page_title: MIT class ring
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: MIT class ring / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Shank of 1930 MIT Ring
context_page_description: Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class ring, often called the Brass Rat, is a commemorative ring for the graduating class of students at MIT. The ring is redesigned each year by a committee of MIT students. The class ring has three main sections: the bezel, containing MIT's mascot, the beaver; the MIT seal; and the class year. The side surfaces of the current ring design show the Boston and Cambridge skylines. An MIT campus map and the student's name are engraved on the inner surface. On earlier versions, the Great Dome and Building 10 facade were featured on each shank, with "MIT" under it on one side and the class year on the other.
  The phrase "Brass Rat" is derived from the alleged resemblance of the gold beaver to a rat. Among other reasons the beaver was chosen as mascot because it is an American animal, and considered to be "the engineer of the animal world". The ring is not literally made of brass, and has typically been made in various alloys of gold, platinum, or stainless steel.
context_section_description: The ring was first proposed in 1929 and labeled the "Standard Technology Ring".
  In the spring of 1929, C. Brigham Allen, President of the class of 1929, appointed a ring committee consisting of one member of each of the classes of 1930, 1931, and 1932. The committee was headed by Theodore A. Riehl, and its sole purpose was to provide a ring which the Institute Committee would approve as the Standard Technology Ring. In October the committee submitted its first detailed report to the Institute Committee and requested a decision as to whether the Institute Dome or the Beaver should be used on the face of the ring. This precipitated a vigorous discussion concerning the exact status of the Beaver as the Institute mascot. Investigation showed that, on January 17, 1914, President Maclaurin formally accepted the Beaver as the mascot of the Institute at the annual dinner of the Technology Club of N.Y. Lester Gardner (SB, 1898) explained the decision:
  We first thought of the kangaroo which like Tech, goes forward in leaps and bounds ... Then we considered the elephant. He is wise, patient, strong, hard working and like all [students] who graduate from Tech, has a good tough hide.
  But neither of these were American animals. We turned to William Temple Hornaday's textbook, The American Natural History: A Foundation of Useful Knowledge of the Higher Animals of North America (1906) and instantly chose the beaver. As you will see, the beaver not only typifies the Tech [student], but his habits are peculiarly our own. Mr. Hornaday says, "Of all the animals in the world, the beaver is noted for his engineering and mechanical skill and habits of industry. His habits are nocturnal—he does his best work in the dark."
  There was no record of any action having been taken by the Institute Committee so that the body went on record as approving the Beaver for the official mascot of Technology. Opinion was still divided on the question of Dome versus Beaver, but with the realization that many schools had domes somewhere similar to Technology's, the Institute Committee decided to use the Beaver on the face of the ring. The Dome lent itself particularly well to use on the shanks.
  Since that time, subsequent classes have appointed a Ring Committee to design their own MIT ring. The goal of these committees has been to create a ring that keeps the design that is unmistakably the MIT ring, yet introduce changes that will allow that ring to always be identified with their class. This tradition has developed throughout the years producing one of the most cherished symbols of an MIT education that is recognized worldwide.
  With the spread of economical computer numerical control and then 3D printing (both are technologies which were pioneered by MIT people) throughout the jewelry industry, the cost of producing custom designs each year has dropped dramatically. As a result, ring designs have changed more radically from year to year, as designers have taken advantage of greater flexibility in producing new jewelry dies.
caption: Shank (1930)
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