THURSDAY, APRIL 7 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2022 STUDENT MEDIA
6,509 students to participate in April Ring Day Need-to-knows for recipients, guests for April 2022 Ring Day By Aubrey Vogel @aubrey_vogel With continued construction of Aggie Park, the Kyle Field Ford Hall of Champions will welcome 6,509 Aggie Ring recipi-
ents and their guests on Thursday, April 7 and Friday, April 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the largest Ring Days of the year. Out of the 6,509 rings, 3,179, or 49%, are men’s while 3,330, or 51%, are women’s, according to a press release from The Association of Former Students. Various types of rings were ordered with 5,680, or 87%, as 10K gold, 688, or 10%, as 14K, 161, or 2%, as Polara and 62, or 1%, as white gold. Out
of all recipients, 38% have ordered diamonds in their rings. The classes of 2022 and 2023 make up a majority of the ring recipients, but there are also 193 students from the Class of 2024 included in the total and 102 from the Class of 2021. Students receiving their rings will be assisted by 73 Association employees as well as 375 volunteers, including 56 students as they pick up their Aggie gold.
To ease ring pick-up, the Association suggests students have their ring tickets ready when entering the gates at Kyle Field. Groups will be called at each entrance, with last names starting with A through G entering at the southwest activation tower and last names starting with H through Z entering through the northwest activation tower. Ring recipients should ensure they arRING DAY ON PG. 2
History of Aggie Rings
Kyle McClenagan — THE BATTALION
The Aggie Ring has changed in appearance and substance since its creation, as seen in the above rings from the classes of 1890, 1900, 1933 and 2020.
Beginning in 1889, the Aggie Ring has seen many changes in design, but maintains the embodiment of Aggie Spirit By Kyle McClenagan @KMcclenagan
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ince 1889, the Aggie Ring has served as an iconic symbol of Texas A&M’s rich appreciation for the school’s traditions and values. The Aggie Ring has been around for 133 years and has faced several challenges and multiple iterations to become the ring that Aggies around the world recognize and wear today. Currently, the ring is available in four different styles: antique, natural, Polara and white gold. Each ring also comes in both a large and small size with the standard 10K gold or the optional 14K purity. Students also have
the choice of adding a diamond ranging from 10-point to 30-point for an additional cost. In 1899, the ring that began the lineage of the modern day design was created by the Linz Brothers Jewelry Company of Dallas and was accepted by the 1899 Class Ring Committee, chaired by then-business manager of The Battalion R.J. Poulter. This design was also adopted by the classes of 1900, 1901 and 1902, and cost students $10.50 — $350.47 today. Over the next two decades, the ring would see little change except for the state seal and crossed weapon charges changing sides in 1912 before returning to their original orientation in 1926, according to the Association of Former Students’ website. Scott Walker, Class of 1990 and vice president of the Association, said the ring hasn’t always had a strict style. “I don’t want to say it was a free for all, but in the early days it was kind of a free for all,” Walker said. “Every class did their own thing, [and] the designs might be the same for one year, or the next day they might go in a wildly
different direction.” The ring did not begin to become officially standardized until the 1930s, Walker said. “By the turn of the century, we started seeing elements that we would recognize today,” Walker said. “In the early 1930s to the mid-1930s is when it really started to get standardized, and it’s really only had small changes since then, the most significant one being when the college became a university and so the lettering changed.” Walker said standardizing the design was important so Aggies from different class years could still identify each other. “Part of the value of a class ring is that it’s recognizable,” Walker said. “If mine looks radically different from yours, then we would not have the ability to recognize each other across the airport the way Aggies do now.” Students had a hand in finalizing the standardization in 1933, when an official senior ring committee was created by then-university President Thomas O. Walton, Walker said. “As things are often done at Texas A&M,
[President Walton] said, ‘We’re going to let the students sort this out,’” Walker said. “He appointed a committee of students and charged them with cleaning up all of the chaos, so they brought together a unified design and unified requirements to earn the ring and unified manufacturing standards.” Walker said establishing manufacturing standards was important since the university had been cheated before by companies, placing lead in the rings rather than solid gold. “That was part of the impetus for President Walton bringing that committee together,” Walker said. “The students were being taken advantage of by, in some cases, unscrupulous businessmen.” In 1963, when the university began to diversify and allow women and non-Corps of Cadets members to attend, the student body decided the ring should be open to all students. “There were a lot of other things involved in diversifying the student body and who HISTORY ON PG. 2
From stadiums to screens
Going for silver
Robert O’Brien — THE BATTALION
In addition to gold, Aggies may order their rings in a Polara or white gold finish.
Muslim students share why they chose Aggie silver instead of gold By Michaela Rush @Michaela4Batt This Thursday and Friday, April 7-8, 6,509 Aggies will receive their Aggie Rings, celebrating with friends and family, but not all will choose the traditional gold band to represent their Aggie pride. For industrial engineering senior Abdurrahman Arastu and other men of the Muslim faith, their religion affects how they wear their ring, clad in silver rather than gold. In Islam, men cannot wear gold, as instructed by religious text, Arastu said. “The primary reason that [Muslim] men
don’t wear gold is because that is a commandment that was shared by the Prophet Muhammad,” Arastu said. “He basically said that it’s forbidden for men to wear gold or pure gold jewelry, or things of that nature. At the end of the day, we always say that God knows best what the wisdom is, and we adhere to it.” Arastu said having the option to get his ring in silver allowed him to celebrate both his love of A&M and dedication to his faith. “I’m really glad that A&M provides these silver alternatives,” Arastu said. “Not only is it adhering to the faith, but you also have the financial benefit, it’s more affordable. I don’t feel like any less of an Aggie in any sense. There’s nothing different, it’s just the Aggie Ring and it has significance, same as AGGIE SILVER ON PG. 9
PROVIDED
12th Man Productions employs over 100 student workers, broadcasting all home A&M sporting events.
Campus broadcasting provides students experience, opportunity By Brad Bennett @Brad_Bennett13 For Aggies around the country, it’s easy to watch their favorite teams play: turn on the TV and go to the channel the game is on. However, the production behind this is not so simple. A lot of effort and time goes into preparing and executing a broadcast. For A&M, home games are broadcasted by 12th Man Productions. The director of broadcasts for 12th Man Productions Justin Argo, along with the aid of his coworkers and student workers, produces the sports Aggies all over the country consume and love. Argo, Class of 2008, worked for 12th Man Productions while studying at A&M. Upon graduation, Argo moved to Colorado, where he worked with FOX Sports for 10 years before deciding with his wife to return back to College Station in 2017.
The opportunity to return home and help out future Aggies with aspirations in broadcasting was important, Argo said. “We heard about 12th Man Productions and how they were expanding and growing [with] all the stuff they were doing with ESPN and SEC Network,” Argo said. “It was kind of a way to help my alma mater and the future generation with how to do broadcast television.” Argo said he considers his job as a mentorship because of the nearly 100 student workers under his supervision. “I look at my job right now as kind of being a football coach,” Argo said. “I’m working with college students right now. If I’m lucky I’ll get a star freshman that’ll play for four years, but for the most part we’re playing juniors and seniors.” What’s key for him, Agro said, is ensuring 12th Man Productions consistently improves and produces a great product year after year. “We’re trying to build a dynasty,” Argo said. “Just [because] these seniors left [doesn’t 12TH MAN PRODUCTIONS ON PG. 8