As echoes of Beyoncé’s hit linger in students’ heads, the Barnard College annual ring sale is for the first time targeting juniors as well as seniors.
The ring sales started yesterday and continue today from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m. at Java City located in the lobby of Altschul on the Barnard campus.
Students can also order rings online. Taking into consideration statistics from previous years, the Student Government Association anticipates that about 20 to 25 percent of the junior and senior classes will purchase rings this year. According to Rachel Wilkinson, BC ’10 and Ring Chair, “ring sales in previous years were extremely successful.”
“I was asking my friend which Barnard ring design she was getting and she told me that she was going to receive her mother’s very own Barnard ring and engrave her own name onto it. It was really awesome to see that these rings have actually become a generation-to-generation tradition,” said Isabel Araujo, BC ’10 and Junior Class Treasurer.
Barnard’s official seal—the image of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and military victory—appears at the center of the ring. There are two different ring designs: the gold and silver Barnard Signet and the Barnard Intaglio, which was the original ring design. The Signet ring was designed within the last four years.
“The rings are a way to connect the Barnard juniors and seniors not only among each other on campus, but also with the alumnae who also had purchased their rings when they were juniors and seniors themselves,” Wilkinson said.
The annual Ring Ceremony for graduating seniors will take place on April 28. During the ceremony, Dorothy Denburg, the dean of Barnard College, will present a speech on the significance of the rings in the Barnard Community.
To recognize Barnard’s affiliation to Columbia, students have the option of including a Columbia University seal on the ring, and students can also engrave up to nine letters onto the inside or outside of the ring.
Council members offered some practical advice on the choices of rings that students should make. “If you want the white gold, then you should get the 10K and if you want just gold, the 14K ring is best,” Araujo said.