Aggie Bonfire on Modern Marvels

[Itsmeagain9145]

@FedEx53 Nobody is forced to do anything at A&M. The funny thing about people like you are the false misconceptions over something you don't understand. I can point you to a link full of proof of all things young Texans are forced to do when they are unfortunate to enroll at Texas starting with the brainwashing they succumb to at Camp Texas... Secondly, that "Fake Army" even today puts more officers into the united states military than any other school...outside the academies.

[1231teddybearlove]

even through this loss they still burn a bonfire every year on private land. i actually visited the sight last night where they are building another stack right now. Aggie spirit lives on. GIG EM!!!

[coulter315]

@1231teddybearlove My family and I just got home from college station as well(:We thought they were gonna do a memorial during the yell practice since it was the twelfth year anniversary(they didnt)... Where was the private land located at??? Maybe I can visit it nxt time I go(: Thanks!!! GIG EM"!!! WHOOOOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[martika2014]

"There's a spirit can ne'er be told." We will never forgot our 12 brothers and sisters we lost 12 years ago.

[TexasDudley]

We will never forget. Fight Farmer Fight! Lets beat those T-Sips one last time! Member Class of 1989.



[FraterAeternus93]

so did they win their silly game?

[KillerKapuchin93]

@FraterAeternus93 Yes we beat UT 20-16

[Tweeter082000]

This was a tragic event that we still mourn today. I am an Aggie class of 2012 and involved in the off campus student Bonfire.The clip was right that on campus there is no more Bonfire, but the students have taken the event and moved it off campus since the school doesn't wish to be involved. The site name for more instructions is under Student Bonfire. "Always Remember Never Forget" the fallen 12 of '99

[1955thekeeper]

I lived in B/CS for 23 years. Class of '77 in The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band. I was a professional photographer in the area as well. To my knowledge, I took the last photograph of stack with no one working on it around seven or eight hours before it fell. I loved working on Bonfire. I did not know any of those who died later that night in the collapse, but I did know something about them, they were Aggies. May God have mercy on their souls and those who survived them in life. Farmers Fight!

[AZIlluminati08]

i thought the aggies were New Mexico State University?

[MattWestThePossum]

@AZIlluminati08 their mascot is also the aggies, however A&M was founded earlier, and has many, many more current and former students, so, generally, Texas A&M comes to mind first

[madhazzer]

dumb aggies

[ziggy9091]

@madhazzer what possesses you to say something like that? 

[FedEx53]

I don't understand. Why would an institution of learning allow it's students to engage in activities that could easily lead to their deaths? This tragedy was inevitable. Young Texans lost their lives because they were brainwashed into this aggie "tradition" and forced to disregard their personal safety or be known as a "2 %er" and an outcast at their own university.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be aggies.

[ziggy9091]

@FedEx53 apparently you think you know more than you do about the university

[FedEx53]

@ziggy9091 I know plenty. Is anything I said wrong? No, it is not.

[1955thekeeper]

@FedEx53 I thought that the Aggie Bonfire Program had its pluses and its minuses. It brought students together in ways no other activity was able to. But there was a dark side to it as well. During the construction of the 1999 stack and directly after its untimely collapse, there was more than mere rumor that alcohol played a part in the failure of those involved to abide by safety and construction protocols which had been developed over the years to prevent such a tragedy. Bonfire united TAMU.

[sisk22]

@FedEx53 This is pure ignorance.

[sisk22]

@FedEx53 This is pure ignorance.

[FedEx53]

@sisk22 riiiight

[sisk22]

@FedEx53 No one is forced to do anything. Get over yourself. Don't bash something because you don't understand it.

[itsonlyhersh]

What dicks making jokes about this..honestly

[EvanescenceFan27]

R.I.P 12 Aggie peeps

[southsidesoxsidefan]

I think, but I'm not sure, that the bonfire is still built today, but with A LOT more oversight.

[PaintballFreak2010]

@southsidesoxsidefan There is a new organization known as Student Bonfire that allows students to build it every year still. However, it is off campus and is not a university sanctioned organization. It is purely run by students now. There have been many changes to its design in order to provide structural integrity. It is an incredibly safe environment. I would encourage all students to give it a shot.

[Dozzer]

awesome that they built a memorial in the same place they built the bonfire. A good way to end such a tradition.

[lemonrind]

It seems like American schools spend more time, energy, and money on games and ceremonies than actually learning.

[nboucher98]

@lemonrind Right. That's why people from all over the world come to our universities to attain the best possible eduction. You're really smart.

