It’s been three months since Ring Delivery, where sophomores receive their class ring to celebrate being halfway through their journeys.

The event is somehow both underwhelming and overwhelming. Underwhelming, in that there are no activities other than taking pictures, snacking, and dancing—which are, of course, fun but it’s really just that. Overwhelming, in that everyone is there. There are few moments in the MIT journey where a whole class is together, and this was one of them. It’s fun seeing who knows who, especially the overlaps between people you knew separately but not together. No one warned me how chaotic timing would be. Everyone wanted a bite out of everyone for photos, which panned out disastrously and beautifully among a thousand students. Picture this: a group waits on one person before taking their photo but that one person is in another group photo and that other group is waiting for another person who is also taking pictures with another group… and so on. It’s fun. We managed to figure it out, for the most part.

bloggers!!! jebby, andi, ella, and i

xuan l. ’25 and i ganging up on sonny x. ’25 (we weightlifted/kickboxed together on campus, so this photo paid homage to that)

jade d. ’25 & i (and two others caught up in the background lol)

my heart, the chaos table (alonso h. ’25, caitlin o. ’25, isaac l. ’25, me, daina n. ’25, asal v. ’25, and malachi m. ’25)!!! (credit: maxwell y. ’23)

a silly little selfie

married to the ‘tute

After Ring Delivery, I’ve noticed that the Brass Rat elicits three main things for me: (1) a regular fondness for MIT, (2) interactions I wouldn’t have otherwise, and (3) an eye for media spottings.

one

The ring depicts a lot of physical entities around the campus area: the Boston skyline, Cambridge skyline, a map of MIT’s underground tunnel system, the Great Dome, and the Charles river. Sometimes, I glance down at the ring and am reminded of some wonderful memories I’ve had at these places.

two

Right after school ended this past spring, I attended Summer 2023 Wildfire, a northeast fire spinning retreat. Every attendee had to work shifts to help put the event on, and I was a greeter. Several alumni that I had never met before were wearing their Brass Rats and I thought to point them out! It was fun connecting to MIT fire spinners of the past, especially through a physical item we both regularly wore. Outside of that retreat, I’ve also bumped into other MIT students and professors at airports, restaurants, and other public spaces. The ring always sparked a sense of camaraderie.

three

MIT alumni sometimes appear in media—like movies and news articles and such—and they often don the Brass Rat. It’s still very strange for me to feel… affiliated? It’s fun to look at an image online and think “oh, I have the same thing!”⁠01 technically, every class gets a custom ring with their year and class-specific design modifications, but they all have core similarities It’s like a lifelong game of iSpy. The ring is a great way to feel connected to beavers past, present, and future.⁠02 There’s a rich history behind the ring—if you wanted to dig in more, it’s laid out well on both the <a href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/history-of-the-brass-rat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blogs</a> and <a href="https://alum.mit.edu/about/brass-rat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">alumni site.</a>

tony stark (from the 2008 'iron man' film)

erin gilbert (from the 2016 'ghostbusters' film)

buzz aldrin (astronaut who was on the first mission to the moon, apollo 11)

t.j. creamer and nicholas patrick (astronauts on the ISS)

Previous Next

More Brass Rat info linked here for Iron Man, Ghostbusters, Apollo 11, and the ISS. Bonus: a Grad Rat (graduate equivalent of the Brass Rat) appearance in a McDonald’s commercial.

I feel old. I’ve always felt old, but now especially with this ring. I don’t think this feeling is necessarily good nor bad, just a feeling. I am moving through time; time is moving through me. The finiteness of my time⁠03 not just at MIT but also life as a whole at the institute is real. But, that finiteness enables me to spend my time more wisely and fully. I’m excited for these ~upperclassmen~ years.

I finally had the chance to dust off my dressmaking dreams when Ring Delivery rolled around this past April. Ring Delivery is a major milestone where sophomores receive their brass rats to celebrate completing half of our undergraduate journey through hell the Institute. It’s also an incredibly fancy event that expects people to peel off their crusty career fair t-shirts for suits and gowns. 

As I prepared to make my dress, I realized that watching DIY fashion youtubers sew doesn’t automatically make you a master seamstress. Who could’ve known?! Thankfully, a mentor at Metropolis, an especially accessible makerspace at MIT, was happy to teach me how to use a sewing machine. As practice, I made this harness out of elastic bands and O rings: 

Making the harness required zero patterning and only short stitches. To practice patterning and making longer stitches, which would be required for a fancy dress, I tried to make a circle skirt out of a thrifted dress with a beautiful ukiyo-e style print and some scrap blue fabric. My patterns didn’t quite match up — curse tolerances! And I kept sewing pieces with the incorrect sides together — bless my seam ripper! Nevertheless, it felt good to have a nonzero amount of sewing machine experience under my belt. Sadly I never took a picture of said skirt, and I don’t have it with me at this time. 

Onwards towards making my actual dress! After spending who knows how many hours scrolling through Etsy, I decided on this beautiful black tulle with stars and moons embroidered in gold. I love celestial aesthetics for the idea that when I see a star, a stream of photons must’ve traveled unobstructed for billions of trillions of miles only to hit a tiny patch of my retina. It makes my existence feel just that much more meaningful. Because the tulle is sheer and flimsy, I also bought a couple of yards of black cotton from Van’s Discount Fabrics in Chinatown for a sturdier lining. Always love supporting local businesses!

I decided on making a two piece wrap dress with a tie closure, heavily based on this tutorial by Micarah Tewers. As someone often who doesn’t have the patience to measure things in standard units, I appreciated Micarah’s instructions to cut pieces in “the length of a forearm and the height of two mugs.” 

Tulle was kind of finicky to work with because it scrunched up easily under the sewing machine, but I’m happy with how the top turned out. 

To make the skirt piece, I cut, hemmed, and attached a large rectangle of the tulle to another large rectangle of the black cotton. I sewed in some pleats to add some pizzazz (and to hide the fact that my two large rectangles didn’t quite match up). 

