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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1995)
Member 29, The Battalion tlOllFriday «salth, l ji Se P temb e r29 ’ 1995 ’lame themstf teltte 3 Koals of hgf areness aW ce. They w:- ot only i s t there are to for help, the mainti ,e emergency inst women; d in such a a feels asl 'may said, nusson, ■nee and roup also is' • abuse, sponsor a iolence on ity at 1 p tzi Zorachek Area Woi mt E I i ■ * W/KS^zz ^ 1^1 m SSL E. "5^ W gr W mtr M ** X • H i ^ s? pi* wr tJSmzz. Bwi'ja'- direr I First cut signals the beginning of bonfire season IBy Kasey Elliott IThe Battalion E re doing! ober ‘Woi th,'" shea ig we can ware.” i said sheh ill address nestle abuse se it is imi iclp. ince the beginning of the se mester, there have been signs a distant rumble of the 'voices of a determined army early [in the evening or mud-clad men and women roaming the campus donning the colors of their resi dences. It is the beginning of a new sea son — Bonfire season. For the next seven weeks, stu dents will be putting on their grodes and cutting dowp about 9,000 trees used to build Bon- Ifire, which is, according to the Guiness Book of World Records, the largest of its kind. Jeff Koffman, Moses Hall "<IMH head crew chief; said Bonfire is 11 /T ptlinot just an event that happens vLvlvlHbefore a game but a physical example of Aggie spirit. “Bonfire is more than just going out there and cutting down trees,” Koffman said. “I think it has a lot to do with just being an Aggie and keep ing up traditions and building long friendships.” The first cut of the year is tomorrow, and organizers said the first cut usually has the largest turnout. Most of the residence halls get up between 5 a.m. and 6:30 la.m., but some halls wake up at 4:30 am for the first cut. A tradition called wake—up makes sure that everyone in the hall is awake. Crew chiefs run around the hall making noise to get the residents motivated to go to cut. "Kristysail■ Bart Taylor, an Aston Hall crew ^ chief and a sophomore agricultural —^ engineering major, said wake-up is fun for the crew chiefs. “We run around the hall banging on doors with carpet rolls and play loud music,” Taylor said. “We’ve even got an electrical siren and blast it in the Aston quad.” Almost immediately, the hall’s residents are out to their cars and ready to begin the day. Most groups meet at Albertson’s on South College to eat breakfast. Numerous insults are traded among the groups, and someone in- |m Dataplex Amoncas Imaging Supp^'’ Group Hitachi Koki evitably ends up throwing food across the parking lot. People who do not live in resi dence halls have their own rou tine. The Off Campus Aggies meet at the Zachry Building at 8 a.m. to go to cut. Upon arrival, the crew chiefs send their freshmen to chase after the junior red pots, who are in charge of deciding when and where a group gets placed in the woods. Then the work begins. Each hall or group has its own section of land that it has to clear. at crashed;: ast of its on ■Sen Kristy, ra Hugh Fli| Airport. i the airi mber of yeas' ling it hai jor wing gan product musands * However, oi: after WWii mtation for irplane to: Tty poor ea! ■ugh onceti fly it, the ers ise it brouc: 39 .00 per cartnd .00 per cartrid ,00 per cartrid Louis Craig, The Battalion Grodes hang out of a window in Crocker Hall. The freshmen are paired up with upperclassmen who have been out to cut and must wear a strip of tape around their leg to show that they are inexperienced. Lunch is brought out at about 1 p.m., and everyone takes a break. The crew chiefs tell lewd grode stories, reward motivated fresh men and then are chased down and groded. The halls go back to cutting until a junior red pot tells them to go to load site. The hall must finish cut ting every tree that has been notched, even if it is the smallest nick, for safety reasons. They then go to load site where they help Walton Hall place the logs onto trucks that transport the logs to the polo fields on campus. In past years there have been accusations of discrimination at cut, including demeaning of women and minorities. Bryan Hightight, yellow pot for Off Campus Aggies and a junior me chanical engineering