Engineering students at Queen’s and the Royal Military College of Canada were ringed during a special ceremony in Grant Hall on March 19.
The iron ring ceremony is a 100-year old Canadian tradition which celebrates engineering students’ successful completion of their programs and reminds them of their ethical responsibilities to Canadians. However, it’s not without its controversy.
“The ceremony is meant to make students think about their responsibility to society and why we studied to become engineers,” Heidi Ploeg, a Queen’s engineering professor, said in an interview with The Journal.
“It’s to get students thinking about what our role as engineers is: making things better in the future.”
Beyond her position at Queen’s, Ploeg is a warden for camp three, which is the traditional title for being a representative for the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer in the Kingston region.
For Ploeg, making the ceremony more inclusive and accessible is a priority.
“The whole style of the ceremony is very dated. The definition of engineering is very narrow. A hundred years ago, engineering was about bridges and trains. The things we are working on now—like artificial intelligence, for instance—I think should be included in the ceremony,” Ploeg said.
The iron ring ceremony has a reputation for being secretive, but Ploeg and wardens across the country are working to demystify the rumours surrounding the ceremony.
“The Quebec Bridge is a true engineering failure case study. It’s a great example of why engineers need to be aware of their responsibility. The rings are not from the bridge,” Ploeg said.
Tradition dictates only engineers can attend in-person and some of the symbols involved in the ceremony are controversial. The ceremony involves engineering students holding a chain in the shape of a ring, which represents the interconnectedness between engineers.
“The symbolism [of the chain] is we’re all connected—we’re all ing each other. But it’s controversial because chains have been used historically, to imprison and enslave people,” Ploeg said.
Nationally, the ceremony is looking to replace the traditional poem read at the ceremony by Rudyard Kipling with poem relevant to today’s context. Currently, submissions are open for a new poem which will be unveiled in 2025 during the 100th anniversary of the iron ring ceremony.
“This year we replaced all the male pronouns and Christian references in the poem, but still read Rudyard Kipling,” Poeg said.
The Canadian Federation of Engineering Students launched a survey to receive from students on traditions they find meaningful as well as areas for improvement.
The changes made to this year’s ceremony were not lost on Divine Idoko, Sci ’23. It was livestreamed for the first time, allowing non-engineer parents and friends to take part in the event.
“I’m originally from Calgary, Alberta, and my dad’s an engineer, but my mom’s not,” Idoko said in an interview with The Journal.
“Traditionally, she wouldn’t be allowed into the ceremony—and she wasn’t this year either—but having that live stream made it worthwhile for her to fly into Kingston.”
For Idoko, the iron ring ceremony is a long-awaited acknowledgement of her commitment to her future profession.
“It was a very momentous occasion for me, to finally put a ring on everything,” Idoko said. “With my father flying out to ring, not just me, and my best friend, it was a very special moment.”
Idoko has wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps since grade eight, and the tradition of picking up the chain struck an emotional chord.
“I started crying when everybody picked up the chain because there’s all these chains around us, and you have to repeat vows about your duty to society—almost like a wedding where you’re repeating your vows to your significant other—and the words start to hit you,” Idoko said.
“I’ve bonded with my fellow engineers. These are people that grinded through hell and backwards with me and now we’re forever bonded.”
Corrections
A previous version of a quote given by Heidi Ploeg contained factually incorrect information and has since been amended.
The Journal regrets the error
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