Here’s my final dress! It wasn’t not as finely crafted as what you’d buy from a store, but I dug the grunginess of my DIY efforts. Wearing it made me feel like a sparkly, magical witch. 

photo by Winnie ’24

My hallmates and I first took pics on campus prior to leaving for the Ring Delivery venue: 

“let’s take a pillar pic!!” ft. the sophomores of Tetazoo, photo by a kind passerby

And then met up with more friends to take pictures at the venue, the glitzy glamorous Fairmont Copley Hotel. Unlike our campus photos, these shots featured brass rats on ring fingers: 

more East Campus friends! ugh we look so dapper. photo by Maxwell Yun

some of my podmates from freshman spring! photo by unfortunately i forgot :(

the venue had fancy little tables for us to eat our fancy little hors d’oeuvres. photo by selfie camera

Margaret ’23 looking fashionable as always! There are a million reasons why Margaret is so cool, a few of them being the creator of Wide Tim and a member of the 2023 Ring Committee! Photo by Ria ’24

Ria and I showing off our rings! Ria and I have been friends since middle school and it’s incredible that we both ended up at MIT :3. photo by Margaret

Shoutout to the 2024 RingComm for designing the ring and organizing Ring Premiere/Delivery! I’ve heard that making all this happen is an extremely involved and time consuming process. 

I’ve never worn a ring regularly before. This hunk of metal chafed slightly against the sides of my pinky and middle fingers. People joked that receiving your brass rat is like marrying the Institute, but it’s quite the shaky marriage. I thought about the two years worth of sleeplessness and exhaustion still ahead of me. That made me think about divorce. 

Up close, MIT can look like a depressing concrete monolith. But from afar, especially if you’re looking from the other side of the Charles River under a twinkling night sky, MIT is truly beautiful. After Ring Delivery, a few friends and I frolicked outside for a bit. As the night air swept cold against our skin, we basked in the warm glow of the city lights, the glittery river reflections, and each other’s presence. I felt alive. 

see that shiny dome? photo taken by Winnie ’24

As I’m revising this blog post hopefully for the last time before I hit ‘publish,’ I have just finished the semester and flown back home. My first draft, which was written shortly after Ring Delivery, had a much angstier ending. “But a Ring Delivery blog isn’t supposed to be angsty!!” said Kellen, probably. I think distancing myself from MIT is finally starting to soothe that angst. It’s too easy to fixate on the mismatched seams, the uneven hems, the soulsucking psets, and the failed conference submissions. But even if stars are actually just angry hellpits of hot gas, they make a beautiful array of twinkling dots that I can admire from light years away. There are pockets of this hellpit and also of myself that I can learn to love more often. I just have to step back a bit first. 

I’m proud of myself for just getting through this semester. And for finally making the dress that I had told everyone that I would back in high school. 

But first, some history: MIT began its class ring tradition just under a century ago in 1927. The nickname “Brass Rat” emerged in 1929 to reflect the prominent beaver on the bezel of the ring — a design element that has persisted to the modern day. MIT students traditionally receive Brass Rats in the spring of sophomore year at a formal event called Ring Delivery. I’ve always viewed Ring Delivery as a rite of passage. It’s a celebration of reaching the halfway point on the path to receiving an MIT degree.

The Class of 2022 (my original graduating class before I took a gap year) was supposed to have our Ring Delivery in Spring 2020. Due to the pandemic, Ring Delivery got pushed back a few times and then cancelled, which was pretty sad. Then, in a surprising change of plans, the Class of 2022 organized a Ring Delivery event, which was held last weekend at the Boston Park Plaza.

Table of Contents:

Ring Premiere (Feb. 14, 2020)

Ordering My Ring (Feb. 19, 2020)

Postponement #1 (Mar. 17, 2020)

Receiving My Ring (June 1, 2020)

Postponement #2 (Jan. 11, 2021)

Cancellation (Sept. 17, 2021)

Rescued by the Class of 2023 (Oct. 10, 2021)

“Ring Delivered” Emerges (Fall 2021)

Ring (Finally) Delivered (Feb. 13, 2022)

Ring Premiere

February 14, 2020

image from a RingComm email advertising Ring Premiere

For each class, a Ring Committee (also known as just “RingComm”) is formed. RingComm is tasked with designing their class’ Brass Rat and organizing all of the associated events (mainly Ring Premiere and Ring Delivery). Ring Premiere is the first big event held by RingComm, in which they unveil and explain the new Brass Rat design.

I went to the Class of 2022 Ring Premiere in my sophomore year, before COVID-19 had left its mark on campus. It was probably one of the last big, unmasked events I attended. It was held on Valentine’s Day evening, which felt fitting; one of the common jokes about the Brass Rat is that it marries you to the Institute. I loved all of the different elements of the ring design and how they came together to make a unique but very recognizable ring.

That night, we also found out when and where Ring Delivery was going to be held: April 19, 2020 at the Boston Park Plaza.

Class of 2022 Ring Premiere, held in Kresge Auditorium

Ordering My Ring

February 19, 2020

A few days after Ring Premiere, I joined a long line of 22s in Lobby 14 to order my Brass Rat. There were a few forms to fill out and measurements to be taken. I filled out the forms while I waited in line. I ordered two rings: one ultrium⁠05 stainless steel ring for daily use and one gold ring for special events. There were so many different colors to choose from. If I could have ordered one of each, I would have.

different Brass Rat colors | photo by Erica Yuen (www.facebook.com/EricaYuenPhoto)

Postponement #1

March 17, 2020

In March of 2020, MIT undergraduates were asked to leave campus due to rising COVID-19 cases in Boston. It was a surreal and scary time.

The Class of 2022 got an email from RingComm on March 17, 2020, just two days after I had packed up my dorm room and left campus. The email stated (unsurprisingly) that “due to the current circumstances Ring Delivery will no longer be happening this April.”

I remember reading that email. I was sitting in my childhood bedroom, emotionally exhausted from how much change was happening all at once. At the time, many of us still thought COVID-19 could be eradicated through a few weeks of social distancing. The email reflected this optimistic view, stating that “we will be having a Delivery event this fall.”

As time went on and the pandemic continued well into the summer, the possibility of a fall Ring Delivery seemed less and less likely. MIT ended up only inviting seniors (the class of 2021) back to campus that fall. The vast majority of 2022s wouldn’t return to campus until February 2021.

