Police should help make bonfire tradition safer

TO THE EDITOR:

I may be only a budding policy analyst, but there seems to be to be a rather easy fix for this controversy over the Franklin Street victory bonfires.

Keep the tradition. That is, with a few minor changes.

Last March, there were hordes of police officers and firefighters, but most of them that weren’t pulling people off of trees and light poles were standing around idly, looking for something to do.

It seems that in exchange for a small donation, the University can ask the Chapel Hill police and fire departments to set a few bonfires and keep them under control, so that those who wish may jump them.

In addition, they would be charged with extinguishing any “unauthorized” fires students or citizens set at random, which seem to me the most dangerous part of this whole tradition.

Setting bonfires is a tradition for celebrating our team’s victories, but third-degree burns shouldn’t be. Carolina always honors tradition, but we sometimes need to make small adjustments to ensure our own safety.



Jennifer Pressley
Senior
Anthropology