When the school year comes to an end, graduation is one thing that is sure to be on every senior’s mind. Some graduates purchase class rings to commemorate the event, while others feel no need to do so. However, Steve Myers, a recent 2012 WTAMU graduate, feels that even though some graduating seniors may want a class ring, a few negative factors may cause them to change their minds.
According to Myers, class rings at WT are considerably more expensive and do not have many styles of rings to choose from.
“My girlfriend wanted to buy me a class ring for graduation and I immediately went to the Jostens web site, having a couple other class rings from them, and was told they couldn’t help me,” Myers wrote in an email. “Turns out, Herff Jones, which is the exclusive supplier for graduation materials, also has exclusivity on WT class rings. So I went to their web site to design the ring I wanted and was also denied. Seems at WT, graduates have a very, very limited selection, no birth stones, no newer styles, nothing really special and yet the price for the ring I’m getting is over 200 dollars more than the style I really wanted to order from Jostens. I understand quality control, but Jostens and Jones’ rings for other colleges offer way more variety and evidently at much more reasonable prices.”
According to the local Herff Jones, all of the styles and options they offer for other colleges aren’t available for WT and they are not sure if or when they will be. The WT Alumni Association is the official provider of the WTAMU class ring and gives students the ability to order online or even visit the Buffalo Courts Alumni Center. Rings are available to students who have completed 90 hours.
For some students, the variety of class rings offered at WT is not worth the money spent to wear them.
“I didn’t get one in high school, and it’s something I’m not really in to,” Katelyn Ward, junior Agriculture Education major, said. “Personally, I think it’s too expensive for what they give you.”
Other students have a more objective way of looking at the issue.
“I came to college to earn a degree,” Daniel Bonds, sophomore Sports and Exercise Science major, said. “I can see why someone might want a class ring when they graduate, but personally it’s just not that important to me. I think class rings can also seem like a fraternity thing to some people, which might make them less popular to students who aren’t part of one.”
It is still unclear as to whether or not WT and Herff Jones will be offering more variety of rings at lower prices in the future.