Needless to say, Ring Delivery didn’t happen that fall. And even if it had happened, I would have been away on my gap year.

RingComm email from March 2020

Receiving My Ring

June 1, 2020

Even though we were scattered across the globe, RingComm managed to arrange for our rings to be delivered to us. I’m grateful this was made possible, because the rings helped me feel some amount of connection to MIT in my time away. They were a reminder of the lively campus I once knew.

My rings arrived in the mail on June 1, 2022. I opened up the package at the kitchen table and showed my two rings to my family. I also took lots of photos of them.

I didn’t wear my Brass Rat much at first. Part of me didn’t see the point of wearing jewelry of any kind since I spent most of the day working a remote internship. The ring felt heavy on my hand and distracted me when I was typing. I put my rings away in their boxes.

I ended up getting more comfortable wearing my ring over the following months. I started looking forward to putting on my Brass Rat for in-person events. In the spring, I lost some weight and had to change which finger I wore my ring on to prevent it from falling off. I now wear it on my middle finger, instead of the traditional way of wearing it on the fourth finger.

Postponement #2

January 11, 2021

In an email with the subject line “Ring Resizing and More,” RingComm announced plans to have a Ring Delivery the following fall. The email took a much different tone than the one in March, noting that they would “be waiting until the plans for the fall semester are solidified” before making any decisions about the time and venue.

excerpt from a RingComm email announcing another postponement of Ring Delivery

Cancellation

September 17, 2021

At the start of the fall semester, RingComm emailed us to announce that they had “decided to move forward with the plan to collaborate with the Senior Ball Committee on the Senior Ball spring event.” It wasn’t stated explicitly, but this meant that Ring Delivery had effectively been cancelled.⁠06 Senior Ball is similar to Ring Delivery in that you put on fancy clothes and gather as a graduating class for a night of music and refreshments. By combining the two events, it was effectively still just Senior Ball, especially since we already had our rings.

After almost a year and a half of pandemic delays, it wasn’t a surprise, but I was a bit sad.

no Ring Delivery for the 2022s

Rescued by the Class of 2023

October 10, 2021

I would have been much more sad about the Class of 2022 Ring Delivery being cancelled if my gap year hadn’t made me a new member of the Class of 2023.⁠07 I think of myself as a “social” member of the Class of 2022 (the class I entered MIT with) and an “academic” member of the Class of 2023 (the class I will graduate with). When the Class of 2023 announced they’d be having a Ring Delivery event on October 10, 2021 at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, I was thrilled. The day before, I went to Newbury Street and bought a dress. I also painted my nails, which ended up not being very visible in any of my photos anyway.

The event was wonderful. Evan⁠08 a 2023-turned-2024 and I arrived to the courthouse and joined a long line of beautifully-dressed MIT students waiting outside. After going through a brief security check, we were in! I have never been in a courthouse and the architecture of this one was stunning.

There was a band playing live music, lots of refreshments, and several student photographers. I went with Evan to the tables where 2023s were picking up their rings. Then, we walked around, taking photos with basically everyone we knew. I enjoyed running into several of my fellow 2022 gap-yearers.

inside the courthouse!

Me and Evan at the 2023 Ring Delivery

“Ring Delivered” Emerges

Fall 2021

At some point during the fall semester, I got a Facebook invitation to an event called “ring delivered,” an unofficial celebration organized by one of my friends in the Class of 2022. It was going to take place in mid November at Walker Memorial, a nice building in the middle of campus.

a recent screenshot of the unofficial “ring delivered” Facebook event, which was later cancelled in favor of an official event

the description of the “ring delivered” Facebook event, noting that it was not an official event

An update was posted shortly after the “ring delivered” event gained some popularity, effectively cancelling it in favor of an official event that would happen in December. There were mixed reactions to this update, with some people excited that we might have an official Ring Delivery after all, and others being annoyed that our efforts to self-organize an event had been stopped without any definite alternative in place.

the first update

Another update was provided shortly after the first, revealing that we would be having an official event! Ring Delivered (which I think is the perfect name for the event) was to be held on Sunday, February 13 at the Boston Park Plaza! If you recall from earlier in this post, the original venue for our Ring Delivery was the Boston Park Plaza. I passed the Plaza several times each week on my way to the gym and was super excited to finally go inside.

!!!!!

Ring (Finally) Delivered

February 13, 2022

On a snowy Sunday afternoon, the seniors of the Class of 2022 came together to celebrate Ring Delivered, our untraditional take on what was supposed to be a sophomore-year tradition.

2022 Ring Delivered at the Boston Park Plaza | photo by Erica Yuen (www.facebook.com/EricaYuenPhoto)

In my opinion, the delayed timing made our Ring Delivered even more special than it might have been back in 2020. For most of the Class of 2022, this semester is their last one at MIT. Celebrating now as mostly-seniors rather than as sophomores felt like a celebration of all that we’ve been through and all that we’ve accomplished together over the last four years. Through impossible problem sets, harsh Boston winters, and all the pandemic-related challenges of our MIT education, we managed to achieve pretty remarkable things.

The event itself was beautifully organized. The Boston Park Plaza is a gorgeous venue, the food was really good (they had fruit kabobs!), and of course all the people were awesome. I loved running into so many familiar faces and seeing my friends all dressed up.

me and Sophia Z. ‘22, one of my oldest friends at MIT

I also (might have)⁠09 this is not a confession snuck in my non-2022 boyfriend. If he sneaks me into the 2024 Ring Delivery this spring, we might be some of the only MIT students to attend three different classes’ Ring Deliveries. Notably, this would also probably be the only academic year in MIT’s history to have three different classes’ Ring Deliveries.

Me and Evan lookin fancy at Ring Delivered | photo by Erica Yuen (www.facebook.com/EricaYuenPhoto)

My Brass Rat is a reminder of how special my time at MIT has been and how lucky I am to be a member of such a wonderful class of students. I’ve never met a more determined, brilliant group of people as the Class of 2022 and I’m grateful for all the memories we made together. I was surprised at how many emotions I felt at Ring Delivered when people shared their post-MIT plans, which ranged from graduate school, to new jobs, to just taking time to travel and explore the world. I’m so excited to see what everyone will do next. I’ve never been more proud to share a Brass Rat with the Class of 2022.

