COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — The Aggie spirit is reignited as students held the first on-campus Bonfire Cut class in 25 years, preparing to revive a cherished tradition.
- The first on-campus Bonfire Cut class in 25 years took place Tuesday, teaching students the ins and outs of cutting trees safely for the famous Aggie Bonfire.
- Every year, students cut around 3,000 trees from donated land, to stack the 32-foot bonfire at a location off-campus.
- Interest in the Bonfire has skyrocketed since the announcement that A&M and U-T football teams rejoining the same conference.
- The official Aggie bonfire was discontinued in 1999, when the bonfire collapsed during construction, killing 12 people. Starting in 2002, students started an unofficial, off-campus bonfire to remember those killed in the 1999 collapse and to continue an Aggie tradition.
Broadcast script:
Excitement and Aggie spirit filled Rudder Auditorium on Tuesday evening during the first on-campus Bonfire Cut class in 25 years.
So, what is Cut class?
“Cut is when everyone goes out into the woods with axes, machetes, and hatchets to actually cut down trees. We cut down about 3,000 trees a year, and then haul them all out to Stack on trucks and trailers,” said Jason Reynolds and Mason Taylor, the Head Stack and Head Civilian of the Aggie Bonfire. They’re responsible for organizing the students who want to be part of the tradition, stirring up Aggie spirit, and ensuring everyone’s safety.
“We do all this to keep you safe,” they emphasized.
Students have been building the Bonfire off-campus since 2002, three years after the deadly collapse that killed 12 people. Now that the A&M and U-T football teams are once again playing in the same conference, there’s renewed interest in bringing back the Bonfire tradition.
“With the increased interest after the announcement of the TU game and the excitement the university generated in the spring, we’re seeing a lot more people getting involved, so we decided to ramp it up for this year,” they explained.
This is the first of two nights of Cut classes, and already, it seems like Aggies are eager to dive into the tradition.
“We’ve had stacks with as few as 10 people and as many as 300 or 400,” they said. “We’re expecting close to 800 to 1,000 active participants, maybe at least 500 a day in the woods.”
Starting in November, they’ll be in the woods, stacking the 32-foot Bonfire every day for three and a half weeks from 6 PM until 6 AM. To these Aggies, it's all about tradition.