Ring Dares are one of the best loved traditions at the Albany Academy for Girls, signifying the culmination of the bond between sister classes. The ring dare process begins in February, when a senior girl is paired with a member of her sister class, the sophomore class. While some pairings occur between seniors and sophomores who are already friends, many others are randomly chosen. Within the next month or so, the two sisters become better acquainted with each other. The seniors select a dare for their sisters to perform before the AAG upper school student body, either alone or with other sophomores. The purpose of these dares is to act as both a class- bonding experience and a way for the sophomores to earn their rings. That night, the sister classes have a dinner together and the Ring Ceremony occurs, in which the seniors hand their sisters their class rings. 

Ring Dares are a highlight of every year. It is a day of camaraderie and amusement for the entire school, even for the classes who are not involved. However, the process does have many flaws. These problems were apparent to me as both a sophomore and senior. As a sophomore, I felt awkward around my sister, whom I barely knew at all. The unfamiliarity between sisters creates different challenges for seniors. Without knowing much about their sisters, seniors do not know the comfort level for their sisters, which makes planning a dare for them difficult. 

Seniors and sophomores alike have expressed frustration over the process. Even though it occurs every year, it always seems to start too late, leading to a rushed and stressful few weeks leading up to the ceremonies. The sisters only have a few opportunities to meet together before Ring Dares occur. With the stress of an ending trimester and a pressing deadline, the seniors feel rushed in coming up with dares and planning the dinner. 

There are many changes that would make the Ring Sister process more efficient and enjoyable. It would be helpful to have more sister activities and meetings when the sisters classes are freshman and juniors instead of the limited time that has been given in the past. These additional meetings could occur during assembly blocks or lunches. Having monthly sister class lunches would be an easy way to inspire class bonding throughout the year. When the freshmen have become sophomores, and the juniors have become seniors, the sister pairings could be selected early on in the year in the fall, rather than in late winter. Sisters would then have more time to get to know each other and come up with suitable dares. The Ring Ceremony could still occur at the same time it occurs every year, in late February, but assigning sisters earlier would give everyone more time to prepare. This would lessen the level of stress near the ceremony. 

Despite these issues, at the end of the day, the tradition of Ring Dares always fulfills its purpose of bringing the school community together for some lighthearted fun. I was lucky to have a sophomore sister whom I already knew well. She performed her dare with great enthusiasm and made me proud. At the dinner, as I looked around the room with all the seniors and sophomores, I felt a warm glow of school spirit. There is a reason why everyone loves rings dares — they are a rare moment for sophomores to break the rules and do something different and, well, daring. At the end of the Ring Ceremony, the sophomores receive their class rings engraved with AAG’s signature oak tree and are brought into the ranks of all previous generations at AAG in cherishing the compassionate spirit of our school.