At the end of the year, we like to go through all of the stuff we collected, and reflect on the memories associated with each item, which is what you see below!

1) The program for Yaoi on Fire, the fire spinning club’s summer and fall semester encore performance. It was based on one of our favorite animes, Yuri on Ice! And our really awesome friend was in it, performing with a sword that they machined!

2) Sticky notes with beautifully wholesome messages we got from our lovely freshman (that we counseled in Freshman Arts Program) during the last dinner of the week in Unos! Can’t wait to be counselors again in a couple months!

3) The program for Avenue Q, a play that multiple friends were in!

4) The program for Cabaret Night! Only Danny got to see this, but it was an awesome show put on by the Musical Theater Guild where people performed awesome solos!

5) The program for Go Back for Murder, another play that multiple freinds were in! We saw it with our friend Nia during IAP, as described in this blog!

6) The program for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat — This is another MTG show we saw! Our favorite song was Those Canaan Days !

7) Hedgehog and dear ink drawing our friend (and founder of Borderline) Julia R. ‘18 made us after the Borderline fall semester showcase!

8) Trinkets from our first time going on the annual Art Scholars trip! It was an awesome day, where we got to see 2 Avant-garde shows (Flight and Sleep No More), explore NYC, and eat a fancy dinner with art friendos! Displayed are:

• The masks we had to wear during Sleep No More (which is by far the craziessssstttttt show we’ve ever experienced!)
• a hole punched playing card that was part of the Sleep No More *experience*
• The program and tickets to Flight
• 3 postcards we got for free from the Mckittrick Hotel, which is where both of the shows were held…and!!!! fun fact: the Mckittrick Hotel is where Ghost Quartet* was performed

*Ghost Quartet is a song cycle that we LOVE that was written by Dave Malloy**

**Dave Malloy is a person we LOVE because he also wrote Natasha, Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812 (Comet, for short)***

***Comet is a musical we, shockingly, LOVE and is the first and only musical we ever saw live on Broadway

9) The program of The Addams Family! This was the show Next Act put on this year during CPW, and it was amazzinngg! We became obsessed with the soundtrack after seeing it! Our favorite character was Morticia, who our friend Victoria L. ‘18 played PERFECTLY. Victoria also made spoopy eye contact with us and fellow FAP counselor Joanna G. ’20 throughout the show! We also became very obsessed with the voice of the original actress who played Morticia, specifically at this moment.

10) The program of Ignite, the very first ever dance showcase we attended at MIT! Our friend Katherine C. ‘19 was in it!!

11) Chroma’s second edition, which we were both staff on!

12) Program for Playsentations, the final presentation for 2.00b (Toy Design)! We both took 2.00b last year, so we decided to support some freshmen friendos taking it this year!

13) Hacking Arts name tags that we got for representing Borderline!

14) Our birthday cards from our wing! It’s a 3E tradition to set out a card the day before every person’s birthday for everyone to sign. Then at midnight, we sing that person Happy Birthday, and whack them (more or less gently) with pillows n times, where n = their age + 1 (the 1 is for good luck!)

15) Invitations to an art show put on by our friend, Jessie W. ‘19! It displayed a series of metallic leaf paintings she made throughout this semester! Very beautiful and inspirational! After gawking at the incredible paintings, we bumped into our friend Elissa H. ’21 and started talking about Steven Universe because it was the day after two episodes came out that SHOOK the whole fandom …. those who keep up with Steven Universe KNOW!

16) Program for the MassArt Senior Animation show! It was an incredible show with some extremely well made animated short films! It definitely did not contribute to the major and career dilemma that we have been having this entire semester…. ha ha …. nope not at all… blog about this to come…

17) Rune’s 38th edition! Both of our art is in it!

18) Bottle caps of the first ginger we ever tried! Our friend Charlotte M. ’20 invited us to J entry to try *real* ginger beer after we tried the ginger beer she and our friend Caroline B. ’21 made, which apparently was not *real* because it wasn’t gingery enough and too yeasty. (we thought both we’re excellent tbh, but also saw their point after trying the real deal)

19) Cute note + paper towel wrapping from a present that our friend Joana gave us! It was hanging on our door knob after a stressful day! Much Appreciated <3

20) Chroma’s first edition, which we were both staff on!

21) Presents from our fantabulous friend from high school, Ale! @Ale, if you are reading this, can’t wait to see you this summer!

22) Cursed Sticky Notes

23) The cover that fell off one of Allan’s notebooks

24) Tickets from various times we went to the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) this year!

25) Photo Booth pics from Ring Delivery!

26) Various Brass Rat related things:

• The paper around Allan’s Ring Box for his demo ring (all ringcomm members get a temporary class ring early to wear as a demo in the months before Ring Delivery)
• A Ring Comm name tag worn during Ring Premiere (?)
• Danny’s blue lottery ticket he got at Ring Premiere (did not win any of the lotteries as described here)

27) Random knitted thing

28) A CD proving that the earth, like a CD, is actually flat and hollow… the theory was contrived and confirmed true by J entry…a course 12 lives there so it’s very legit… they gave a presentation about it at Activities Halfway during CPW too, alongside MIT Confessions, MIT Memes, and MassTech

29) Presents from our friend Karen C. ‘20 <3<3

30) Knitted things for an experimental animation assignment Allan did for Animation 1 at MassArt

32) A sticky note Danny used to plan his final project for Animation 1

33) A sticky note that says “MTA,” used as a prop to recreate the intro of this video in a snapchat

34) One World bracelets…After going to all the tent parties to sample the food (the chocolate pretzels and bread with pesto were real good), we decided to leave the parties (because dancing + way too loud music + dim lights = not our scene) and instead hung out with Elissa! She made us tea in a bowl (because her kettle was not big enough), and then we all worked on art stuff for our final projects, listened to Elissa’s angsty playlist (which was really quality), and talked about academic dilemmas and career struggles.

35) WAITTRESSSSSSSS… do we need to say more?

