May 15, 2015
TRADITIONS: Junior, now Senior Ring Weekend
Junior Ring Weekend became Senior Ring Weekend in September 2014.
The change was prompted by Junior Ring Weekend’s incredible popularity. So many students wanted to take part in the festivities that juniors were deferring study abroad to make sure they didn’t miss out. The Class of 2015 solved the problem by agreeing to receive rings in the fall of senior year rather than the spring of junior year.
“It’s beneficial because all can attend and be part of the tradition,” said Alexandra C. Rawson ’15 (Dudley, Mass.), who helped organize the first Senior Ring Weekend. Rawson said the committee had “plenty of time to perfect the details, making it a truly extravagant and fabulous weekend.”
The first-ever Senior Ring Weekend featured a Special Events Night under a tent on the Slavin Center lawn on Friday; a Formal Night with a catered dinner and dancing at the Rhode Island Convention Center on Saturday; and a Mass, ring blessing, and reception at St. Dominic Chapel on Sunday.
The tradition dates to November 1966. The first Junior Ring Weekend included the traditional Ring Dance on Friday night but added several events on Saturday — a hayride, a Folk Festival starring Tom Rush in Alumni Hall, and a dance at the Roger Williams Park Casino in Providence. The total package cost $12.50.
Even students who don’t buy rings love Ring Weekend. It’s always a memorable party.
“We went as a group of friends and lined up as couples on a beautiful spiral staircase with a huge chandelier for formal pictures — which I still treasure today,” said Jayne Farrell Hasler ’80, ’13P, & ’14P. “Ours was really fun and formal. It is an awesome memory.”