major, said when people hear some of the re marks at the site, they get offended because they do not understand that the insults are used on everyone and meant only in fun. “You can get mad about it, or you can yell right back,” Hightight said. Deryk Walsh, a Fowler Hall crew chief and a sophomore com puter science major, said stu dents at site usually do not take off-color remarks offensively. “Where else can you insult someone, and they’ll still be your friend?” Walsh said. In the past, women have not taken part in cut as much as men. Carlos Garza, a Moore Hall crew chief and a sophomore ac counting major, said he likes the idea of female students working side-by-side with their male counterparts. “Obviously, having the oppo site sex in the woods motivates some people to go out,” Garza said. “I wish we had more.” Amy Magness, crew chief for Off Campus Aggies, is only the third female crew chief in Bon fire history. She said more women should go to cut. “There are a few more women than there are men at this univer sity, and I think the same need to be represented at Bonfire,” Mag ness said. Alex Cabanas, Moses Hall yellow pot and a sophomore business ad ministration major, said people should not be swayed by negative opinions about Bonfire they hear from others. He said everyone, es pecially freshmen, should go to cut and judge it for themselves. “Bonfire is just as much a tradi tion as anything else at this school,” Cabanas said. “Just try it once. That’s all you have to do. If you don’t like it, then at least you’ve tried it.” Louis Craig, The Battalion Brian Spencer, a computer engineering major, paints his pot outside of Crocker Hall on Wednesday. Redpots focus on safety for 3,000 expected students Thousands of people are expected to wake up early and head out to the woods this week end to begin chopping down trees for the first cut of Bonfire ’95. Rob Tortorice, a junior redpot and finance major, said the redpots are expecting more than 3,000 people to come to the first cut on Jerry Kacals Highway 30 property. Tortorice, said those who want to participate but have not attended a cut class are welcome. “We will be holding impromptu cut classes all day for whoever needs them,” he said. “AH they need to do is show up and teH the people at the entrance to the site that they need one.” Zaeh Huyge, a junior redpot and construc tion science major, said that along with attend ing a cut class, students at cut must be wear ing protective headgear and proper clothes. “That means jeans and leather boots,” Huyge said. “No tennis shoes.” Emergency Medical Technicians will be sta tioned at cut site to handle any emergencies. “Each redpot, yellowpot and crew chief will know where the EMTs are stationed for those who need medical attention,” Huyge said. “At the cut site, safety is our first priority.” Carl Baggett, a head senior redpot and ac counting major, said that with all of the orga nizations participating, it looks like the Erst cut will be a success. “KAMU radio station is going to be out at the cut site,” Baggett said, “and Cain Hall is participating for the Erst time. “The MSC -has really helped get people involved and the OCA (Off-Campus Aggie’s) are coming out in droves. “I’m really looking forward to seeing everybody out there this weekend.” i it News EniTO® JightNewsEd' 1 ® ER, ACGIEUFEEO Sports Eon' 0 ' 1 o Editor nng, Robyn Cal |0 " ,! &Ti« i, Zadi Estes Greathouse hn Lemon rie MyeiT {,Da veL , AbbiJ Universe" -nalism, building, Te«s MSC Barber Shop Serving All Aggies! Cuts and Styles Haircuts starting at $6. Seven operators to serve you Theresa - April - Marty Mary - Jennifer - Cecil - Karla 846-0629 Open Mon. - Fri. 8-5 Located in the basement of the Memorial Student Center Rob Neal 85' Bruno A. Shimek 83' Attorneys At Law • DWI'S Felonies & Misdemeanors • MIP'S • Drug Related Offenses • Personal Injury • Divorce Free Initial Consultation 821-2110 or 823-3327 118 South Main, Bryan, Tx. 77803 Licensed By The Supreme Court Of Texas. Not Certified By The Texas Board of Legal Specialization CHINA WOK Buffet House WE NOW SERVE ORIENTAL CUISINE. SPECIALS ON MALAYSIA FOOD 696-2294 1505 TEXAS AYE. 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