36) MORE WAITRESS

37) Borderline’s various flyers throughout this year

38) First clue for the impossible Ring Comm 2020 Puzzle Hunt solved by Zach O. ‘20

39) Corgi/sense8 themed present we made for Karen’s birthday (p.s. super hyped for the Sense8 finale!)

our Memory Mushroom is empty now, because we transfered all of the sophmore things to our buzz bag

does this mean we’re juniors now? :O

Boston Public Library – Venue of the Class of 2020 Ring Delivery

photo cred: Nick P. ’20

Written by Danny

Getting a Brass Rat marks the (almost) halfway point of getting through MIT. It marks many psets and exams and essays and projects. It marks low points and high points, good times and bad. It marks many late nights and early morning and some late nights that turned into early mornings. It marks two.. whole… years… I can’t believe that 3 whole semesters have come and gone and the fourth is almost at a close. But it happened. And Ring Delivery was this past friday.

Ring Delivery is essentially this really fancy event where the sophomores gather in a big fancy place, eat fancy food, dance, and take a bunch of pictures ranging from snapchat level fancy to professional photographer level fancy. But in my case, I mostly ran around and took pictures (as displayed below).

Side Note: Allan is not in the first few (because we don’t like him haha jk). No, it’s because as a member of RingComm he had to be at the event early. But anyways, onto the pictures!

3E sophomores take Ring Delivery!

This first one is a 3E tradition – to take a fancy picture in front of the elevators. It’s not shown in this picture, but this location is also next to the garbage cans and trash shoot, and behind the bathroom on our floor (*classy*). I remember seeing the sophomores last year taking this exact picture and me looking at them and thinking that that would be me in a year. Well, this is that me ^^^

from left to right and back to front: Shahul A. ’20, Nathan H. ’20, Daniel D. ’20, Miles D. ’20, Austin W. ’20, Sandy W. ’20, Nia M. ’20, Karen C. ’20, me!

from left to right: Nia M. ’20, me, Katherine C. ’19, Karen C. ’20

Can we take a moment to appreciate how Katherine is photobombing since she’s not a sophomore? The initials of the five of us (me, Allan, Nia, Karen, and Katherine) spell DANK^2. So we were all upset Allan missed these pictures because now this photo is just a DNK^2 one … ow well)

 1) this is a very cute photo position setup, and 2) NONE of us are looking at the camera (Karen’s closest but also not quite there)

this photo is just too cute to not include

(photo cred for all 3E pics above: Sarah H. ’19)

Written by Allan
This was it! After Ring Premeire, Ring Delivery was the second and final big event that we, the class of 2020 Ring Committee, have been working towards! It’s crazy to think that we have been planning this since last year! I remember when this time one year ago, Vanessa, the chair of our committee, gave us each venue assignments to research, and we all compiled our information into a powerpoint. I remember during our meeting, when Vanessa presented the Boston Public Library, and took us through the virtual tour they had on their website, everyone was mesmerized by it’s ornateness and elegance. I remember visiting venue after venue, and BPL standing out among all of them. I remember all the discussions we had on Wednesdays and Sundays trying to figure out which venue optomizes everything we wanted for our Delivery, from good people flow to enough space (but not too much space) to vibe to distance from MIT. I remember the excitement when we finally secured BPL as our venue! Seeing this event finally come together was something truly special, but it honestly also made me feel really nostalgic.

It’s a tradition that the next year’s Ring Comm gets chosen right before the current years’ Delivery. This is because the first task that the next year’s Ring Comm does as a team is help run the current Ring Comm’s Delivery.

Here’s a photo of our committee on April 18, 2017 at the 2019’s Delivery, after working together for the first time to make sure this event ran smoothly.

(photo cred: CK L. ’17)

Now, here’s a photo of us, one year from then, at our own Ring Delivery! We’ve come so far!

(photo cred: JC Woodard Photography)

left to right, back to front: Gabreille F. ’21, Nico S. ’21, Emma K. ’21, Ben N. ’21, Annie Y. ’21, Jose C. ’21, Talia B. ’21, Joseph P. ’21, AudreyRose W. ’21, Jordan T. ’21,  Andrea O. ’21, Danny L. ’21

And here’s ^ a photo of the awesome 2021 Ring Comm after helping run our Delivery! We’re passing on the torch to you guys! Good Luck!

Before moving onto all the photos we took at Delivery, I wanna say thanks to Ring Comm 2020! It’s been a ride guys! From struggling to design that pesky class shank to figuring out athena’s pose to choosing a freaking venue to the ups and downs and laughs and late nights, it was all worth it when we saw our entire class celebrating their halfway point at MIT, fingers shining and faces smiling. I love y’all!

…

The actual event was so much fun! First everyone got in line to get their rings to wear them for the rest of the night! There were also a lot of fancy snacks spread out through the event (our favorite were the chocolate pretzels!), and a dance floor! But for us, the event mainly involved trying to coordinate with our different friend groups to get pictures together! And this sounds like an easy feat, but let us tell you, it was a mission and a half! Finding so many people in a huge, pretty crowded venue is really tough turns out!

top left: Borderline fam!!!

top right: us with Karen!!!

bottom left: 3E fam!!!

bottom right: DANK!!! (missing Katherine in this one :( … why must one of us be on Ring Comm and the other a junior) 

from left to right: Allan, Charlotte, Danny, Kristy, Dain (in onesie)

this photo requires no context. except we are tagging you @Dain. ur tol tote.

this is a representation of the group chat that we have with Charlotte… in this group chat, Allan flails around in angst, his mind prancing in the clouds. Danny and Charlotte judge this creature in his natural habitat.

We love this picture so much! <3<3

<3<3<3 us with the ONE the ONLY Charlotte Minsky!!!

CHARLOTTE MINSKY IS HERE!!!!! (this phrase has become a meme on J entry in MacGregor)

the succession of Charlotte, Allan, and then Kristy is p e r f e c t

(photo cred to pics from above: Nick P.’ 20)

actual snapchat sent to actual Anasatassia B. ’16

will we regret posting this picture on the blogs?

definitely 

Day-of, I still had a pset due at 10pm. Delivery started at 7pm. I finally committed the last of my code at 7:15p, and hastily dressed up and headed over to the State Room. Luckily, groups of people were still flooding in, packing a thousand or so 2019s into two floors overlooking Downtown Boston. It was indeed a gorgeous view.

