Senior Class rings set to spend the night in Bell Tower
The Se
ni
or Class rings are in the Bell Tower.
Dr. Thomas Stafford ‘66 MS and Cody Williams ‘07, assistant director of marketing for the Alumni Association, put almost 300 rings for the Class of 2011 in the Shrine Room of the Bell Tower this afternoon.
They will stay there overnight in preparation for a reception at the Park Alumni Center on Sunday, when the rings will be presented to members of the Senior Class.
“This is a really big deal for students,” Stafford said. “When you think about it, the symbolism of it is really cool.”
The tradition of storing the class rings overnight in the Bell Tower is still fairly new, but it has clearly taken hold with students. Stafford recalled overhearing a student talking about getting his ring repaired. He wanted to make sure, though, that he got his ring back and not a replacement.
“Because my ring was in the Bell Tower,” Stafford recalled the student staying.
Williams 
said the Alumni Association started putting rings in the Bell Tower in 2006 as a way to add a bit more tradition to the occasion.
“It’s a way to connect all the rings, those that came through before and those that are coming through now,” he said. “It creates a bond.”
So Stafford and Williams carried three large boxes of rings into the Bell Tower this afternoon. They placed them in the Shrine Room and then left them to spend the night.
“They’re locked in,” Stafford said as he exited the Bell Tower. “Job well done, gentlemen.”
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