[SpecialEdward121]

I had my son taken from me when he was 11 months old & I still can't even begin to imagine the sorrow those lost student's families must've gone through.

[emailjeremiah]

@PungiFungi You didn't listen to the video. Additionally, you are uneducated, and ignorant. Although you believe you display intelligence through your arrogant assertions, you instead illustrate your ineptitude. Your logic fails on it's own. Your point was addressed in the video. Your authoritative use of English fails in your lack of mastery over it. I would suggest you study: grammar, logic, group dynamics, and leadership development.

[PungiFungi]

@emailjeremiah , I am sure you are one of those people who are so sure of your intellectual superiority over others that when it comes down to simple human decency, you are totally bankrupt.

[emailjeremiah]

@PungiFungi You don't know me well enough to make judgments of my character. Personal attacks aside, you are actually quite wrong, but I needn't go into it.

[PungiFungi]

@emailjeremiah , and by the way, speaking of studying grammar, I suggest you do the same. It is "its own", not "it's own". Your arrogant authoritative use of English failed as well.

[emailjeremiah]

@PungiFungi A typo. If it wasn't, it would be most easily classified as an error in punctuation.  If you would like to state that it is an error in grammar, feel free.

[SpecialEdward121]

Uh... didn't anyone at ANY point stop & say, "Hey guys, ya' know this thing's getting pretty big... you think this is really safe?"

[emailjeremiah]

@SpecialEdward121 The size was not the issue, it had been much larger in the past, and was only 40 feet at the time of the collapse. The largest was 109 ft tall, in 1969. The reasons for the collapse were addressed in the video, and had little to do with size, but changes in the design made in 1999. Before you go off asking if anyone stopped to think and ask a question, you should do the same. Think through your question. Pay attention to the video you are commenting on.

[SpecialEdward121]

@emailjeremiah: OK, let's grant that size wasn't the engineering failure. Those kids are still dead.

Fuck the video & fuck the core nature of the disaster. They're still dead. But size DOES matter & if the shitstorm were smaller LESS kids would be dead. I really doubt any of the families that lost loved ones to that incident wouldn't mind having a smaller bonfire to have their lost ones back. TX A & M is a school, not a war zone.

The world would be better off with those kids still with us.

[emailjeremiah]

@SpecialEdward121 Do you drive a car? If so, your logic fails. Many more people die in car accidents, than ever did in the history of Bonfire.  We did not have an accident this dead in 90 years of construction. If you're really so concerned about death tolls, don't drive a car. Don't construct buildings, don't swim, go fishing, cook a turkey, or celebrate the 4th of July.

[hannah21992]

I am a freshman at TAMU this year and participated in Student Bonfire last semester. It really boils my blood to read some of these rude and ignorant comments about something I have come to hold so close to my heart. Our bonfire this year stood at about 45' tall but size has nothing to do with it. For those of you bashing this tradition, you obviously don't understand what it's about.

[emailjeremiah]

@hannah21992 Agreed. I was there in 1999. People commenting don't even pay attention to the video they are watching.

[cashmo200]

@AmericanMan512 dude you are pathetic. People died and you are on youtube posting Rash juvenile comments. Tell our fucking govt to stop spending 12 billion a month on iraq since money is what you are worried about, you miserable piece of shit. You need values dude seriously

[Itsmeagain9145]

@acampo51 Sounds like you are one scared LSU fan.

[JKaTm12]

@AmericanMan512  fuck you

[TheJMS90210]

they should make one in memory of the death without been burned and left there till it last.

[Wyrmshadow]

I was there @ stack the night it happened, but left just 10 minutes before it fell. That whole night and the week following was just surreal.

[emailjeremiah]

@Wyrmshadow I was there as well, I was a resident of Walton hall. Completely agree, it was surreal.

[TheBreetknee]

@AmericanMan512

i "loose"? hahaha okay. you're right obviously. i did "loose" that argument. gosh. also, i would recommend calming down. thanks and GIG EM.

[TheBreetknee]

Oh, and judging by your "go longhorns" comment, I'm guessing you might be a teensie bit sore that the longhorns lost to the aggies last week?

[MilesLewis100]

@TheBreetknee

People died in that bonfire and you people are making jokes?

[doubletothetop]

@AmericanMan512

lol

You obviously don't know anything.

You're so wrong.

I didn't say people don't have a right to say whatever they want.

[AmericanMan512]

@doubletothetop

GO LONGHORNS!!!

