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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 24, 1976)
• 1 4 '<9 ■ Pm&lA THE BATTALION naoHnoAv mm. m. mn Aggie ring product of evolution, tradition, love by DON MIDDLETON and JOHN ADAMS. |B. The \ acabon it finally ovrr and we re hack in the writing huttnett. During the past i-onpie of weeks, our minds have been anywhere hut on the typewriter. That sly dog Adams was busy helping his wife have a weeks before the June com mencement the first consign ment of rings arrived. All were debghted with the ring's design and appearance But an inquisitive senior and chemistry professor P.S. TUson, '80. ran a test in the chemistry lab to determine the gold con tent of the ring. To tiietr sur prise. they found it had been weighted and plugged with lend. A dose look at the other rings m the first shipment re vealed the same impurities. With commencement only haby. John III. Middleton was galavanting around half the Confederacy for an undeter mined reason. So between the two of us. very little has been accomplished—until now. Get ready to excercise your brain America has the stars and stripes, the Olympics have the torch. Phi Beta Kappa has its key. Betty Grabte has her legs, and Texas A&M has—what? If you said a cowhide bench you're wrong. If you said the Aggie Ring you're right. The Aggie Ring is the product of years of evolution, born out of tradition and love for an institu tion. Tlie desire for a symbol to represent a student's days at AAcM was first expressed in early 1S89. The end result of the wish was a unique hut now for gotten ring The design selected had the letters “AMC” in tertwined across its and face surrounded by four small diamonds. It was cast in solid being raised to $10 50all classes concurred. The ting remained un changed during the next 30 years. Year after year each class agreed on the 1894 design for their class ring with only minor changes— a saber and a rifle in stead of two rifles, the cannon pointing right instead of left or the eagle facing east instead of west. In 1933 college president T.O. Walton appointed an offi cial Senior Ring Committee to oversee the handling and any design modification that seemed agreeable with the stu dents. The consensus was that unless controls were excercised the ring and its heritage would prove meaningless. Prior to 1933 many companies manufac tured the ring and practically two weeks away, reordering the whole shipment was impossi ble. So each senior was forced to reorder his own ring. Most members of the class of '94 had their new ring by 1897. After considering many pos sible ring designs, the class of '95 selected the same ring their predecessors wore. And the ring remained unchanged until 1899 when a committee headed by Josh B. Sterns and R.J. Por- «ter met to discuss design changes and the contracting of a new company to cast the ring. “After much friendly argu ment," Stems recalls, "we rear ranged the designs and selected a combination composed of the seal of Texas on one side, a can non and two crossed muskets on the other side. On the top oval we placed a spread eagle with A.M.C. around the top rim and a space for 1899 below.” During the discussion much concern was expressed by E. L. £ m - MflpMlt’vw — Uoi% gold. Only tvld-df these rings exist today. The distinctive de sign was used only for the class of '89 and never cast again. Five years passed before the forerunner of the present ring was l>orn. I’nder the direction of Edward C. Jonas, '94, Com mander of Company "C” and business manager of tlie Battal ion, suggestions for the design of a class ring were solicited. From these suggestions Jonas drew up the preliminary de sign Approval by the 32 member class soon followed. Ten dollars was collected from every senior in order to contract a New York firm to cast the gold rings. Two Cmvrrdty Arditvcs anyone could obtain a “bootleg copy. A five year contract was awarded to Star Engraving Company of Houston in November, 1933 to begin mak ing Aggie rings with the class ol '35. In 1934 the state and national flags were added as background to the crossed rifle and saber. The words "AfitM College of Texas—1876” were also added around the crest. In 1939 the Registrar’s office began distributing the ring in order to excercise tighter con trols on those who were permit ted to purchase it. 1943 saw the ring enlarged and the seal raised. When Texas A&M Col lege became Texas A&M Uni versity in 1963 the ring under went a corresponding change. An estimated 75,000 students and former students today proudly wear the symbol of A- V University Archives Martin to have the classes of'00, '01 and 02 adopt the same de sign in order to "perpetuate the design as the class ring for the succeeding years.’ The Linz Brothers Jewelry Company of Dallas offered to quote the junior, sophomore and fish classes lower prices if they would meet and vote to approve Martin's idea. With the possibility of the price per ring University Archives Aggie heritage and tradition. Fierce loyalty has caused many to protect and honor its mean ing. There are many stories of rings beingfound on battlefields in Europe, Korea and Vietnam. PKW.IWWfeClP&E! One member of the class of *45 lost his ring while on a fishing trip near Corpus Christi in 1952. A year later it was found between two dead Communist Cbe Battalion Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or' iWpr«iM»i«i nxunJK t» Nanond EduntunW .vhctitunn Serviow. Inc . New of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the Vo* Cay, wi L- Annric university administration or the Board of Regents. The Banal- TVr Banrftoa. * .n.ihm * tcsjb a*M. » ton is a non-profit, self-supporting enterprise operated by stu- Stat-m. T«aa». <M> onpi W*rd.