CON
Much like communism, steroids and many other idiotic things in this misleading world, class rings sound very good in theory.
It’s a keepsake of those wonderfully glorious four years of high school. It’s something to bond with your friends over. It could even be something to show your children or grandchildren someday.
But in the grand scheme of things, despite their popularity and symbolic nature, class rings are not worth the money.
First and foremost, I must admit something before my bashing begins.
At the beginning of sophomore year when that gray-haired guy in a suit came to our commons area and set up his table topped with paperwork and class rings out the wazoo, I was the first in line to purchase one.
I thought they were pretty legit, and so did everybody else. I remember getting way too excited and rampantly flipping through the packet, thinking I was super cool and grown-up. Let’s face it: we all did. When we were freshmen, we all saw the sophomores flaunting their new rings. It was finally our chance to flaunt one, too. It was really just a symbol of not being a freshman anymore.
But almost immediately, I regretted my decision to spend $220.94 on a ring. One ring.
No offense, Mr.. Balfour Guy. Your rings aren’t as “legit” as I once thought.
For one, class rings are ridiculously expensive.
There are much more meaningful things out there to spend your money on. It could be a car payment, a birthday present for your stepbrother, a new watch; almost anything besides one silly class ring. Personally, I would most definitely prefer having an extra $220.94 in my college savings account than a shimmering jewel on my right ring finger.
Also, you will probably only wear your class ring throughout the remainder of high school. Three years is not a lot of time to get your money’s worth of ring-wearing.
However, there’s always the option of wearing your class ring after graduating from high school. Sure, why not?
Well, for one, that would be embarrassing.
Sure, high school may have been wonderfully glorious and your ring may, in the future, remind you of the good ol’ days. But hopefully we will all have much better experiences later in life than we did in high school. If you really want to remember high school, spend 20 bucks on some pictures and a scrapbook instead.
And to all you tough guys: unless you won the Super Bowl, World Series or even a State title, you simply can’t pull off an unnecessarily gigantic ring. Not even if you are wearing a suit like the guy that sold it to you, not even in your graduation gown, not even in a classy letter jacket. Pretty much nothing can make that jumbo-sized class ring look cool. In fact, wearing one will most likely make you look like a complete tool.

PRO
Students want memories from the best years of their lives and class rings provide just that.
Sophomores get called into an assembly during seminar and packets are disbursed. From the second the packets hit the sophomores hands, you can hear chatter about who’s going to get what, when they’re going to get it, for how much, and where.
Excitement fills the air, all over such a small ring that will carry a lifetime full of memories.
Sophomore Mollie Hart said that a class ring will be cool to have and be able to have a memory of what she liked back in high school.
If you’ve grown up with an older sibling, class rings are all you hear about when they are sophomores. You’ll hear them sit at the dinner table and talk to your parents in a whiney voice about what they’ll do if your parent will buy this one little ring for them. You promise yourself that you’re not going to beg for one but yet when your sophomore year comes around, you’re doing just that.
“My sister was very excited when she first got her packet for the class rings,” said Hart. “I remember sitting in her car for an hour discussing which ring she was going to get and what was going to be on it. It made me look forward to having the same experience as her, but in my own way.”
Julie Tharp, science teacher, said she’s proud of her class ring because it’s the first big purchase with her own money. Although the prices are sometimes high, it’s worth it to get a class ring that shows a little bit of who you were when you were in high school. The fact that it’s so expensive makes some students like their rings more.
“I like it, it’s expensive,” said senior Eric Windler.
So let’s face it, although the prices are high they aren’t a “waste of money.” In fact, in a Reporter survey of 15 percent of students, 70 percent said that class rings were really cool and that they were a reminder of high school memories.
English teacher Stuart Ross agrees and said that it’s a novelty that reminds him of high school in general.