After picking up my rings — I ended up going with a gold and an Ultrium companion, not an easy choice considering all the options! — and snacking on some food, I went off to take pictures, lots of pictures. An entire night worth of pictures.

Luis G. ’19 and I met during our summer preorientation program. Been best of friends ever since. Photo creds: Burhan A. ’19.

Skating friends, Ananya N. ’19 and Diane Z. ’19 — we’re all from the Bay Area but didn’t meet until we got here! Our group chat is also more affectionately called, “We eat a lot.” Many weekends spent brunching in and exploring Boston. PC: Alden J. ’20.

Jenny X ’19 and I met during orientation week, and were TechX xFair Logistics, then SpecialX Committee, buddies! Our friendship relies on tagging each other in as many memes as possible. PC: Alden J. 20.

Photobooth pics with the freshmen-year Burton Conner crew. PC: automatic camera.

Julia L. ’19 and I sat at the same 8.02 table — and have continued to take classes together ever since! Both 6-3’s and possibly Design minors, too. Many late night snacking and psetting sessions in the libaries and the Student Center. Oh, and office hours too. PC: JC Woodard.

8.02 TEAL group, also known as “team rocket.” We’ve kept our group chat going ever since. Nan T. ’19, left, and I were Day Ones — she was one of the first people I met at MIT. We’ve been best of friends ever since. Bill P. ’19, middle, was in my Media Lab advising group and seminar with Professor Michael Bove. Throwback to Orientation! Still haven’t gotten around to eating cheesecake together as promised after two semesters of planning. Something to look forward to in the next two years. PC: Chheangkea Ieng.

Best friends, David W. ’19, Luis G. ’19, and I, flashing and flexing our brass rats. PC: Chheangkea Ieng.

The Fierce Four? From left to right, Megan F’ 19, me, Jessie W. ’19, and Vivian Z. ’19. Can’t even remember how we all met, but we’ve been known to holler “aiyah” to one another ever since freshmen year. PC: Chheangkea Ieng.

Conner 511 freshmen suitemates, reuinited. From left to right, Madiha S. ’19, me, Lily J. ’19, and Scott C. ’19. Spent an incredible two semesters, including some of my most memorable moments at MIT, with them. PC: Chheangkea Ieng.

———

This semester has been by far the toughest, most challenging to date. Psets take twice as much time — often even more than that. I’ve left lectures bewildered, more confused than I’ve ever been, witnessing more esoteric diagrams, numbers, and concepts than I can keep track. Exams are harder than I have ever imagined. The workload stops for nothing. Not CPW, not Spring Break, not Marathon Monday, not even Ring Delivery.

Getting through to this point of the semester made this night all the more special.

———

Looking back at my last two years here, I’ve constantly reminded myself that I didn’t come to MIT expecting easy. It was by choice. Though, there have been many nights this semester where I’ve questioned why I’m here. Why I gave up full-ride scholarships and Ivy leagues. Why I gave up the opportunity to go to school in the same department as my older brother close to home. Why I left everything I knew and migrated to the other side of the country. Why the weather here sometimes sucks when instead I could’ve be basking in sun taking naps on the quad in 75 degree weather year-round.

Then I always come to the same conclusion: because MIT. Committing here wasn’t easy. But I knew that by choosing MIT, I was choosing discomfort — four years of constantly pushing myself, challenging myself, and making the most out of my time here. Building up myself, coming out more robust, more resilient, more confident, with the tools I need to take on anything.

Would I have felt the same way at a different institution? Maybe. Knowing myself, I probably would have pushed myself in the same way. But there’s something so unique and invigorating, this energy and buzz, that the campus, the communities, the people that make MIT, MIT, projects. The incessant grind, it’s electrifying. So, too, are the classes and professors, labs and research, projects and depth of opportunities.

Now, every time I see a brass rat, I think about all that, and how far I have — and every other Engineer before me has — come to get to this point — the celebratory halfway mark.

The brass rat means so much more than the hardware — or even the designs and the work of art that it is. “Frightening, humbling, and empowering,” as Anelise N ’19 puts it, and I wholeheartedly agree. Inspiring, too, I’ll add.

Nearly two years of the Institvte, I can’t see myself wanting to be anywhere else. It’s been a journey. It’s been one heck of a roller coster ride. It hasn’t been easy by any means, but it’s been an exhilarating, most rewarding ride. A worthwhile one. I’ll be carrying all those emotions on my ring finger far beyond the next two years.

———

Yet, we are only halfway there. There’s still much left to learn, more people to meet, more things to tackle.

I can’t wait to see what two more years of the Institvte will offer. One thing’s for certain: wherever I go, my brass rat will follow.

After two years of waiting, we finally got our class rings!

The brass rat isn’t just any class token–it’s one of the most recognizable rings out there. It’s a pop culture icon. It’s a beacon of kinship between alumni. It’s an enduring symbol of class pride and school spirit. And right now for MIT’s sophomores, it’s a reminder that we’re already halfway through our time here…a realization that is at the same time frightening, humbling, and empowering.

This Tuesday, the Class of 2019 got together to celebrate the time we’ve spent together so far, and to toast the next two years of our MIT journey.

This year, ring delivery was held at the State Room on the 33rd floor of a Boston skyscraper.

Photo Credit: Lily Bailey Photography

There was food, photo booths, a beautiful view, and, most importantly:

A whole new batch of brass rats!

Each year, the Brass Rat has a slightly different design that reflects some of the unique aspects of that year’s class. The year’s design is debuted at Ring Premier, a festive celebration where the whole sophomore class dresses up in everything from onesies to coordinated Hawaiian print and packs into MIT’s biggest auditorium to see the design.

Every year, Ring Comm, the group of students in charge of designing the brass rat, also design a “joke ring” that’s presented before the grand reveal. Some students, including me, don’t know that this is a tradition, and enter a mild panic for five minutes. This year’s joke ring replaced the traditional beaver with an image of Harambe dabbing.

