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An emotional debate about bonfire's return to Texas A&M burst to the surface Thursday, as about 70 people gathered for an open forum on the topic.
Bonfire hasn't burned on campus since 1999, when a stack of logs tumbled, killing 12 and injuring 27 others. A group has continued a smaller version not sanctioned by the university that burns off-campus.
The meeting in the Koldus Building involved mostly students but also a few community members and several administrators, including Texas A&M Interim President R. Bowen Loftin and Joe Weber, vice president for student affairs.
Kate Luchese, a Texas A&M professor, choked up as she recalled Tim Kerlee Jr., the "sweetheart" kid in her 8 a.m. geography class who'd come in sleepy from working on bonfire. The 17-year-old died after being pulled alive from the logs.
"You need to know what's at stake," the College Station resident said to the students. "Some traditions, we just have to stop doing them."
Others made emotional arguments in favor of the fall event. After the forum, student Mike Simmons said he couldn't find the words to describe how much bonfire meant to so many people.
"Those students were on the stack at 2 a.m.," the senior finance major said about the collapse's victims. "They cared deeply about bonfire. ... If bonfire returns, it will also stand for remembering those Aggies who have fallen."
Loftin didn't speak during the open forum. But in an interview before the event, he said he has provided student leaders with a report written by former President Ray Bowen's task force in 2002. The body examined ways to bring bonfire back but concluded that safety and liability issues proved to be overwhelming.
"I urge the students that before they get into a discussion on this of any substance to be as informed as I am -- I read those reports when I got here," said Loftin, who became interim president in June following Elsa Murano's resignation.
"You should come to this debate not with emotion, not with some mythical understanding of an event you haven't ever witnessed yourself," he said. "If you read that report, it's hard to walk away and say we could do that again."
Observers cited several reasons why this debate has emerged, including the approaching 10-year anniversary of the collapse in November, the settlement of litigation last year and recent comments by Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Perry, a former Aggie yell leader, said in remarks posted online by Texas Monthly last month that bonfire would return to campus. Officials from both Texas A&M University and the Texas A&M System said at the time that no plans were in place for the tradition's return.
The comments come at a time when all nine members of the Texas A&M System Board of Regents, the system's ultimate governing authority, have been appointed by Perry.
Bryan Cole, a Texas A&M professor, served as the chair of the 96-person committee responsible for figuring out how to bring back the tradition. The body recommended in 2002 that bonfire not return because of concerns about safety and liability.
"Please don't oversimplify what is a complex issue," he said during the forum. "Educate yourselves thoroughly so you know what those are, so you can make the best decision possible."
He encouraged students to read the report, which estimated that an on-campus bonfire could cost up to $2.5 million the first year and up to $1.3 million every year after that.
Steve Humeniuk, a senior political science major, said he believes the governor's comments are responsible for starting the debate, but he's glad it's happening. He said liability would be an issue but that safety concerns don't sway him as much.
"Right now, as we're talking, there are people building a bonfire," he said, referring to the off-campus event. "Aggies could die tomorrow on that. If we bring it back, Texas A&M would have more regulatory authority."
