So, today was the day to call up and order my college ring. A very exciting day for me. Not only does it mean I’m almost done with school, but I didn’t get a high school ring because I was waiting for my ultra-cool college ring.
Sometime between sophomore year and now, I lost the catalogue they gave me. And I was having trouble finding the huge list of things you could put on your ring on-line, so I called the customer service line.
I’m in no way pitting the customer service rep (she was great), or the company.
Once I explained my problem, she informed me that the school had an “official” ring, which looked like a traditional school ring, and a few “fashion” style rings for women. (Fashion rings are girly little rings that look like something you could buy in a jewellery store in the mall.) So if you want something that looks like a tradition school ring, you have to get the official ring.
So, what does that look like?
Well, on one side there’s the school mascot, and on the other: the administration building.
*No “Student Government President” crest. (Gee, why would I want to remember that?!)
*No sorority crest.
*No music crest. (Why remember all the good times in campus choir and concert band?)
*No crest for either of the honor societies I belong to.
*No symbols for the hobbies, clubs, or activites that have made the past three years what they were.
An animal. And on the other side, a building.
I asked her if there wasn’t anything else I could do. She mentioned that I could personalise it with my name, my year of graduation and my degree. I thought she meant the degree side panel. It’s not very attractive, but it’s better than an animal or a building, so I said ok. She then informed me that it wouldn’t be a panel with my degree on it, just “chemistry” printed on the panel with the mascot on it.
So, add to the list above “no degree letters.”
To me, it’s an ugly ring. I’m sure someone out there wants it. But I sure don’t, and neither do a lot of other people I know. Why not?
- If you’re not a sports fan, the ugly mascot doesn’t really do much for you.
- This is a state school, with 19 local campuses. 12 of those local campuses can grant some 4-year degrees, and all of them can grant some 2-year degrees. It’s entirely possible for a graduate of this university to never come to this campus, and never see the administration building that will grace their butt-ugly college ring.
I don’t understand why the “official” ring can’t just be a choice. You can get the official one, or pick your own. I understand why they wanted to do this, so that every graduate would have an identical ring, but I disagree with it. That’s not what college is about. College is a different experience for each person. We have different achievements and different memories. If we’re prepared to pay $400+ for them, shouldn’t we have different rings, too?
I am so mad. :mad: