With axes and machetes in hand, hundreds of students gathered Sunday to begin the semester-long task of building Bonfire.
As a part of First Cut, participants gathered at Sadberry Lane in Bryan to clear brush and cut down trees. The process is the first stage in preparation for the Bonfire Stack. As of now, Stack is set to ignite Nov. 24, the night before the A&M football game against LSU.
This year’s First Cut saw Aggies from different backgrounds come out to be a part of the tradition. Some, like entomology senior and Bonfire “fish” Andrew Graf, came out for the first time in their college career to experience the tradition firsthand.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a year and was able to come out this fall,” Graf said. “And I always liked the idea of coming out, doing hard work and help- ing out with Bonfire and so I’m finally here.”
The annual tradition of Student Bonfire and First Cut develops a sense of camaraderie, said Graf.
“It’s great being out here with everyone,” Graf said. “Everyone is encouraging each other and it’s a great bonding experience since we’re all helping build Bonfire — everyone is contributing to it and it’s great to seriously be a part of such a great tradition.”
For some students, participating in First Cut is a family tradition, said Kathryn Sweeney, agricultural science sophomore.
“I went to Bonfire before it collapsed when I was two or three years old,” Sweeney said. “I’ve grown up hearing about Student Bonfire, and my dad got to come out here all the time and help out and now it’s a full circle that I get to come and do what he did back then.”
Experienced participants in Student Bonfire are back and glad to see the tradition continue with new classes, said Taylor Horton, economics junior. 
“It’s good to see the tradition is still alive,” Horton said. “My family has been a part of the tradition since the ’70s — my grandfather was a Senior Red Pot, and we’re able to continue the tradition that’s been going on since 1909.”
Student Bonfire is a perfect example of Aggies pulling together to do more, said Sweeney.
“It’s crazy coming out here and seeing 20 people lift a tree,” Sweeney said. “You get to see cadets come out here with non-regs, and we all get to work together.”
For many, Student Bonfire symbolizes the love participants have for Texas A&M and each other, said Horton.
“It sounds cliche, but Bonfire is the burning desire all Aggies have for this school,” Horton said. “You’re out here working — blood, sweat and tears, being put in with all your friends or a class younger or older; it’s the meaning of Aggies being Aggies together, and you’re always going to have that with each other, nothing will take that away from you.”