In the months before graduation, students can order and purchase memorabilia to showcase their accomplishments. The class ring has become a viable staple of school pride.
In the past, students at Ohio State have been able to design their own rings, but this year Ohio State will offer a unique, authorized class ring in efforts to restore a faded tradition.
Ron Hopper, senior vice president of the Alumni Association, said the decision to create an authorized class ring came after officials were asked to evaluate their ring program by Milestones Traditions, the company manufacturing the official rings. Hopper and university officials researched the number of rings sold on campus by all sources, and discovered fewer than 600 rings sold, but more than 10,000 graduates and 340,000 alumni. Hopper and university officials began to search for answers to why students were not purchasing class rings.
They discovered that in previous years a student could go to a university bookstore and find 30 to 40 different style of rings, which they could personalize using several designs. Various designs created problems with people being able to easily identify that a ring represented OSU. A person who was not a graduate and had no affiliation with the university could buy a ring.
“You would be hard pressed to tell if it was an Ohio State ring,” Hopper said. “You could walk around wearing an OSU ring or sit on the airplane and be talking with me and I would look at your hand, see that it was an Ohio State ring and ask if you went there,” Hopper said. “So this is part of the tradition idea. When you see something that represents OSU you assume that there is a common bond.”
University officials looked at others schools across the country with strong programs and discovered a trend.
“The schools we looked at had some kind of tradition base. That tradition base is a unique design, not 30 or 40 different styles,” Hopper said. “When you see a blue or yellow “M” on a sweatshirt, what do think of? Michigan. When you see it you know what it is. Now when you see a red block “O” on a ring, you think of Ohio State.”
To design the ring, Hopper put together a committee of students, faculty, staff and alumni and asked all major ring manufactures to propose recommendations. Each company proposed a single ring be designed that could only be purchased by students who were junior and senior standing.
“When you purchase the ring I will know that you have met certain academic requirements and it’s not that you love Ohio State and wanted to wear a ring,” Hopper said.
Hopper said the committee met during the time of the branding campaign. The idea was to use the block “O” and make a simple statement. The committee decided on a ring that would display a red block “O” set in the middle of a gold, white gold or a two-tone ring, similar to the design of the early 1920’s. No company other than Milestone Traditions is authorized to sell OSU rings.
Students who purchase the ring by March 15 will participate in a special ceremony at the Longaberger Alumni House in May. Students differ in support about restoring the ring tradition.
“I think it’s nice because the ring will stand out as a ring representing OSU. With a lot of signature rings you can’t tell unless you’re up close. It unifies everyone, making it a university thing,” said Rayni Romito, a senior in English.
Ryan Reed, a senior in aeronautical engineering, disagreed.
“I would like to design my own ring. Students have different majors and I wanted to put my major on it. I’m disappointed, but I’ll probably get it anyway.”
