The ring is a physical representation of ones brief time at the. If you have proof for all of these careers and still need more cash (don’t we all), you may then add more careers. 2018 Brass Rat - Design The Brass Rat has been a tradition within MIT community for decades. Since success is also judged against meeting your goals, you must demonstrate items for professions that you previously earned Keys To Success for. In order to fully prove your success, you’ll need to earn an amount of money that depends on your team size You will be granted money based on our known criteria of each object, and a standard rubric of the following categoriesįor each Item of Achievement, you may receive up to $50M in each category (in invisible fake currency), for a total of $250M possible per item. Our appraisers will value your Items of Achievement and grant you (fake) money with which to demonstrate to your peers that you have Succeeded In Life. Supposedly, the artistic efforts of the design team looked more like another kind of rodent, hence the name given by generations of alumni to their precious ringsthe Brass Rat.
Your life really amounts to nothing without it. They decided that it should be engraved with a depiction of the North American beaver to reflect the industrious and practical nature of MIT graduates. Of course, the only real measure of success is money. Fortunately for you, none of us have actually seen most of these things, so we’re acting mostly off of what we’ve heard. This evidence is in the form of Items of Achievement. Ever since, each class has appointed its own Ring Committee, which endeavors to craft a ring that will inspire us while we are here, unite us once we leave, and, above all else, unmistakably symbolize the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Now that you’ve achieved success, it’s time to prove it! You will need to show us evidence that you’ve completed some or all of the careers you previously prepared for. So started the Institute tradition of the Brass Rat, the affectionate nickname for the ring that has become a symbol of MIT as well as one of the most recognizable rings worldwide. With the debate settled and the ring finally designed, the Class of 1930 was the first to proudly wear a Brass Rat. He does his best work in the dark.”Ĭiting the fact that many other schools had buildings similar to our Great Dome, the committee ultimately decided to honor our hard-working and industrious mascot on the ring-and thus the Brass Rat was born. The beaver is noted for his engineering, mechanical skills, and industry.
The beaver not only typifies the Tech (student), but his habits are peculiarly our own. Hornady’s book on the animals of North America and instantly chose the beaver. But neither of these were American animals. He is wise, patient, strong, hard working, and, like all who graduate from Tech, has a good hide. The committee looked to the original discussion over the mascot (formally decided upon by President MacLaurin in 1914), calling upon the now famous defense of the beaver by Lester Gardner, Class of 1897: “We first thought of the kangaroo which, like Tech, goes forward in leaps and bounds. The committee agreed upon a three part construction, with a primary image on the bezel of the ring and two other images on the two shanks.Ĭontroversy quickly arose over whether to honor the Beaver or the Great Dome on the bezel some members of the committee even questioned MIT’s choice of the beaver as its mascot. Brigham Allen, then President of the Class of 1929, called upon one member of the classes of 1930, 1931, and 1932 and entrusted them with the task of designing a ring that the Institute Committee would ultimately approve as the Standard Technology Ring. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Brass Rat tradition was born in the spring of 1929.