Bonfire is about the burning desire to beat the hell outta t.u.  It builds leadership and camaraderie between students of any origin.  Bonfire is about being apart of something bigger than yourself.

Every log that goes on Bonfire is cut with axes, moved, loaded, unloaded, moved, and stacked by students.  The 2006 Student Bonfire had over 1000 participants.  Before participating, everyone must attend a safety Cut Class.  While at Bonfire, everyone must wear a pot (protective head-gear), leather boots (no tennis-shoes), and long pants.  Alcohol is strictly prohibited at any Bonfire venue. 

History-

Unity Project

Without a Bonfire for three years, in 2002, the students decided that they were not going to let the tradition die.  Students brought it upon themselves to organize cut, stack, and burn, financially and logistically.  An entire student generation (four class years) was about to pass, and with it, all of the existing institutional knowledge of how Bonfire is built.  To make this tradition possible for future generations, this organization was created with numerous safety changes.  The stack was three piles in the shape of varsity’s horns sawed off.

Student Bonfire

In 2003, a new design was implemented that resembled the traditional tiered ‘wedding cake’ stack, except every log in the stack extended to grade (in other words, there were no logs in the stack supported on top of logs below, a very unstable configuration).  Instead of stacking logs loose (as has been done in the past), we now start with a massive, un-spliced, center-pole set fifteen feet into the ground.  We then place the longest logs around the center-pole, and work out to the eventual perimeter of the stack, with shorter and shorter logs.  In addition to the center-pole being set into the ground, four additional solid poles are set into the ground around the center-pole about ten feet out, and the entire assembly is structurally tied together with steel cross members twenty feet above grade.  In fact, the superstructure of the stack utilizes the structural components and practices utilized by the communications and power distribution industry.

The entire stack structure and assembly process was designed by a P.E. (professional engineer) licensed to practice in Texas. Today’s Bonfire is forty-five feet from grade to the top of the outhouse, and will never increase in height.

The name of the organization is now Student Bonfire and has had over a thousand students participate each year.  Student Bonfire seeks to teach participants unity, hard work, leadership and camaraderie through the safe continuation of a timeless tradition.  Student Bonfire also serves the student body in the community by awarding several educational scholarships to incoming freshmen.

For obvious reasons, safety has become the most important part of Bonfire.  From Cut-Class (where we cover safe Bonfire practices from A to Z), to experienced construction management, to our zero tolerance drug and alcohol policy, safety is the highest priority in everything we do.

While the student volunteers had covered much of the cost of building and burning Bonfire from 2002 to 2005, this began to change in 2006 with increased support from the community and former students however, significant assistance is still needed.  Since Student Bonfire is not supported financially by the University, Student Bonfire must raise the money each year to fund this event.  The costs include safety equipment, the use of land for the cut and stack site, trucks, tractors, diesel fuel, logging chain, steel cable, rope, as well as the Bonfire event costs on burn night (Police, Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services), and much, much more.  These funds will not only go toward the scholarships and expense of building the Bonfire, but the additional costs associated with the hosting of an event with attendance figures in the thousands.

Any students, former students, friends, and family are welcome to attend Student Bonfire (Cut, Stack, and Burn).  Bonfire is alive and is growing every year.  The spirit and traditions at Bonfire are the same as all past Bonfires.