You name it, Duke students are setting it on fire tonight.

Minutes after Duke squeaked by Butler in an incredible national championship game, the bonfire in the residential quad was lit, and away it went. Mattresses? Check. Beer cans. You bet. Park benches? Why not? The occasional bra? Sure.

If you can light it on fire, chances are it got heaved into the bonfire tonight - er, this morning - because when college kids celebrate these days, stuff gets set on fire. That's just how it is.

Be safe, Dukies. And congratulations on one heck of a championship game.

In Chapel Hill, officials want two things in the next few days: A Tar Heel national championship and a celebration devoid of fire.

Thus, Chancellor Holden Thorp's e-mail to students on the issue of the celebratory bonfire. What is it with fire, anyhow?

He writes:

"It's April, and we're in the Final Four. We have so much to celebrate ... the best coach and staff in college basketball, a fantastic team that continues to amaze us, and an athletics department that is a class act and does so much to define Carolina as a great university.
 
My family and I will be in Detroit cheering our hearts out. I encourage fans here to do the same in the Smith Center. And when you go to Franklin Street to celebrate, have fun.
 
But don't forget safety. Chapel Hill police have set reasonable rules based on years of experience. Respect that - and think twice about being associated with bonfires, which put innocent people at great risk.
(Check our YouTube Channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/UNCChapelHill, for the facts on bonfires from Dr. Bruce Cairns, director of the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center.)
 
This has been another great season of Tar Heel basketball. So let's show our team that they have the best fans in the country.
 
Go Heels!
 
Sincerely,
 
Holden Thorp