The committee strives to design a ring that we, as students, can take pride in, and which will, upon graduation, unite us all as graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since then, each class has appointed its own Ring Committee to uphold these time-honored traditions. With that in mind, along with the fact that many other schools had buildings similar to our Great Dome, the Committee ultimately decided to honor our hard-working and industrious mascot on the ring, allowing the class of 1930 to proudly wear the first-ever Standard Technology Ring, lovingly referred to as the Brass Rat. The beaver is noted for his engineering, mechanical skills, and industry. The beaver not only typifies the Tech, but his habits are peculiarly our own. Hornady’s book on the animals of North America and instantly chose the beaver. But neither of these were American animals. He is wise, patient, strong, hardworking, and, like all who graduate from Tech, has a good hide. We first thought of the kangaroo which, like Tech, goes forward in leaps and bounds. The Committee looked to the original discussion over the mascot, calling upon the now-famous defense of the beaver by Lester Gardner, class of 1897. They couldn’t decide whether to put the beaver or the Dome on the bezel of ring. Brigham Allen brought together a member from each of the Classes of 1930, 1931, and 1932 to design a ring that the Institute Committee would approve as the Standard Technology Ring. The tradition began in the spring of 1929 when senior class president C.

Legend has it that it is the third most recognized ring in the world, after the Superbowl Ring and the Pope Ring. At Commencement, the ring is flipped over so that the beaver is sitting on the world. MIT students get theirs sophomore year and wear the beaver “sitting” on them until graduation.

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