When the news made ripples throughout the student body that Bonfire was not going to be sanctioned by the Texas A&M administration in 2002, many people thought that the spark had gone out forever.

However, the same night the decision was announced, in a conversation between myself—a senior at the time—and a fish, the groundwork was set for a group that made it a goal to ensure that the fire continues to burn on. That night, we decided that something had to be done—some sort of public showing of the student support for continuing the Bonfire tradition.

On a whim, we sent an email to a handful of people, and it spread like wildfire. Within hours, every major media outlet and at the same time, the entire Aggie family received the message.

We must show unity among the students in support of continuing the tradition of Bonfire. It must be shown in a way for the entire state of Texas to see, and this must be done soon, and in a mature way.

After a few hours, the email was being forwarded back to me, a sure indicator of the great Aggie passion for Texas Aggie Bonfire and the campus wide support of the efforts that we had begun.

The freezing cold rain was pouring in Aggieland that day—as the organizers joked how much it seemed like “Bonfire weather”. An hour before the rally, we had no idea what we were going to say or how we were going to say it, but reporters were calling begging for answers to questions and wanting to know more than any of us knew.

As the hour approached, Marc Barringer and I emailed each other back and forth to hash out the final details of the event.

The cameras set up at Rudder Fountain, and as the crowd of five swelled to five hundred, students came out, and administrators too came to see what the commotion was about.

Because of the cold rain, everyone huddled together under the breezeway not sure of what was going to transpire. But things progressed, and the Aggies demonstrated that they stand united behind Bonfire. At the last minute, Marc sent someone to set up the email address that was announced at the end of the rally.

The response was overwhelming.  From the hits to that email address, the Bonfire Coalition email list was established, and that gave rise to the organization that is in existence today.

Marc Barringer, an organizer of the rally and co-chair of the Coalition said, "Bonfire Coalition emerged from a small spark in the hearts of the Aggies. That small spark erupted into the great blaze that is Bonfire Coalition."

Without a doubt, that day was one of the most definitive moments of my collegiate career. All I knew was that the cameras were going to be on us, and that I was wondering if anyone would show up. With all the Aggies that did end up showing, that stood united together in the face of harsh weather for all of Texas to see, it really did remind me of exactly what the Texas Aggie Bonfire is all about.

One week later, Marc and I held a meeting in the Flag Room of the MSC to share our vision of what the mission and goals of the Coalition should be.  We spent the better part of that week between the rally and our Feb. 11, 2002, meeting and laying the foundation for Bonfire Coalition.   With only a day’s notice, over 50 current and former students showed up in the flag room to find out what Bonfire Coalition is all about. 

We already had over 150 people on our listserv, and now we had direction for the organization.  At that gathering in the flag room, we answered questions about the Coalition, opened up the process to select a board of directors and, most importantly, stressed the professional and responsible nature of our movement.

Media response to the formation of the Coalition was very warm and receptive. 

Since Feb. 11, 2002, the Coalition has grown a little bigger every day.   I have graduated and am now attending law school at SMU, but the Coalition is going to be around for years to come.  If you want to find out more about the Coalition, please contact any of the current board members as we have and always will operate with no secrets.  We are a public organization that has nothing to hide.