Collegiate Times

The Ring Dance for the Class of 2013 will be tomorrow at 8 p.m. in the Squires Colonial Ballroom.

No Hokie is especially happy to see their senior year approaching, as the transition from junior to senior inevitably signifies a nearing to an end of four years spent at Virginia Tech. However, to represent a constant connection between Hokies, both young and old — even after graduation — the tradition of designing the Tech class ring was created in 1911.

Each year, the sophomore class selects a Ring Committee responsible for designing its class ring collection, which include elements of the Screaming Eagle, American Flag, campus buildings, an interlocking chain and, of course, a design unique to its particular class.

Beginning in 1935, the ceremony of distributing these rings to the junior class was expanded upon to include a special dance and ceremony: the Ring Dance.

This year’s Ring Dance theme for the Class of 2013 will be “An Evening Frozen in Time.” The formal Ring Dance night will be held tomorrow in Squires Commonwealth Ballroom and will begin at 8 p.m., followed by the Traditional Corp of Cadets Ring Figures presentation at 9 p.m. and finally a grand display of fireworks over the Drillfield at midnight to conclude the majestic evening. Formal attire is required, and tickets, which are free, are being distributed all week in Squires.

The event represents a connection between a class of students about to wrap up their years at Tech, and is especially meaningful for those participating in the planning of the dance and events leading up to it.

Ellee Alexander, a junior management major is part of the decorating committee for the ballroom event and has been involved in the process since the fall of last year. Having been selected for her position early in the game, she was able to witness how last year’s Ring Dance committee operated and learn from their approach.

“I saw what they were doing, things I wanted to change and things I wanted to keep.” she said. “From there, we chose our theme last year in about April or May and we started brainstorming ideas.”

Outside of decoration and designing the ring itself, much effort also went in to advertising for the upcoming event. Kelly Murphy, a junior human nutrition food and exercise major, is one of two marketing co-chairs and has been in charge of designing table cards, banners and social networking avenues to advertise the dance. She has been working diligently on marketing events leading up to Saturday’s dance as well, such as the Hypnotist that performed a free showing in Squires Commonwealth Ballroom yesterday in order to get students pumped for tomorrow.

“I mainly focus on getting the word out on all our events,” Murphy said. “We are really big on communicating with social media so that we can communicate with students in ways other than the physical.”

The committee in charge of ballroom design this year decided to maximize capacity in the room to allow for a larger dance floor and space to gather with friends. The ballroom will contain fewer large structures, and instead will be adorned with lighting to relay a “frozen” feel.

“There will be many sparkly branches and trees and the whole Commonwealth Ballroom will be lit up,” Alexander said. “We are going for a feel that represents frozen, classy and elegant.”

While the dance is in honor of the class of 2013, it is open to all students, regardless of class. In fact, many younger and older students have reached out to help the junior class in decorating and setting up the ballroom.

Caitlin Nagourney, a sophomore human development major, has put much time and effort into this year’s Ring Dance and feels the experience will help her prepare for next year. But for now, she is excited to be involved in one of Tech’s biggest on-campus events and traditions.

“The best part will probably be seeing all the Corps people get their rings and seeing all our hard work come together in the end,” Nagourney said.

For the class of 2013, this event will be both heart-warming and memorable.

“It’s bittersweet because this has been my life for the past year and especially this week has been pretty stressful and now it’s crunch time,” Alexander said. “However, the most rewarding thing will be to see all my classmates and what they think about how everything came together. I’m hoping they’ll appreciate and like everything we did.”

being distributed all week in Squires.

The event represents a connection between a class of students about to wrap up their years at Tech, and is especially meaningful for those participating in the planning of the dance and events leading up to it.

Ellee Alexander, a junior management major is part of the decorating committee for the ballroom event and has been involved in the process since the fall of last year. 

Having been selected for her position early in the game, she was able to witness how last year’s Ring Dance committee operated and learn from their approach.

“I saw what they were doing, things I wanted to change and things I wanted to keep.” she said. “From there, we chose our theme last year in about April or May and we started brainstorming ideas.”

Outside of decoration and designing the ring itself, much effort also went in to advertising for the upcoming event. 

Kelly Murphy, a junior human nutrition food and exercise major, is one of two marketing co-chairs and has been in charge of designing table cards, banners and social networking avenues to advertise the dance. 

She has been working diligently on marketing events leading up to Saturday’s dance as well, such as the Hypnotist that performed a free showing in Squires Commonwealth Ballroom yesterday in order to get students pumped for tomorrow.

“I mainly focus on getting the word out on all our events,” Murphy said. “We are really big on communicating with social media so that we can communicate with students in ways other than the physical.”

The committee in charge of ballroom design this year decided to maximize capacity in the room to allow for a larger dance floor and space to gather with friends. The ballroom will contain fewer large structures, and instead will be adorned with lighting to relay a “frozen” feel.

“There will be many sparkly branches and trees and the whole Commonwealth Ballroom will be lit up,” Alexander said. “We are going for a feel that represents frozen, classy and elegant.”

While the dance is in honor of the class of 2013, it is open to all students, regardless of class. In fact, many younger and older students have reached out to help the junior class in decorating and setting up the ballroom.

Caitlin Nagourney, a sophomore human development major, has put much time and effort into this year’s Ring Dance and feels the experience will help her prepare for next year. 

But for now, she is excited to be involved in one of Tech’s biggest on-campus events and traditions.

“The best part will probably be seeing all the Corps people get their rings and seeing all our hard work come together in the end,” Nagourney said.

For the class of 2013, this event will be both heart-warming and memorable.

“It’s bittersweet because this has been my life for the past year and especially this week has been pretty stressful and now it’s crunch time,” Alexander said. 

“However, the most rewarding thing will be to see all my classmates and what they think about how everything came together. I’m hoping they’ll appreciate and like everything we did.”

A version of this article appeared in the Mar 23 issue of the Collegiate Times.