MIT class ring
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's class ring, often called the Brass Rat, is a commemorative ring for the graduating class of students at MIT. The ring is redesigned each year by a committee of MIT students. The class ring has three main sections: the bezel, containing MIT's mascot, the beaver; the MIT seal (seal shank); and the class year (class shank). The side surfaces of the current ring design show the Boston and Cambridge skylines. An MIT campus map and the student's name are engraved on the inner surface. On earlier versions, the Great Dome and Building 10 facade were featured on each shank, with "MIT" under it on one side and the class year on the other. The phrase "Brass Rat" is derived from the alleged resemblance of the gold (hence brass-like appearance) beaver to a rat. Among other reasons the beaver was chosen as mascot (and therefore for the front bezel of the ring) because it is an American animal, and considered to be "the engineer of the animal world". The ring is not literally made of brass, and has typically been made in various alloys of gold, platinum, or stainless steel ("The Stainless Steel Rat"). Tradition The Brass