[doubletothetop]

@NolanRogers2

TAMU hasn't funded bonfire in 11 years. Bonfire isn't meaningless, and if you're so damn concerned about the poor, why don't you spend your efforts trying to help them instead of posting tasteless comments on youtube videos? You aren't going to change anyone's mind.

[kaaatify]

Aggie Bonfire has continued to burn... Just not ON campus. But it still burns every year.

[zrdunn]

@kaaatify Except for the burn bannnnnnnnnnnnn

[TheGrahams]

I'm from Toronto, and was lucky enough to visit Texas A&M... unreal!

[Itsmeagain9145]

@TheGrahams I'm glad you liked our campus. :D

[WilltheAggie12]

Even if the faculty wanted to have the bon fire on campus again it wouldn't really be possible, there is a memorial for the 99' bonfire standing today. It's held somewhere off campus now but the tradition stands. A&M and TU can agree on one thing, we lost twelve good texans that day and they will not soon be forgotten. God Bless, and Gig Em'

[doubletothetop]

@WilltheAggie12

They could do it on West Campus, near the George Bush Library.

I wish they would, because I helped cut and stack it last year, but I didn't get to attend burn. Wasn't enough room. I sat in traffic for around an hour, only to be sent home.

[Seichie7]

@krashly71 words can not describe the stupidity you displayed in this comment

[Rdsxfn17]

i thought they still do a mini bonfire off campus

[Itsmeagain9145]

@Rdsxfn17 we do. It is still 40 something feet tall instead of 60 feet. However it's not the same as having the bonfire on campus :'(

[bamarine247]

@Rdsxfn17 they do. while the campus admin does not hold the bonfire on grounds anymore, students still hold their own bonfires off campus to continue the Aggie spirit.

[yourrapunzel]

It seems like it was a disaster waiting to happen. They became complacent after years of success.

[emailjeremiah]

@yourrapunzel No. it was fine in 1998. It has engineering changes made in 1999. It was redesigned horribly in 1999. That was the issue. Some hot shot thought he could make it better, and screwed the pooch.

[doubletothetop]

@PungiFungi 12 people die in a hundred years, and so we just shut this down? That doesn't make any sense.

That would be like outlawing football.

It was an accident.

[emailjeremiah]

@doubletothetop Agreed.

[Tengoko]

This was a sad day for all Texans. God Bless those effected by this tragedy.

[ALIOSZACAPONE]

bacówke by se z tego drewna wyrzeźbili albo jakiś kościółek a nie tam hajcować hohoły

[chrismartinez03]

have some f-ing respect for the 12 students that died djbrokenhigh. the aggie bonfire had always been a project ran by students for students. it was a tragedy, not a joke a-hole.

[Gman81dawgs]

R.I.P the 12 Aggies who died

-A Texas Longhorn

[polyfan5435]

Classy.

[polyfan5435]

You don't sound like an Aggie, you sound like a tea sip; belittling traditions..

[Ignn04]

damn.... 10 years ago

[pancakekiller91]

I was in second grade when this happened and my teacher's nephew was one of the twelve killed... god bless

[cmosser142]

Austin remembers our friends in College Station today.

[chrismartinez03]

In Remembrance to the 12 Fallen a decade ago.

[TheAnonymous1999]

As for the Bonfire - 9/11 comparison, I remember the shock early that November morning of my freshman year when bonfire fell. That was my University. They were my fellow Aggies. I saw how it affected the lives of people I loved who were a part of bonfire. I watched the 2nd plane hit the 2nd tower. Lives were lost. Shock and grief ensued with both. To scoff at what happened at 2:42 am in Aggieland is an insult to the 12 lives that were lost and to the families who still morn them. Shame on you!

[NeedADamnUserName]

Please be respectful. Gig 'Em Aggies and God Bless the lost and their families. Those of us there will always remember. Let the spirit of Bonfire continue.

[boogerman888]

I'm in the Nerd bonfire crew right now... I appreciate it so much.

Discipline & love are some of the best things I've learned.

[aggiefitz]

Lechner I assume?

WALTON LOADS!!

[kckcmctcrc]

Texas Monthly's (Oct/Nov 09) cover story is about Bonfire, very good story. Gov. Perry (A&M alum) commented that the Bonfire should return.

I'm not an Aggie, therefore i cannot fully Appreciate the Bonfire, but I feel it should return, no doubt with more expertise in its construction. I feel it will someday return. A&M is a great university, I'd not be disappointed if my kids were to attend university there.

[chrmorri]

We will never forget.

Gig 'Em

[hutigg]

It was a tragedy, but everything has a dark side.

[fav13andacdc]

bringbonfireback (dot) com

All aggies sign the petition!!! bring back aggie bonfire!!

