Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 26, 1997)
mber25 Texas A & M University '■ :d ! - ■ cut 1 $$63 r TODAY TOMORROW iys of a; \nibia wast a little pacewalk Poi had p on op| 1 spanning pet secure |ir bodieslt being sir. M satelliti few Colwr Hh spacec mhatl?, led the shii pe satellite talkers, later, Scon fon is perfi ! between! f-hourlai p\'ere wait; roll intoi be capttw 5-foot cu tmetertei |ngfroni to be til lited soa rs. I happem »«)4 TH YEAR • ISSUE 63 • 10 PACES ll slowly | will then , rotating Ime rale 1 satellite COLLEGE STATION • TX 997 Fightin' Texas Aggie See extended forecast. Page 2. WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 26 • 1997 llllBiil §f m tfh v:.' Wm and builds Bonfire outhouse Bonfire set to burn Thursday By Rachel Dawley Staff writer The words “Austin: Population 2000”, “t.u. (house” and “Fightin Texas Aggie Bonfire” catch fire on the outhouse as Bonfire is lited Thanksgiving night. Each year, an 8-foot tall outhouse, sym- to iVanfJHc °f a “t.u. frat house or tea sippin’ room” | satop the stack of logs. | 0 f t | ietf . Sophomores in the Aggie Band are given responsibility of the outhouse construc- brfecttjjifn. Bonfire leadership plans to raise the ngth; PMS 'l* 101156 Thursday. bay Clay Kennedy, commander of the Aggie indand a senior political science and in- rnational studies major, said the outhouse the Aggie Band’s contribution to Bonfire. their busy fall schedules, band mem- irsdo not get an opportunity to participate the tradition, Kennedy said. "The outhouse is something that the and has always done,” Kennedy said. “We eso busy during the fall with games that edon’t have a lot of time for cut and stack, lie outhouse is a way the band can con- ibute to Bonfire.” The outhouse is painted orange and fea- ires the sophomore class number as the opulation on the Austin city limits sign. Four sophomore band members are bsen as outhouse corporals and two lembers as assistants corporals. The six dets supervise the construction of the ilhouse during the year. The sophomores epn constructions around the time Bon- tis started and work on weekends and ights until its completion, lody Schaap, an outhouse corporal and sophomore biology major, said the out- ouse is important to the band because it the major contribution to the tradition iBonfire. “It is neat to be part of the tradition tbonfire,” Schaap said. “There is nly one Bonfire and only a few eople are given the chance to wild the outhouse.” The tradition of the outhouse ins parallel to that of Bonfire. In ledays when the effigy was made scrap wood, Aggies stole area uthouses to burn. Until the early 360s, a stolen outhouse would al lays top the stack. The band built the first out- ouse in 1962. Schaap said the outhouse is mique because of the frame- fork. “We build it sturdy,” Schaap aid. “All the framework is on the outside so it will sit on centerpole.” Any sophomore can help in the out house construction, but only the six sopho more band leaders and the Bonfire redpots are allowed inside. Jim Lockard, executive officer of A Bat tery in the band and a senior management major, said the group of sophomores mea sure centerpole and fit the outhouse around it. Many hours are spent construct ing the outhouse, he said. “The outhouse is basically the same every year,” Lockard said. “It is passed down to the class from the year be fore. Workers spend every weekend and two or three nights a week constructing it.” Please see Outhouse on Page 6. its r ' ' | By Karie Fehler Staff writer The Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire, a glowing symbol of Texas A&M students’ “burning de sire to beat the hell outta t.u.,” will burn on the Texas A&M polo fields Thursday at 8:20 p.m. The outhouse, or “t.u. tea room”, will be placed on stack at noon Thursday, and spectators are expected to begin arriv ing around 7 p.m. The Aggie Band and the yell leaders will step off from the Quadrangle at 7:30 p.m. to march to Bonfire site. Yell prac tice will begin after the stack is lit. Coach R.C. Slocum and selected foot ball players will speak during the yell practice at the north end of the fields. It is also tradition for the se nior yell leader to recite the poem “The Last Corps Trip” at |g|p|\ the yell practice. John Gallemore, Head Stack and a senior agricul tural business major, said the east, west and south ends of the polo fields will be the best places to view Bonfire. f: “Spectators shouldn’t stand right in front of the platform on the north end because that is where