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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2002)
di (The Texas A&M Bonfire tVhat it was, where it is today, and what lies in its future I The Class of 2003 is the last group of Ikients on campus to have built an Aggie Son fire. For a 90-> ear-old tradition that for lain students made up life at Texas AiV:M. the passing of the last of the student body | to have woken up at 3 a.m. to the sound of S e hammers on their doors is akin to the ath of Bonfire. | I Unless current students visited campus Kfore becoming Aggies, none have seen a Bonfire bum. I After the stack fell a week shy of its com- Betion on November 18. 1999. killing 12 Bggies and injuring 27 others, the fear on Bmpus that a Bonfire would not bum again h. s so far been confirmed. B 17k* commission tasked w ith investigating th: collapse of the 1999 Aggie Bonfire placed nQuch of the blame on University administra- ti« n for allow ing untrained students to work oi a complex and potentially dangerous con- skruction project without supervision. J In June of 2000, former President Dr. R ty M. Bowen announced a two-year moratorium on the construction of Aggie Bonfire, during which time a steering com mittee met with professional engineers and safety consultants to see how safe they could make a Bonfire in 2002. They had plans for student participation, ideas that included student input, designs that could still keep a changed Aggie Bonfire on the Polo Fields, behind a fence and monitored by security cameras. But when the deadline came in February of 2002, the safety consultant dropped out of contract negotiations, and without enough conviction that a Bonfire could be built safely the next year, Bowen announced there would not be a Bonfire for yet another year. Former Student Body President Schuyler Houser cried as she stood in the news conference room, her face broadcast to viewing screens across campus. “It feels like everything fell down again,” Houser told students. Now, the future of Bonfire rests in the hands of a new president, Robert Gates, a former CIA director and interim head of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service from 1999 to 2001. Several student groups formed this spring, announcing they would do everything in their power to bring the tradition back to A&M in 2003. In late July, the Texas Board of Engineers said any future Bonfire must be University-led and that a licensed profes sional engineer must oversee design and construction. Bonfire was first constructed in 1909 as freshmen from the Corps of Cadets foraged for scrap material to burn before the annual game with the University of Texas. By 1936, students were gathering lumber from the lands surrounding Easterwood Airport, and by 1943 the 25-foot high stack was constructed entirely of logs. The first spliced center that stood 50 feet tall was used in the 1947 Bonfire. By 1954 the annual log pile had reached a height of 73 feet. In 1955, the stack was moved from Simpson Drill Field to Duncan Field where it was built every year until 1992, when the first Aggie Bonfire was built on the Polo See Bonfire on page 7B Traditions a major part of A&M life At Texas A&M, a school bavy with tradition, it can be I daunting for incoming and rt turning students alike to it member campus customs. Brom football games to a sim- p “Howdy,” here is a list of Banners that all Aggies should ieep in mind. \ Football Games: | I Students (the 12th man) should stay until the game has ' finished. H The 12th man stands the entire game, except when the other band plays. Students must step off the bleachers (the wood) during “The Spirit of Aggie Land” or the “War Hymn” except when they are played during halftime. Men and women take off their hats (uncover) during yells and songs. It is good bull to do the wild cat of the grade above you, but never two grades above you. Additionally, during the Military yell, only seniors may shout “reload.” Courtesy to Other Aggies: Aggies do not boo, they hiss. But Aggies never hiss a fellow Aggie. Don't walk on the grass out side the Memorial Student Center. It is dedicated to the memory of Aggies who died in battle. Hats are also taken off inside the MSC. Don’t walk on the Texas A&M seals across campus. Silver Taps: Silver Taps is played for every current undergraduate and graduate student who died within the last month. Students should be silent during the ceremony. There is no talking on the way to and from Silver Taps. Silver Taps is played the first Tuesday of the month, except for the first one, which will be held on September 10. Reveille: If Reveille barks in your class, she is bored. Class should be dismissed. MSC SECOND FLOOR Print and Copy ^HmSC Committee Offices Ballrooms and Meeting Rooms Can be reserved on the second floor of Rudder Tower. MSC FIRST FLOOR The Sweet Shop Snack food can be purchased here. Twelth Man Dining Facility An Extension of the MSC Bookstore The Department of Multicultural Services Lounges and Meeting Rooms Flag Room Mam area or the MSC. Students and Student Organizations often gather here. The Main Desk Students can cash checks from any bank here. The Main desk also houses the campus lost-and-found. Reservations can be made for the MSC hotel here. MSC BASEMENT Hullaballoo Food Court University Plus Facilities for students to do arts and crafts, get diplomas framed, woodworking, and students can take lessons in areas such as guitar. Musical Practice Rooms TrrnFNTvr n.tXiA \hE baVta^ion Top ten reasons to switch. Event IM > renew yo. Sept. 2 ar ay-Thursda' ike climbs i while fl nation class o'’ imber. you tnar 1 rom Olsen BASSO 1. The Mac...it just works. Take a Mac out of its box, plug it in, turn it on. And you ’re ready for anything. 2. It doesn’t crash. Bid the notorious ‘blue screen ofdeath "afond farewell. 3- Works effortlessly with PCs. The Mac is at home on PC networks, so sharing files andprinters is painless. 4. Office is Office and then some. Continue using the same applications you already know. 5. It’s built for the Internet. Fact is, most of our customers are up-and-surfing within 15 minutes. ffl m 6. Simply the best in digital music. iPod fits in your pocket, weighs just 6.5 oz. and holds up to 2,000* songs. 7. The missing link in digital photography. iPhoto"* revolution izes the way you organize, edit and enjoy digital photos. 8. Your own digital entertainment center. Make movies and burn DVDs to watch on TV.** y. Goes everywhere you go. Light. Thin. Displays so bright and clear you’d think you ’re working on a desktop system. 10. It’s beautiful. You can see obsession with design and detail wherever you look. TEXAS ^ www.apple.com/education/hed/students •KKIB mode!'capacity basal on 4 min. per song/ldOKbps. •'SuperDri/v required. 02002Apple Computer, hie. All rights reserred. Mac. iMac and iBook are registered trademarks and iPod and iPhoto are trademarks of Apple Computer, tnc. Don't steal music. For more Information, call t-800-MY-APPLRorvisitwww.appte.com/suitd). Authorized Reseller