[bobbybyxby]

I'm from the UK and a question has been posed by one of the Aggie students re: should the bonfire be allowed to return.

I've got to say, the bonfire and it's building looks awsome and we have nothing like this here.

I believe it should, for a couple of reasons.

A/ Although the deaths were tragic, I think those that died would see the rebuilding as a fitting memorial to them.

B/ When did America ever say about tragedies which they have experienced. i.e. 9/11, We will just give up.

[hockeystar0330]

I'll whoop to that

[raiderkt]

Did you just compare the Aggie Bonfire to 9/11? You're an idiot!

[Itsmeagain9145]

He's not an idiot.  He is just comparing the similarities. Like what the bonfire collapse was to A&M like 9/11 was for the entire country.

[bobbybyxby]

If raiderkt had the intelligence to read, he might have understood that what I said was American people do not give up.

But i'm afraid I just give up on you. Dumbass.

[Itsmeagain9145]

He goes to Texas Tech. Dont worry about him. They are assholes. They throw things at fans of other schools like tortillas and beer cans and if they win they storm the field and take down the goal posts. In this Hitler parody they make fun of them by saying they have an average IQ of 18, and their application for admissions is a "Dora the Explorer" coloring book. /watch?v=nmEAo-nzBgY

[Itsmeagain9145]

If you are interested here is this vid that kind of gives the whole story. /watch?v=wqljYg1NRVQ

[emailjeremiah]

@Itsmeagain9145 Best video quality and content I have seen about this, so far, thank you.

Jeremiah Taylor, class of 2000

[Itsmeagain9145]

@bobbybyxby I like your comment. I am a current student here, and I would love to see it return to campus. They now have one off campus that is similar, but its about 40 feet tall as compared to 50. However my roommate the semester before i entered the university worked on it and he estimated it was taller than 40 feet. Anyway, I am not the only one in my family to go here, and I have also talked to people who were at A&M in 99, and they pretty much are in agreement that these people would...

[emailjeremiah]

@Itsmeagain9145 I was there in 1999. While witnesses generally exaggerate the size of things they see, we also under reported size and height because of restrictions.  If they said we couldn't build it larger than 45 feet, we reported that it was 45 feet.

[Itsmeagain9145]

@bobbybyxby (contd) want this tradition to be ended. They died taking part in a tradition that they loved. :(

[MrSuperHappyFunTimes]

7:30

Guy in the Orange shirt was dying in that picture, and was in fact the last to die. Surprised they showed this.

[faithoffroad]

Do you know his name?

[MrSuperHappyFunTimes]

7:29 would have been a better link, but his name:

Tim Kerlee.

If you look closely at how his legs are facing you can see just how bad the injuries were.

[faithoffroad]

Thats horrible. My best Friend in the Army is Micheal Self brother of Jerry Don Self.

I wish this horrible tragedy had never happened.

[emailjeremiah]

@MrSuperHappyFunTimes I talked to him at length while he lay dying. Most people wouldn't approach him, he was obviously ruined beyond physical repair.

[huntnpb]

ive talked with several '99 redpots, all of whom where very close to one or more of those killed in the collapse. All have told me that the fallen would have never wished for the bonfire to be discontinued. It is truly a sad case, now going on 10 years since the tragedy.

[slwdsm]

He said "success he's had today," surely as a reference to his success in a professional aspect. I guess fans of other persuasions could easily understand, because holding candles at a hex rally, is easily comparable to the building of the bonfire.

it always amazes me how people can make hasty generalizations and turn them into a way to persecute someone because of their activities.

If i fell to your level, I could call you a fascist that just seeks to persecute groups you do not understand.

[whatsup100]

The collapse resulted from mistakes that could have been avoided. Having the logs be more vertical on the '99 stack shouldn't have been done; the logs need to lean in towards the stack for stability. Although the logs that year were irregularily shaped, having them lean inwards would have helped a lot. To me, the two big factors that caused the collapse was having the logs too vertical and aggressive log wedging. Aggie Bonfire still burns brightly every year because of Student Bonfire!

[Marsuvees0623]

It makes sense though. He was the student leader of the project and it taught him the skills necessary for engineering, construction, and leadership. Heaven forbid I or any others can have a strong loyalty and bond to our university.

[Balin93]

Jim McTasney is a remarkable man. He was one of my sophomore advisors on the Aggie Fish Drill team. I respect him a great deal.

[flyswatter2011]

This may be kind of sadistic, but did you notice that TWELVE people died? A&M is home to the 12th man...

