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AAB plans
site protest
at bonfire
\ /
Size reduction debate smolders
By SUZANNE CALDERON
While most people attending bonfire will be
bringing their dates, members of Aggies
Against Bonfire will be bringing protest signs.
The group will protest against the environ
mental waste of bonfire Nov. 29 at the bonfire
site.
Kelly Harper, president of AAB, says the
protest will be a peaceful sign-carrying protest.
She says the group will not be handing out lit
erature, chanting or harassing bonfire-goers.
“Everybody goes there and they bring their
beer bottles or their dates and are there to
watch, ” she says. “We are just going to happen
to be holding signs.”
To bring attention to their fight against bon
fire, Harper says members of AAB have been
writing protest letters to media groups and en
vironmental organizations around the state.
She says she hopes the letters will bring me
dia attention and concerned people from out
side Texas A&M to the protest.
People are responding to the letters already,
Harper says. Several environmental organiza
tions and a radio station from Austin have been
in contact.
Harper says AAB thought about having the
protest at the cut-site, since they are protesting
the cutting of trees, but she says by protesting
the night of the bonfire they will be able to
reach more people.
Last fall, when AAB was first forming,
Harper says they were afraid to protest fearing
the repurcussions of being against such a
strongly held Aggie tradition. But, this year, she
says, they are counting on the fact that bonfire
is a University sponsored event and that the
University and law enforcement agencies will
control the crowd.
In addition to the protest bonfire night, AAB
is working on a video showing the progression
of bonfire from the cutting down of trees to the
actual burning.
Harper says AAB hopes to send the com
pleted video to the Cable News Network and
other news organizations. The video will be as
unbiased as possible, she says, with the only in
tent to show what happens to the environment
as a result of bonfire.
The group has also been in touch with envi
ronmental lawyers to find out if bonfire is meet
ing the proper regulations. Harper says bonfire
is exempt from many state agency regulations.
AAB is finding out what has to be done to be
exempt and if A&M is meeting the require
ments.
“The people who build it don’t think about
it, they just do it,” she says.
Harper says she doesn’t have an argument
with people who have thought about bonfire
and its good and bad points. She says she
wants to reach the people who haven’t thought
about it and need to consider how harmful it is.
There are beneficial things people leam from
working on bonfire like leadership and organi
zational skills, she says, but people can leam
those same things without being destructive.
She says people need to realize that A&M
has so much more to offer than bonfire.
“We are known for our land-management
and wise use of natural resources and taught all
kinds of ecological management techniques.
We are suppose to be on the cutting edge of
technology — there is so much going on at this
university and so many other good traditions
besides bonfire.”
By LIBBY KURTZ
As the 81st bonfire nears, controversy continues to
surround one of A&M’s oldest traditions.
A proposal prepared by the Faculty Senate Exec
utive Committee and the Student Government Asso
ciation recommended that the size of bonfire and the
number of trees cut for the event be reduced by 50
percent by 1993.
The proposal stated, “By reducing the size of bon
fire, fewer trees would need to be cut and burned,
less student time would be required for its construc
tion, and risks of both injury during construction and
property damage would be reduced. ”
The Joint Ad Hoc Committee said the reduction
would be accomplished by reducing height and diam
eter approximately 20 percent. Height would be re
duced from 55 to 44 feet and circumference from
145 to 115 feet. The committee also recommended
that the reduction should be done gradually. If the
height was reduced approximately 2.75 feet and cir
cumference 7.5 feet each year until 1993, the tar
geted size could be reached.
“By reducing height and circumference simulta
neously, the overall appearance of bonfire could be
kept the same,” the committee stated. “By pursing
reduction gradually, the visual impact would be min
or.”
Bill Kibler, the University’s adviser for bonfire, says
a proposal concerning bonfire’s size has been ap
proved by President William H. Mobley.
“Bonfire’s volume will be reduced,” Kibler says.
“But, the height will remain the same. ”
Kibler says that shaving a little of bonfire’s height
off would not help in decreasing the volume.
“Bonfire looks like an upside down cone,” he says.
“If we slowly reduce the circumference, we can also
reduce the volume of the flames. ”
The bonfire adviser says the reduction will ensure
the safety of the workers and the areas surrounding
bonfire.
However, Peter Muniz, a yellowpot residing in Pur-
year Hall, disagrees with the proposal.
“People would definitely notice a change in bon
fire’s size,” he says. “Bonfire doesn’t need to be any
smaller. If anything, I’d like to see a larger bonfire, but
I know that’s not realistic. ”
Muniz says that morale among bonfire workers
would be low if they were forced to build a smaller
bonfire.
“The bigger the better still applies to A&M,” he
says.
Brennan Reilly, the SGA representative to the Fac
ulty Senate, served on the committee.
“The proposal will have a positive influence on ev
eryone, ” he says.
Joey Dollins, head stack redpot and chief student
adviser for bonfire, also served on the committee.
“In order for bonfire to stay alive, there will have to
be some changes, ” Dollins says.