The cadets of the United States Military Academy first began the practice of wearing class rings in 1835. The United States Military Academy class ring has traditionally been worn on the left hand, but most recent graduates choose to wear it on their right hand, which is likely in response to the dilemma posed by wearing both a West Point ring and a wedding ring on the same finger. Some graduates still choose to wear both on their left hand. While at West Point, the ring is worn so that the class crest is worn to the inside and closest to one's heart. Upon graduation, the ring is worn so that the West Point crest is closest to the heart.
Ring Weekend is a tradition at the United States Military Academy where senior cadets are awarded their West Point class ring. West Point is the first American school to have class rings. It is awarded to senior cadets shortly after the start of their senior year, after which there is a formal dinner and dance (called a "hop" in cadet slang) following the ceremony for the cadets and their guests.
Cadets choose their ring several months in advance, selecting everything from size (the traditional large and heavy men's casting, or the less bulky women's version), color (white gold, yellow gold, or no-luster palladium), and stone (some rings are all gold and embossed with the West Point seal where the stone would have been set). Some cadets opt to "inherit" pieces of rings from other family members or mentors who have also graduated from West Point. The rings are customized for each cadet, and there are very few standard seen practices, save the use of symbol black onyx and gold to represent the school colors, but this is seen in a minority of rings. West Point alumni may donate their rings to be added to the smelting pot when a new batch of rings are cast. Also, the stone from an older ring can be removed and placed into a new graduate's ring. There are lots of ring-related souvenirs as well. Students can pick out items for family members made to resemble their class ring such as cufflinks, pendants, and pins. All these items of jewelry bear the same markings as the ring: the West Point crest, the class crest, the class motto, and the year the Cadet graduated (e.g., "Keeping Freedom Alive. West Point Class 2005").
After the ring ceremony, Firsties are mobbed by plebes reciting the "Ring Poop":
| “ | Oh my Gosh, sir/ma'am! What a beautiful ring! What a crass mass of brass and glass! What a bold mold of rolled gold! What a cool jewel you got from your school! See how it sparkles and shines? It must have cost you a fortune! May I touch it, may I touch it please, sir/ma'am? | ” |
The term "ringknocker" refers to the alleged custom of some graduates to gently rap their ring against a hard surface in social situations; this serves as an unobtrusive signal of their status to any other graduates in the vicinity. However, a negative social-networking connotation also associates with the term, in that the term "implies that if there is a discussion in progress, the senior (West) Pointer need only knock his large ring on the table and all Pointers present are obliged to rally to his point of view."
Famous quotes containing the words united states, united, states, military, academy, class and/or ring:
“On the whole, yes, I would rather be the Chief Justice of the United States, and a quieter life than that which becomes at the White House is more in keeping with the temperament, but when taken into consideration that I go into history as President, and my children and my children’s children are the better placed on account of that fact, I am inclined to think that to be President well compensates one for all the trials and criticisms he has to bear and undergo.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“The city of Washington is in some respects self-contained, and it is easy there to forget what the rest of the United States is thinking about. I count it a fortunate circumstance that almost all the windows of the White House and its offices open upon unoccupied spaces that stretch to the banks of the Potomac ... and that as I sit there I can constantly forget Washington and remember the United States.”
—Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924)
“I do seriously believe that if we can measure among the States the benefits resulting from the preservation of the Union, the rebellious States have the larger share. It destroyed an institution that was their destruction. It opened the way for a commercial life that, if they will only embrace it and face the light, means to them a development that shall rival the best attainments of the greatest of our States.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“In early times every sort of advantage tends to become a military advantage; such is the best way, then, to keep it alive. But the Jewish advantage never did so; beginning in religion, contrary to a thousand analogies, it remained religious. For that we care for them; from that have issued endless consequences.”
—Walter Bagehot (1826–1877)
“When the State wishes to endow an academy or university, it grants it a tract of forest land: one saw represents an academy, a gang, a university.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Think of what our Nation stands for,
Books from Boots’ and country lanes,
Free speech, free passes, class distinction,
Democracy and proper drains.”
—Sir John Betjeman (1906–1984)
“Roll unmanly over this turning tuft,
O ring of seas, nor sorrow as I shift
From all my mortal lovers with a starboard smile....”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)