 $ 15/student 7-9pm Basics of Investing: Tues. Oct 2-Oct 30 $ 16/student 7:30-9pm Interviewing: T/Th, Oct 23-Nov 1 $ 12/student 6:30-8pm Resume Writing: M/W, Nov 5 & 7 $8/student 6:30-8:30pm PHOTOGRAPHY Beg. Photography: Tues. Sept 18-Oct 9 Tues. Oct 23-Nov 13 $28/student 6-9pm 6-9pm B&W Darkroom: Wed. Sept 26-Oct 10 Tues. Oct 16, 23, 30 $25/student 6-9pm 6-9pm Visual Photography: Thrus. Sept 20-Oct 11 $ 18/student 7-9pm Video Camera & VCR: $ 18/student Thurs. Oct 11-Nov 1 7-9pm Studio Portraiture: T/Th. Oct 2, 4, 9. 11 $22/student 6-9pm Comhusk Dolls: Tues. Oct 23 $ 10/student 6-9pm Drawing: $ 18/student Mon. Sept 24-Oct 29 6-8:30pm Etched Glass: Tues. Oct 16 $ 12/student 6-9pm Knitting: $34/student Mon. Sept 17-Oct 22 6-9pm Pottery: $28/student M/W, Sept 10-Sept 26 5-7pm M/W, Sept 10-Sept 26 7:30-9:30pm Wed. Oct 3-Nov 7 7:30-9:30pm Thurs. Sept 20-Oct 25 7:30-9:30pm Smocking: $22/student Mon. Sept 17-Oct 8 6-9pm Stained Glass: $28/student Tues. Sept 11 -Oct 9 6-9pm Wed. Sept 26-Oct 24 6-9pm Leaded Glass: $28/student Tues. Oct 16-Nov 13 6-9pm Decoy Carving: $32/student Tues. Oct 16-Nov 13 6:30-9:30pm Woodworking: $28/student Tues. Septl8-Oct9 6-9pm ¥ A ¥Y A jr* Conversational Chinese: 6:30-8pm M/W, Sept 24-Oct 31 $35/student Conversational French: 6:30-8pm M/W, Sept 24-Oct 31 $35/student Conversational German: 6:30-8pm M/W, Sept 17-Oct 24 $35/student Conversational Italian: 6:30-8pm T/Th, Septl8-Oct25 $35/student Conv. Japanese I : 6:30-8pm T/Th, Sept 18-Oct25 $35/student Conv Japanese II: 6:30-8pm T/Th, Oct 30-Nov 29 $35/student Conversational Spanish: 6:30-8pm M/W, Sept 17-Oct 24 $35/student T/Th, Oct 2-Nov 8 $35/student Intermediate Spanish: 8-9:30pm M/W, Sept 17-Oct 24 $35/student Conversational Russian: 6:30-8pm T/Th, Sept 25-Nov 1 $35/student Sign Language: 6-8pm T/Th, Sept 18-Oct 18 $35/student English as a 2nd Language 6:30-8pm T/Th. Sept 25-Nov 1 $40/student HEALTH 8c SELF KEEP j CPR: M/W, Sept 17 & 19 M/W, Oct 8 & 10 Basic First Aid: M/W, Sept 24-Oct 3 Self Evaluation: Wed. Sept 19-Oct 3 $18/student 6-1 Opm 6- 10pm $22/student 6-9pm $20/student 6-8:30pm Personality Discovery: $ 18/student Wed. Oct 10. 17, 24 6-9pm Assertiveness Training: $ 12/student Thurs. Sept 20-Oct 11 7:30-9pm Stress Management: $20/student Wed. Oct 17, 24. 31 6:30-8pm Public Speaking: $ 15/student Thurs. Sept27-Octl8 6:30-8:30pm Problem Solving: $ 12/student Thurs’. dct 11-Nov 1 7:30-9pm