the band will be,” he said. “I would also tell eveiyone to get there around 7 p.m. There’s going to be a lot of people, and it’s best to beat the crowd.” Gallemore said this year’s Bonfire ran smoothly despite the profanities on pots and Dunn Hall’s suspension for hiring a stripper to perform at cut site. Gallemore also said the number of injuries at cut site decreased this year. “The students in leadership positions have really stepped up and taken action,” he said. “Student leadership awareness has increased ten-fold in comparison with last year.” Douglas Williams, associate director of Parking, Traffic and Transportation Services, said several streets will be closed to accom modate traffic. “More people show up than we can han dle, so we close Bizzell Street at 6 p.m., Polo Street all day, and we cut New Main down to one lane on campus,” he said. “Buses will also run from West Campus to Fish Pond to help out parking problems.” Williams said that since Bonfire is on the Thanksgiving holiday, all parking lots will be available for parking. “People have to be careful because the game is the next morning at 10 a.m.,” he said. “Many of the lots are reserved for 12th Man parking on football game days, and it would n’t be a very nice early Christmas present to find your car towed because you left it in the wrong lot overnight.” Bob Wiatt, director of the University Police department, said a zero tolerance policy will be enforced for alcoholic beverages at Bonfire, and patrolmen will be watching the parking lots for suspicious activity or misconduct. “We will tolerate absolutely no booze at all, and we are taking a very proactive stance on conserving the family-type atmosphere,” he said. “We will be very security conscious to make sure good family enjoyment of Bon fire can continue.” Wiatt said the UPD has cracked down on al cohol at Bonfire in the past seven years, and the problem has decreased. Police officers will walk through the crowd on foot, horseback and on bicycles. Offi cers also will watch campus parking lots from rooftops to discourage drink ing before walking to Bonfire. “We’ll be securing the perimeter of the site and watching for booze— anyone caught that is over age will have to pour it out, and all minors will be cited for Minor in Posses sion,” Wiatt said. “We’ll be very busy and hope to preserve the positive atmosphere of Bonfire.” iiiif icf. irow * ri 4 s r* [m.-* L ....M Tradition stacks up with Bonfire By Colleen Kavanagh Staff writer Although the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Bonfire has changed from a pile of tosh to a 55-foot stack of logs, the drive to build Bonfire every year has remained the same — the “burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u.” According to A Centennial His- [tory of Texas A&M University, by Henry C. Dethloft, a Texas A&M history professor, Bonfire, built to rouse enthusiasm for the game against the University of Texas, gradually became a custom, then it became a “tradition.” The first Bonfire was built in 1909 out of trash thrown together for the varsity games in the fall semester. Early Bonfires were made of com munity trash, limbs, boxes, lumber scraps and other “acquired materi als.” A favorite thing to add was "un tended, unwatched and hopefully unoccupied outhouses.” The fire was lit, accompanied by speeches and yells, much like Bon fire today. In the early days, however, Bonfire had usually burned out by the time the speech-making ended. Please see Tradition on Page 6. Rivalry heats up as game nears By Rachel Dawley Staff writer Reveille vs. Bevo. Maroon vs. Or ange. Bonfire vs. the Hex Rally. Slocum vs. Mackovic. One of the most colorful and bitterly contested rivalries in col lege football will continue in the 104th meeting of Texas A&M and the University of Texas Friday at Kyle Field. Shane Dronett, former defensive end for UT once said, “This is what col lege football is all about — two teams that hate each other.” Some Aggies and Longhorns believe hate is too strong of a word for the competition, but all agree that the rivalry between the two schools is one of the strongest in the nation. The series began in 1894 when the Longhorns, then known as “Varsity,” beat the Aggies, 38-0. The next game was in 1898, with UT winning again 48-0. The game became a tradition and fans from both schools marked the calendar for the annual meeting. By Thanksgiving Day in 1924, thirty-five thousand people jammed into the football stadium at Austin to witness the game. Please see Rivalry on Page 6.