Here’s the real ring 

And the designs on both sides

Some of the unique details of the 2019 ring include the euro symbol in the background behind the figures of Mens et Manus (above right), representing the Nobel Prize win of MIT Professor Bengt Holmstrom for economics, as well as Brexit; the image of a student locking hands with the Alchemist (above right at the bottom) as a symbol of both collaboration and administrative tension at MIT; fireworks in the Bostonian sky, commemorating the celebration of MIT’s 150th anniversary of moving to Boston (top of the ring); and, as must be mentioned, a ripple in the Charles River in the form of a gravitational wave.

(There were several moments during Ring Premier that illicited a giant cheer from the crowd, the likes of which you might hear elsewhere at a college football game. One was when the figure of Mens was introduced as a woman. The other was when the graviational wave was unveiled. I’m really proud of my school.)

A full illustration and description of the ring’s design can be found at the Brass Rat 2019 website–go take a look at it! It’s really interesting and Ring Comm did a really good job.

Naturally, the wait between ring premier and ring delivery was excruciating…but finally, after two months of ogling over upperclassmen’s rings the event came around.

Finally, we can call ourselves “offical MIT students”!

Ring delivery is such a milestone for underclassmen that I decided to make my own dress to wear to the ceremony.

Making it took almost all of spring break, but it was totally worth it. If you’re interested, check out my personal blog for a sewing post about how I made my dress!

The rat is a symbol of accomplishment and a rite of passage. It’s a reward for getting through two, sometimes grueling years of one of the toughest schools in the U.S., and a reminder to take a second and recognize the things that make it worthwhile.

And I’ll be happy to wear it for the next two years, and for a long while after that.

If you want to see more pictures of the event, check out the Facebook page!

The Photography of Ring Delivery: Ridiculous Poses and Pictures of Hands
A data summary-esque analysis by Ceri

Abstract
Ring Delivery is a time-honored tradition in which Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students gather to receive small chunks of molded, semi-precious or precious metal for which they paid large sums of money several months prior. After receiving their ring, colloquially called a Brass Rat, individuals usually feel pride, joy, and a slight sense of dread (or perhaps elation) because they are nearing the end of their sophomore year and the halfway point of their MIT career. This peculiar brew of emotions leads individuals to document their experience in odd ways, especially through very distinct poses and photographs. As such, this study will analyze primary examples of these photographs and attempt to elucidate why such great effort is put into emphasizing the presence of a new piece of jewelry.

Materials and Methods
All photographs were donated by Rachel R. ’16. Accompanying figures were digitized using an iPhone 4 camera and created using a Pentel mechanical pencil, an ultra fine point Sharpie marker, and a Tombow N79 brush pen.

Results and Figures

Figure 1. Participants pledge allegiance to MIT. This photograph depicts the most common group pose found at Ring Premiere, in which several people smile and hold their ring-bearing hands with flat palms over their chest area. Pictured here are myself, Rachel R. ’16, Lauren W. ’16, and Nick A. ’16, aka two-thirds of the coolest suite to ever have existed (an unbiased assessment).

While almost everyone participates in a Ring Premiere photograph of this genre, this may also be the most ridiculous picture from a non-MIT perspective. Clearly the intent of participants is to appear excited for the new status symbols upon their fingers, but each Brass Rat is reduced to but a small glimmer. Participants take a traditional stance with their right hand over the heart region and appear to be pledging allegiance to MIT, a beaver, engineering, IHTFP, stress, Tim the beaver, symbolism, materialism, or some other unknown force. Further study is required to identify to what or to whom they are pledging.

Figure 2. A superhero resides within every MIT student. While a slightly less common pose, oftentimes with smaller groups of 2-3 individuals, this photograph depicts students displaying their rings with clenched fists. Students may smile, as in this example with Alex O. ’16 and Rachel R. ’16., or adopt a scowl or more “serious” facial expression to amplify intensity.

This genre of picture represents the inner desire to be a superhero within all MIT students. While many would say that these pictures parallel the heroic nature of Tony Stark/Iron Man, MIT’s celebrity comic book hero, the presence of the Brass Rat in lieu of an arc reactor seems to invoke imagery of the Wonder Twins. The Wonder Twins’ powers were invoked by forming contact between their rings, at which point Zan (the male) would be able to assume any form of water, and Jayna (the female) would be able to transform into any animal. Perhaps MIT students hope that their rings will bestow similar powers, like knowledge or the ability to transform into an oversized beaver.

Figure 3. Students comMIT to an engagement with a university. This type of photograph is designed to emphasize the details of both the Brass Rat and/or the manicures of the student, as depicted by the hands of Rachel R. ’16 and Lesley W. ’16. In a similar vein are the pictures of the MIT ring box with the Brass Rat nestled inside; not pictured here.

The most common caption to these photographs is some variation on “MIT finally put a ring on it,” or “Engaged to the institute!” While this quip is in reference to the fact that most people wear Brass Rats on their right hand ring finger, participants do not appear to consider the extent of this metaphor. Perhaps it is an acknowledgement that life at MIT is like a rocky marriage—the first part of freshman year is the honeymoon phase, but then students end up living in the academic buildings and sleeping on couches, raising stress levels, and investing large sums of money to make the university happy. Eventually, this engagement will end in a divorce, when these students graduate and move on with their lives as a new batch of hopefuls fill their place.

Discussion and Conclusions
Through this study, we have discovered that MIT students are proud of their quest to survive their undergraduate career, and this pride manifests itself in the form of strange photographs upon receiving a status symbol of attending the aforementioned institution. While strange to an outsider, these photographs appear annually on MIT students’ social media websites around the last week of April. This tradition will most likely continue as long as Brass Rats are being distributed at a Ring Delivery, which, in all predictions, may be many centuries to come.

On a separate (totally not giving you whiplash) note, the day immediately following Ring Delivery was the first chance for the fencing sophomores to show off their new rings at a different formal-ish event, the end of the year fencing banquet.

