Class of 2022 Brass Rat unveiled at Ring Premiere
Seal shank ‘emphasizes diversity,’ features a man and woman of color
The class of 2022 Ring Committee unveiled its Brass Rat design at Ring Premiere Feb. 14. Ring delivery will be at Boston Park Plaza from 7 to 10 p.m. April 19.
The main bezel features a beaver holding a diploma scroll that transforms into a key, symbolizing the doors an MIT education will open. The beaver looks toward Boston, to the future, while reminiscing on its past at MIT. The structure of a caffeine molecule is hidden in the stars across the upper half of the bezel.
According to the RingComm website, the shooting star over the Great Dome is “in memory of those classmates who will not be with us when we walk on graduation day.”
The left half of the bezel depicts Killian Court and features a “22” on the Green Building and an “IHTFP” on the Walker Memorial. A pumpkin falls from the Green Building to commemorate the annual East Campus Pumpkin Drop.
The planks on the dock on the central Charles River spell out “PNR” while a “6” and “9” can be seen among the eddies commemorating the creation of the 6-9 major. The MIT Engineers beaver swims down the river in recognition of MIT’s athletic program. A pirate stands upon a Tech dinghy in reference to MIT’s Pirate Certificate.
The right half of the bezel features Boston landmarks, including Citgo, the New England Aquarium, and brownstone houses representing the FSILG living communities. A firehose is draped across the Mass. Ave. bridge railing.
The class shank features Athena and Cerberus in front of the Great Dome. According to the RingComm website, Athena represents MIT students’ intellectual curiosity while Cerberus’ three heads represent the students’ “past accomplishments, present determination, and future aspirations.” The shank also recognizes hacking culture with Captain America’s shield on the dome.
The seal shank “emphasizes diversity,” replacing the “traditional white men” on the MIT seal with “a man and woman of color of our age,” the RingComm website writes. The woman is a smith representing MIT’s “dedication to craft and innovation” while the man holds a textbook and wears a lab coat, reflecting MIT’s “multifaceted approach to learning, which incorporates both theory and practice.”
The Brass Rat also features the Cambridge and Boston skylines. The Cambridge skyline includes the Kresge Auditorium, Student Center, and Media Lab, while the Boston skyline includes Zakim Bridge, Prudential Tower, and Fenway Park. The Cambridge skyline also includes a black hole, commemorating the first-ever image of one, and a “gilded” Infinite Corridor in recognition of MITHenge.
The Hacker’s Map lies on the inverse of the bezel. In addition to the MIT tunnel system map in past years’ rings, the class of 2022 map contains a new Nano Extension and a π beneath the dome. The symbol represents the March 14 anniversary of admissions decisions and the official class reunion date in Las Vegas exactly 3.14 years after graduation.
At Ring Premiere, before revealing the official bezel, the committee presented a joke bezel featuring angel Iron Man, a WashLava sun, MIT Confessions clouds, and a beaver with long eyelashes emerging from an Anna’s Taqueria burrito wrapper and swimming into a river of tapioca pearls.
Ring sales began 10 a.m. Feb. 15. Students can purchase the ring 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Stud Chimneys or 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 21 in Lobby 13. Ring sizing will be available.