BRYAN, Texas — Events surrounding Bonfire are still going on as planned, just with a few adjustments.
Texas A&M's Traditions Council and Student Bonfire both announced how Remembrance Ceremony and Burn Night will be handled this year.
"I think it’s going to be really impactful to have something where we can still show up and be physically present," said Kate Wynn, the Bonfire Remembrance chair for Traditions Council.
The 2020 Bonfire Remembrance Ceremony at Bonfire Memorial will take place in-person Nov. 18 at 2:42 am. There will also be a live stream option available.
Traditions Council is welcoming everyone to the ceremony but asks people to wear masks and physically distance themselves. The Spirit Ring will be exclusively reserved for the families of the 12 Aggies who lost their lives in the 1999 collapse.
“I think there is something to be said about being physically present," Wynn said. "It means so much to the families each year.”
Whereas the Remembrance Ceremony will be in-person to the public, Student Bonfire's Burn Night will not. It will be streamed for free on TexAgs on Nov. 24.
“It’s going to be essentially private," said Jackson Blivin, a junior red pot for Student Bonfire. "That’s one of the main things the county wanted to have. They don’t want a mass gathering.”
The only people that will be at Burn in-person are those who participated in building stack and a guest. Student Bonfire said people will be wearing masks the entire night.
By making it a live-stream only event, Student Bonfire will lose out on revenue that would go towards building next year's Bonfire. They are asking for any support and donations.
Both groups know how important Aggie traditions are. In a year of uncertainty, those traditions are what many are relying on.
“We build it because it’s bigger than us," Blivin said.