And I'm not against the Aggies. GIG 'EM! Right now they are beating tu. BTHO tu! WHOOP

[Balin93]

Nothing sadistic about it. It's a meaningful coincidence to all Aggies that there were 12 victims, made even more poignant by the miracle survival of what should have been the 13th casualty.

[redasscd]

I helped build the last bonfire that burned in '98 and was there the night the last fell. In my opinion it is the best tradition A&M has/had. Tragic as this event was, those 12 kids, my fellow classmates, died doing something they loved. I understand the admins desire to not let it happen again, but with their flawed thinking we should never fly airplanes again b/c one crashes.

[TexasAgg48]

BTHOt.u.

GIG'EM AGS

We will always remember those lost to Bonfire '99.

[pogomwg]

Grats you can count t-sip... now go troll somewhere else.

[aggiefitz]

2%er is too good a term for some. I prefer "New army"

[twrecks08]

Gig 'Em Ags!

Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2012!

[valsoldier03]

to remain off campus for now anyway except for damn people walking down the narrow-ass gravel road with school buses flying up and down it because they don't feel like waiting in ling.

[valsoldier03]

BTHOB '09. I'll be in Iraq next yr but you bet your ass I'll be wearing a black pot and building Student Bonfire '10! The only way it will be back on campus is if professionals or just the engineering dept do it and that defeats the purpose and it would keep going off campus anyway. Seems like the general concensus at Bonfire this year was most of us would rather keep it off campus for now. Everyone I talked to felt it would be safer to remain off campus for now anyway except

[WoodenPilot]

i do understand how northside can seem quite unruly, but noone should ever take them as a true representation of what aggies are really about. ol' army is about the corps, the self discipline and those who want to emulate that sort of life style, not the north side frat boys who spend their lives drinking and partying. Believe me when i say that aggieland does not embrace this sort of thing and most of us who are proud aggies really look down on this behavior

[Aggiefan09]

wow.....a true aggie would never look down on other Aggies just because

1) they are non regs

2) they are greek.......which is stupid to assume that the Northside boys are fratboys because they hate frats

Aggieland is my home.....and it is this elitism from corps guys who consider themselves sacred that really rains down on the all inclusive environment that the university is trying to establish....

Gig Em Ags

Fightin Texas Aggie Class of 09

A-WHO9P!!!

[emailjeremiah]

@WoodenPilot Class of '00 here. Northside, Walton was in no way frat, and was easily the most hard core group of rough necks around. We did shit I can only talk about due to the statute of limitations. Yet, we were polite, and protected people. Literally. You may continue to look down upon me from your high horse, sir.

[WoodenPilot]

the very, very sad thing here is I'm fairly certain I know who you are. and knowing who some of your buddies are makes it all the more disrespectful. Yes some things in the corps and the band have been changing and becoming easier and less intense. but to see something trying to persist and stay with what it used to be should bring hope and excitement for all the other things that may one day be a part of aggie tradition again

[WoodenPilot]

some people just don't understand the simple things like tradition. the things our country is founded on are all just traditions that people loved enough to follow through on for years just like at A&M. if you are not that kind of person than sure you go have you're fun at t.u. I hope it's right for you, but with the attitude you seem to have i think you'll have a lot of trouble finding your place in this world

[neovirfox]

Thanks for posting this online. I did not realize Modern Marvels had made this episode.

Gig 'em

Class 2011

[aggiefitz]

Build The hell ags

Walton Loads

[ultimatedude3312]

I go to Mizzou but they need to bring this back to campus. None of those 12 students lost their life to destroy a tradition, they were continuing it. They would want it to continue. Hopefully after last week's settlement, this will be back on A&M's campus in 09.

[crazytexan1234]

I hope you are right. It is just too bad our football team sucks this year =[.

[blueskygirlio]

I honestly think.

That if Virginia Tech can come back from a murder streak.

we can come back from a bonfire collapse.

Gig 'em Aggs.

[slbrown50]

it can't be brought back because lawyers like john edwards have destroyed america. in 1972 not only would it have continues but there would have been a new on built in 1999 before the game.

all that said, it is kind of silly for this guy to attribute all his success in life to the bonfire.

[ftaco2010]

It would be insulting to rebuild after a collapse that killed 12 of your buddies without properly assessing what caused it. I would love to see it brought back to campus, but I am content with Student Bonfire for now.

Also, he attributed his leadership skills, not all of his success, to being a redpot, not bonfire itself. Pay attention.

BTHOB'08

[WoodenPilot]

bring bonfire back to campus

and thanks for posting

gig 'em