If the cost of insurance is the only holdup for the University to bring Bonfire back, why don't all Aggies chip in a few bucks to cover the insurance policy so that we can have Bonfire on campus again...just to see if the expense of the insurance is the University's real reason for not bringing it back.

What's wrong with every student filling out a participation waiver that acknowledges risks and absolves the University from any liability? Someone help me out, why isn't that an option?

I don't know what exactly, but SOMETHING HAS to be done to get Bonfire back on campus. 1999 was the Fall of my senior year, and for years after I was against bringing it back in any way simpy because it would never be the same. But after returning to campus in recent years and watching our football team struggle, you can "feel it in the air" that something is missing. I fear that the Aggie Spirit is fading and is not as strong with our post-Bonfire students.

I am NOT trying to say the Aggie Bonfire is the only source of our Aggie Spirit, but there's no denying that it was a big part of it.

Maybe Governor Rick Perry can be a big voice for it. He's been quoted of saying that he expects Bonfire to not only be back on campus, but soon.

For the nay-sayers that will somehow pick apart this post and say that I'm disrepectful and whatnot, you're in DENIAL. The Spirit of Aggieland is losing its luster and uniqueness as the years go by...and 10 years has been too long! I don't believe that the 12 students that we lost would have wanted it this way. It is time to unite to bring Aggie Bonfire back to campus.

see you on Tuesday night?

Liability waivers are about as useful as tissue paper and even less so from a state agency.

It's never going to happen without insurance and finding an insurance company is going to take huge huge amounts of money.

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Maybe Governor Rick Perry can be a big voice for it. He's been quoted of saying that he expects Bonfire to not only be back on campus, but soon.

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Rick Perry has said a lot of things. Let me know when Texas secedes.

According to Professor Cole's report, Texas A&M demanded a safety company that would indemnify the university if anything went wrong.

If that's still the university's bottom line for having Bonfire back on campus, it indicates to me they really don't want it back.

But we knew that already, right?

[This message has been edited by Frenas (edited 11/24/2009 11:14p).]

Not sure why you'd think that. Are you aware of a company willing to take on that risk?

No, certainly not. The one safety firm in contention in 2002 backed out when the university made demands it couldn't meet.

I'm saying that if the university wants to wash its hands of liability for any future Bonfire, there won't be any future on-campus Bonfires.

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Liability waivers are about as useful as tissue paper

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incorrect.

They are frequently upheld in court and at the very least, greatly reduce the amount of negligence on the party that issues them. Which depending on the state, can be enough to bar a plaintiffs recovery.

The relative merits of liability waivers mean nothing to Texas A&M's administration. The people who run this school don't want Bonfire back on campus under any circumstances. The parameters the administration gave professor Cole, which include complete indemnification of the university, resulted in a $2.5 million price tag the first year $1.3 million in subsequent years.

The university purposely set the bar too high, and certainly won't lower it by accepting liability waivers.

[This message has been edited by Frenas (edited 11/26/2009 7:15p).]

That's what I'm saying...we as Aggies should come up with the money for the insurance and THEN see what the University says.

I mean, why couldn't students pay a portion in their "student fees" that goes toward Bonfire insurance? The rest could be from donations of Former Students.

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I mean, why couldn't students pay a portion in their "student fees" that goes toward Bonfire insurance?

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That very idea was proposed for 2002. However,

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Student reluctance to foot the bill for Bonfire could be a stumbling block to continuing the tradition, Cole said. If Bonfire burns next fall, the final price tag could be as much as $2 million.

However, many of those costs are one-time expenes, such as professional fees to craft a stack design, Cole said, and future Bonfires could be built for between $500,000 to $750,000. But more than 60 percent of respondents said that price was too steep.

Cole said a $20 per semester fee would fully fund Bonfire, but only 30 percent of students said they would be willing to pay that much.

"There's potential for a funding problem," Cole said. "Its unrealistic to suggest that former students should pay for this."

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Thanks for the info. However, I think it should be addressed to the students again. We are 7 years removed from that statement. Students will pay way more than $20 in parking tickets, which they (or their parents) will get over. If not $20 then why not $10 and get the rest of the money from the Association.

I just think it's ridiculous to stop a tradition and never reconsider the possibilities of bringing it back.

Play To Win,

Bowen had recently proposed a massive fee increase and it gave many of us then-current students a gut reaction against more fees.

Start fires every year alternating between the day before the t.u. game and two days before the t.u. game all over the place. Not just at Bonfire. That will learn them.

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I stopped my century club membership, because if they really wanted it, they could force the university to bring back some semblance of it. Baylor still has their "bonfire"...

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We're not looking for "some semblance". Aggies build Aggie Bonfire every year. If you care about Bonfire and its true meaning, support Student Bonfire.

Unless you just moved your money from Century Club to SB. In which case,

I hope I'm wrong, but the first thing that came to my mind about bringing Bonfire back to campus was to try to live another 200 years.

Many of this year's freshmen were in third grade when Bonfire fell. The day's going to come when students think of Bonfire among things from their parents' college days with no real connection to them.

not fess up any funds to university organizations....only way to get the attention of the cigars that make the decisions.

School President Loftin recently announced that if the students show significant support in bringing back bonfire to campus, then he will work to bring bonfire back. So students, it is up to you to show that support to President Loftin.

Keep it off. Bonfire by the students and for the students. Not just for the students.