> Samdmy Mo«W>. Aid kolid.% penod* Sop- denis as a university and community newspaper Editorial «o^»r «h«ou(rf> u«>. «*d »». donna mmo»w «hooi policy is determined by the editor Mnl N i> Kn p«»..r»ie 75,^.^ S33 sspor^^ •as ooprrK.I s 'yoor AB suhocripWom mbpes so S% «■>»» tos. Ad\«rrmnara>efc«ra»»Kcdon>v«|MCT» LETTERS POLICY \ddr«> -nor Bottahon Room *17 Sorvicm S.iildmc CoUefr Station. -Toon 77M3 t Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words and are ■ ■ ' '■ ■' —. » subject to being cut to that length or less if longer The editorial TWA.tsaaarfrraaahanwIade.dnatvah tothau^farrap^ductiunoialloei staff resertet the right to edit such letters and does not guaran- " ** P—V* 'ZL'ZZZ tee to publish any letter Each letter must be signed, show the Raht. r^«da«--W. od-r address of the writer and list a telephone number for oertfica- P n,t nr paid a Caltaat Station. Toms tioni Address correspondence to Listen Up, The Battalion. Room N^Tunar . T. C. Calnoci ,17. S^*,. Budding. ColUB. Station. Taut 7700 ^ 1 ■ ■■ — 1 "" Sport! adWnr Paul McCrarti HomlNai at a*» Stndanl rnWtnmonr Soard ara tab C Roam. t*iaim»»i Dr' ffcoto Otractor Douglas Wiaaiap G«y Hoboi Dr Jalio Haum. Ra»>r P MdUr. Dr Onsoo A PWUps. Ja» Duun. StAT Wrltrri Tow Panant nod farrt Ward ,, Caroiya Bloaaar. Ray Danldi Pat Idaanndmn. Tarty Caluoci. Laa Roy Lnv Ptradar at Stadaa* PtAhiatlsai Caai U Cddylr eftpar. )any Naodham soldiers in Korea by another Aggie, class of '50. 4> Of course, there are also stories that tell of the lighter side of Aggie rings. In 1967 the $6 million dollar Cyclotron was completed and operation be gun. One Aggie decided to in augurate the new atom smasher and perhaps gain a valuable keepsake by exposing his ring to the alpha particle beam. Instead of getting a mildly radioactive memento he got a ring with half the crest melted by the 65 mill ion electron volt beam. The ring had to be kept in a lead strongbox. Wherever Aggies go, the ring serves as a binding link with other former students. It pro vides ready identification with the good old college days and the comradeship acquired while at Texas A&M. For those of you who have never been told the whole story of the symbolism of the Aggie Ring, here it is: The shield on the top of the ring symbolizes protection of the good reputation of the Alma Mater. The 13 stripes in the shield refer to the 13 original states and symbolize the intense patriotism of graduates and un dergraduates of A&M. The five stars in the shield refer to ph ases of development of the stu dent; mind or intellect, body, spiritual attainment, emotional poise, and integrity of charac ter. The eagle is symbolic of agility and power, and ability to reach great heights and ambi tions. One side of the ring sym bolizes the Seal of the State of Texas authorized by the Con stitution of 1845. The fivepointed star is encircled with a wreath of olive or laurel leaves symbolizing achieve ment and a desire for peace, and live oak leaves symbolizing the strength to fight. They are joined at the bottom by a circled ribbon to show the necessity of joining these two traits to ac complish one’s ambition to c c SAVE A BUNDLE” Remember the old, Cash and Carry, money saving trick? Buy a pizza at the Commons Snack Bar and eat it there or take it anywhere you wish. Prices are right, and the pizzas are great. Bicentennial Special Hamburger Pina 1.29 Sausage Pizza 1.29 Pepperoni Pizza $1.29 OPEN Monday thru Friday 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. Saturday A Sunday 4:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. “QUALITY FIRST” Pack’s Plaster & Ceramics Spring Sale Tuesday-Sunday March 23-28 20% off Plaster, candles, candle rings. V2 price on box purses, hardware, phnts, and all kits. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sunday 2 p.m. - 5 p.m. FM 2223 - Old Wheelock Rd. 823-3965 We d like to take you for a ride ay aa m aa. r> a* rhi» lew*. TUtafe M*m an tar MaT naa «*ata! tm* m*« *•- daNy naOs tar Ua gay a tata( yw aMU ta Iraval ta sfyto Bee yesr Nefeigfi Uaatar, M'lgai a aal af CENTRAL CYCLE & SUPPLY Service 3506 E. SOth St. — SSS-maZTcWd Monday Take East UaivertRy to SOth St. (Tarrow Street > The other side with its an cient cannon, saber and rifle symbolizes that the men of valor and confidence. The rifle and cannon are symbols of pre paredness and defense. The crossed flags of the United States and Texas recognize the dual allegiance to nation and state. - V \ - - 7 Texas fought for their land and are determined to defend their homeland. The saber stands for Jim Pack ROBERT HALSELL TRAVEL SERVICE AIRLINE SCHEDULE INFORMATION FARES AND TICKETS DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL CALL 822-3737 1016 Texas Avenue — Bryan Texas Instruments programmable slide-rule calculator . SR-52 DISCOUNT PRICE SR-52 (345 on » I^a :::::: ’ sr-5oa Plus $2.50 Shiooina By Air Mail Texas Resident 5% Tax SEND MONEY ORDER OR CASHIERS CHECK FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY Other Models Also Available DISCOUNT CALCULATOR SALES P. O. BOX 30392 DALLAS, TEXAS 75230 \ PHONE 214-691-0215 Spring Fever Dance Lakeview Club Wednesday March 24 8:00 -12:00 Guys $2.00 Girls $1.00 If your tax questions' aren’t an swered in the tax instruc tions or a free IRS pamphlet call the IRS toll-free for help. Consult your tax in structions or local direc tory for the correct number. ' M Internal Revenue Service