WVU cracks down on couch burning
02.09.11
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Students at West Virginia University who grapple with participate in in the traditional couch-burnings to celebrate big football games could face arson charges, officials say.
Morgantown officials say they have unambiguous this year to use the state fire code, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
In the past, students who set couches on fire or started fires in Dumpsters -- another WVU ritual -- were prosecuted under local ordinances with the stiffest penalty a $1,000 fine. A third-degree arson assurance means a felony record and possibly prison time.
T-shirts for sale in Morgantown stores celebrate the institution: "WVU: Where greatness is learned and couches are burned." Generations of students have started fires to mark football wins or losses.
Fire officials say the habit became a bit much during a period between 1988 and 1993 when WVU's football team had a five-year winning streak.
"It went from a couple of fires a year into a hundred fires a year," Fire Capt. Ken Tennant said. "Until after that they were no longer associated with a sporting circumstance, they were just at any time."
Source: UPI.com