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Thursday, November 1,1990 Page 5B
Groups shatter
By BRIDGET HARROW
The Bonfire Alchohol Awareness Committee will coordi
nate another media campaign this year aimed at eliminating
alchohol from the bonfire site. In upcoming weeks, flyers,
posters, public service announcements, and billboards will
be aimed at decreasing the consumptiom of alcohol at bon
fire.
“We want to let people know that one, if they are going to
drink, drink in moderation and two, not to bring it to the
bonfire site, ” said Ann Coombes, chair for the Bonfire Alco
hol Awamess Committee.
“Keep Alcohol from Shattering the Tradition” will again
be the slogan used to discouraged alcohol consumption at
bonfire, Coombes said. The committee decided to keep the
same slogan because they feel consistency will pay off in the
long run, she says.
“If everyone hears it year after year, they might get the
message, ” Coombes says.
The Bonfire Alcohol Awareness Committee is a mainly
student-run committee with representatives from many stu
dent organizations such as Student Government, the Resi
dence Hall Association, Off Campus Aggies, the Graduate
Student Council, the Interfratemity Council, Student Publi
cations and others.
“We (the committee) wanted the message to be from the
students to the rest of the student body and visitors to cam
pus to respect the laws and the tradition of bonfire,”
Coombes says.
Coombes says one of the main problems of controlling al
cohol at bonfire is many people, especially visitors to Texas
A&M, do not know it is illegal to consume or bring alcohol in
$
alcohol abuse
almost all areas of the Texas A&M campus, which is state
property.
A&M police will be doing its part to enforce the law, says
Bob Wiatt, director of security for Univerity Police Depart
ment. Wiatt says UPD will be working in conjunction with
the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission and College Sta
tion Police to control the possession and consumption of al
cohol at bonfire.
“We will arrest any individuals who are drunk, disorderly
or disturbing the peace, ” Wiatt says.
Last year 16 people were arrested by the College Station
Police Department and UPD on alcohol-related charges.
Seventy-nine tickets were issued for minors in possession of
alcohol.
Wiatt says bonfire is a family affair and should not be ru
ined by the vulgarity and drunkeness of a group or indi-
k viduals.
“If anyone wishes to test us, we will be ready for
^them,” Wiatt says.
Coombes said the whole problem with alcohol at
bonfire is not just the drunkeness but the violent be
havior that goes along with it. She says she feels last
year’s campaign was successful and and she hopes
bonfire ’90 will be even better.
3
Improved safety cuts down injuries
By ISSELLE MCALLISTER
Special safety precautions taken
at bonfire this year may make se
rious acccidents a thing of the past,
said Junior Redpot Trent Kelley.
At the request of the Texas Mu
nicipal Power Agency, everyone at
the bonfire cut site and perimeter is
required to don special protective
gear, he said. Hard hats, safety
glasses, leather boots and denim
jeans are the standard cut and stack
uniform. The crews also tape their
hands to prevent blisters.
With axes swinging, the woods
can be a dangerous place. There
fore, cut classes are a must for any
one participating in cut, he said.
Bonfire crews learn basic safety
strategies at cut class. The senior
redpots teach how to carry and
sharpen a machete and ax, how to
avoid danger, and what safety
equipment is required.
The redpots receive extensive
training themselves before they
teach others. Their training comes
mostly from experience, Kelley said.
As juniors, the redpots meet often
with their “dads” — their senior
counterparts — to leam something
new, he explained.
The junior redpots then share the
information with yellowpots, the ci
vilian dorm coordinators, and bon
fire butts, the Corps outfit coordina
tors.
The bonfire butts position was
created this year to further enhance
ERIC H. ROALSON/The Battalion
Safety goggles and helmets (“pots”) help decrease the risk of injuries at cut site.
safety. In the past coordinators had
to split their responsibities between
the Corps outfits and the dorms.
Now each group receives individual
attention, which decreases the op
portunity for accidents.
Like most other things at bonfire,
knowledge is handed down by tra
dition, he said.
At cut, he said everything moves
“like clockwork. ” With radios, cellu
lar phones and other equipment,
they are able to coordinate every
one’s efforts and keep abreast of
potentially dangerous situations.
“Things have really come a long
way. ”
Troy Bullock, senior head civilian
said that accidents have decreased a
great deal from years past.
About 25 serious accidents oc-
ccurred last year, and only two have
occurred this year, he said.
“Safety has just been fantastic,”
Bullock said. “If it keeps going like
this, we might cut our accidents
down to zero. ”