The New Mexico State University Alumni Association will be sponsoring the NMSU Official Ring Ceremony for the fall semester Dec. 11, in Trader’s Plaza in front of the Aggie Memorial Tower and the Health and Science Services building from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Leslie Cervantes, Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations, said the official class ring is reserved exclusively for juniors, graduating seniors and NMSU alumni who purchase the ring.

“It’s a ceremony that is full of tradition that allows the people that purchased them to officially receive them and have photos with Pistol Pete. It’s a nice and short ceremony,” Cervantes said.

Alumni Relations Officer Carol Ann Garcia said that as a tradition in the ceremony, the rings are handed to the recipients by Pistol Pete.

“As tradition, Pistol Pete rides in on a horse with the rings in a suitcase, delivers the rings and we present them all with the rings. Then, if they would like to, we invite them to go up into a Memorial Tower and the Health and Social Services building so they can write down their special ring stories. Which would be their favorite story attending NMSU or what the ring means to them,” Garcia said.

Rebecca Galves, director of NMSU Alumni Relations, said the tradition has been in NMSU for 15 years.

“We’ve hosted the ceremony for about 15 years. It’s really kind of a time-honored tradition where we also open up the Memorial Tower and let people walk into the memorial room on the third floor of the tower,” Galves said.

To purchase a ring, Cervantes explained that prices range for the type of ring the student or alumnus chooses.

“There is silver, gold, platinum, you can have stones put on them or not. It all really ranges and depends what price you want or how you want them to look,” Cervantes said.

Cervantes said the ceremony is an opportunity for students and alumni to show their pride even after graduating from NMSU.

“The ring ceremony is an opportunity for graduating seniors and alumni to show their pride and if they carry that ring with them for the rest of their careers and their lives, it’s just an outward sign of pride that they have a degree from New Mexico State University,” Cervantes said.

Galves expressed the significance of the ring ceremony as an honored NMSU tradition.

“It’s to gather, bring your family together and honoring a tradition that we’d really love for more people to participate in and participate a tradition here in NMSU,” Galves said.