To my knowledge, a lot of sports teams have some form of “our-season’s-over-but-we-should-eat-food-or-something-because-you-guys-are-cool” type event, and this is the fencing team’s version. There is food, merriment, gifts for graduating seniors, special award nominations (for example, the Anne Zabladoff Award for Fencing Masochism or most Clueless Sophomore), and paper plate awards for everyone involved with the team. I don’t have any particularly snarky commentary re: photos taken at this event, so here are a couple courtesy of Sherry R. ’15. There’s a group photo of the entire team + coaches, the (almost entire) foil squad, 5/6 of women’s foil (self-proclaimed highest attendance, lowest attention span), and men’s foil making fun of women’s foil (plus a rogue men’s sabre).

Michael C. ’16 explained in his post about Ring Premiere what the design of our ring looks like, but as of last night we now have our own beautiful rings to show to the world on our beautiful 2016 hands!

LOOK AT MY PRETTY RING!

It feels so good!

I have many pictures from and of the event, mostly of my fellow Tetazoa and other East Campusers, but some with and of friends in my class that I was really excited to see! We had a great time, and afterwards a bunch of us went to Bova’s Bakery to get Cannoli’s together!

Here are some pictures of the event and of my beautiful friends!

We even got to take a series of prom pictures!

We also took more prom pictures once we got to the event!

It definitely felt like prom – the view from the State room was absolutely gorgeous!

We got some really nice shots in front of the beautiful view.

And here is Nico F. ’16, one of the members of RingComm, the committee that plans ring delivery and designed our beautiful ring!

AND THEN I FOUND HARRY B. ’16!! Yay Harry! He’s so Canadian!

Of course I needed a picture with Harry! Thanks to Will R. ’16 for taking this picture!

Here is Will:

I also got a picture with Jake I. ’16! We took a “selfie.”

And Random Hall showed up to the event in full black-tie attire :)

There was a beautiful ice sculpture in the shape of a ring! Sadly, the sculpture mysteriously disapeared a while into the event.

THE VENUE WAS SO PRETTY AND CLASSY!

THAT VIEW!

And there were so many photographers! Eurah K. ’16 and I took pictures with our fancy cameras.

We also had a mini Intel STS ’12 reunion! We couldn’t find Adam K. ’16, sadly, but we did have Ani P. ’16, Jin P. ’16, Jordan C. ’16 and me!

And I found some of my course 3 friends! Here are Isabel C. ’16 and I with our new Brass Rats! Photo taken by Nick M. ’16:

And here are Nick and Isabel looking pretty!

Tetazoo arrived at Ring Delivery initially with Beast, the second floor of the east parallel (we are the third floor, known as the third east traveling animal zoo).  However, as the night progressed, we found ourselves additionally hanging out with Florey, the fifth floor. Usually we have a small rivalry with that floor, but last night we put our differences aside in order to potentially accomplish greater things.

After ring delivery, a bunch of us went to Bova’s to get cannoli’s!

So overall, the event was a huge success! We had a bunch of fun dressing up, goofing off, and just hanging out together as a class.

And finally, as always, I will end this post with pictures of cats! Today is Galileo and Thor’s third birthday!!! They got wet food as a birthday present from their wonderful owner, Kerry N. ’14.

But let me start with the most important part: I am now the proud owner of a Brass Rat! The ring’s design, which I covered previously, was carefully put together by these guys, the Class of 2014 Ring Committee. I’m pleased to say that they also have some pretty good taste:

Such class!

But back to the ring.

More than anything, it’s proof that all this hard work has been paying off tremendously. But I owe my position right now to a lot of people: my past teachers, my professors, my friends from high school and from the Institute, my old coworkers and employers, and my family. All of them believed in me, and told me I can do pretty much anything I set my mind to if I showed the necessary passion, curiosity, and persistence for it. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give them a shoutout on the blogs here – so thanks for everything, guys!

You might also be wondering how the night of the ring delivery unfolded. It went awesome.

We received our rings at the snazzy-looking John Joseph Moakley Courthouse, which looks way more like a place where you’d get fancy rings, or do essentially anything else besides uphold justice and hand out verdicts on felonies and misdemeanors. At least that’s the impression that I get when looking at it at night:

Photo credit: Gregory E. Fortier, Fortier Fotography.
Used with permission!

At around 6 or so last Friday, I met a few of the friends, my entourage for the night, in front of the student center. Leave your stereotypes about MIT hygiene and fashion sense at the door, because we looked frickin’ good, if I do say so myself.

A friend of mine from ring comm also got me a few shots of the decorations they threw together, presumably several hours before the first eager sophomore arrived:

ICE ICE BABY

It all looked really nice on the night of the event, particularly once the sun went down and that crystalline sculpture, carved in the shape of our ring comm’s logo, was lit by that red-orange glow…

But I was too busy thinking about decking out my ring finger with an awesome ring. On that front, and unsurprisingly, the courthouse had rings in spades.

The estimated retail value of all these rings is at least a bajillion dollars. US dollars.

And here’s my Brass Rat. There are many others like it, but this one is mine:

Mine. ALL MINE. Go buy your own.

It weighs a lot on your finger, too! On days when I’m not wearing it, I’ll sometimes feel as if I’m missing something.

What I liked most about ring delivery is the fact that practically none of the sophomores had an excuse to study – not even me. That’s because our ring delivery was on the final day before dead week, or that time of the semester where we all burrow ourselves into libraries and study room forts to prepare for finals. For many people, there weren’t any other due dates to worry about, so I got to see a bunch of my friends.

“MIT liked us, so they put a ring on it :D” – My friend.
(I was going to make the same joke at roughly the same time she said it. Could be why we’re friends.)

Even Anna took a break from a hectic life filled with physics and musical theater to grab her ring. Behold our dorky blogger love, immortalized in a photo:

D’awwwww blogger love, the best kind.

The timing of ring delivery was especially perfect, though, because I also ended up seeing The Avengers that weekend. Do you know how cool it is to hear Tony Stark rattle off one-liners, and kick butt alongside a bunch of other less important people? All while wearing your Brass Rat? If you can’t even imagine an experience that epic, then you’ll have your mind blown if and when you come here. All it takes is two years of slogging through classes, and then you can at least have the ring to show for it.

I’ll let you guys play out the Iron Man fantasies from there.