re: Student Bonfire to burn TOMORROW! (Jan 18th)

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I know there was an accident that resulted in a loss of life but what were the details exactly?

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First, here is the report if you want to read for yourself.

It was bad. Any formal plans were apparently woefully inadequate and not necessarily followed. I remember something about inadequate hoop strength. I know the thing was supposed to be capped at 55', and that it never was. I knew that when I was a student (1990-94). We all did.

The off-campus bonfire is supposed to be night and day different. It's engineered for starters, and alcohol use isn't tolerated by the workers.

When I was in school, most of the people out at cut were either drunk or hungover at the start of the day. We were working with axes?!? Nothing seems dangerous when you're 18 or 19 yo, I guess.

Push (when the work begins 24/7 on the stack) was even worse than cut. We would go to everclear punch parties before driving back to campus and going to stack.

Absolutely great times though. The thing drew 50,000 people every year. There were always a ton of teasips there because the thing was so much more badass than their hex rally, and they would freely admit it.

The first time I ever drank myself sick on liquor was at bonfire 1987. I was a high-school sophomore and walked from Schumacher Hall to Duncan Field and back with a bottle of whiskey. The cops did not care. Back then, they would let you back your pickup to within a certain distance to the perimeter. There were guys out there with kegs drinking in their trucks all night.