In Mikkeli, the new year has started with speed as the clubs’ new Boards have taken up their positions and got used to their new responsibilities. I have now been studying in Mikkeli for half a year. During this time, it has become clear that our well-knit community has a strong identity of its own. Despite the small size, we are proud and unapologetic, and the regard for tradition is at its peak in our community.

In Mikkeli, connections to other schools are considered important and worth looking after. I don’t think I am the only one who thinks that the basic nature of studying is seeking out the new and challenging the old. This is why I believe that getting acquainted with other student organisations and cities of study makes your student years as rich an experience as possible for yourself as well as others.

The winter is soon nearing its end, but before we let out a sigh of relief and turn towards the spring, we have the ultimate acid test of new operators ahead of us: Mikkeli Road Trip, taking place on Saturday 9 Mar.

Mikkeli Road Trip is a two-hundred-participant event, and around a third of the campus’ students take part in one way or another in making it happen: one by manning a checkpoint, another by guiding the guests who brave the conditions through the winter storms, a third by accommodating the weary heroes. This, the third-biggest event of the year on the smallest university campus in Finland, invites students from around the country to visit Mikkeli and have a taste of the local student culture.

The event encompasses the identity and spirit of Mikkeli in many ways. The already clichéd but yet so meaningful pair of words, the Mikkeli Spirit, is at the core of this event. We can no longer remember when the event was organised for the first time, but we are certain that every one of us hopes for it to continue long into the future.

Let this blog entry act as a small window into Mikkeli for the people of Aalto University. We hope these are not the only greetings you will get to read from Mikkeli, as the year is only beginning. There is a lot more to tell ahead, from the culmination of students’ connection, the First of May, via the summer through to the freshman-filled autumn. But we’ll get back to those later on. Right now, let’s head towards Mikkeli Road Trip and the spring with a will!

Simo Halme, Editor-in-Chief of Probba ry 

Student communities have always been important to me, and they have a big significance in students’ lives. They have been places where you can grow as a person, learn new things and get to know new people, as well as experience a unique sense of togetherness. During this autumn, I have had a chance to get to know the Aalto community in connection with the community structures project. I have immersed myself in how this community has been formed, what kinds of structures are currently holding it together and, above all, what kinds of people make the Aalto community just as unique as it is. It has been a great joy and honour to meet members of the Aalto community, learn new things from them and spend the entire autumn doing important work among this community.

I have encountered dozens of volunteers, association operators, Representative Council members and alumni and heard a lot about how important and unique the Aalto community is and how much it means to people. At the same time, I have also heard about the challenges experienced in the community, which are hoped to be resolved by way of the community structures project. Based on the surveys, interviews and discussions I have conducted, the biggest challenges are seen to be the experiences of inequality in the community, the illogicalities related to the volunteer field’s structure and the inadequacy of the association classification.

My goal has been to have as many community members as possible participate in the project, and during the autumn, I have been pleasantly surprised by people’s courage to speak out loud about difficult subject matter, too, about prejudices as well as experiences of inequality. I am especially thankful for people daring to discuss different matters constructively and honestly at various events.

I find the Aalto community unique as it brings together different kinds of student cultures, each of which has its own fine traditions and important events. When talking with members of the community, I have noticed that many do not have enough information on the others’ cultures, yet everyone is eager to get to know other people and cultures. There is a simultaneous wish to both create a common culture and to hang on to and showcase the unique features of their own culture, but perhaps there are not yet enough places that genuinely bring together different cultures and people.

Next spring is a special time for the Aalto community, as this is when also the Master’s-level students of Economics are moving to the same campus in Otaniemi. After that, there will only be Aalto University students studying on the Otaniemi and Mikkeli campuses. A large common campus for the majority of students and the resolutions from the community structures project will shape the community to make it even more unified. The project has progressed at a gallop through the autumn, but there is still much to do, which is why my work among the community structures will continue into the spring.

The undeniable strength of the Aalto community are the people from many different backgrounds who want to have their unique input into creating the Aalto community. People who want to actively develop their own community are constantly coming up with new ideas and taking action to accomplish them. I am excited about being able to continue this project with such people and to be part of developing this community.

Text: Elina Nieminen

Elina Nieminen. Kuva: Aino Korpinen

You can read about the project’s progress so far in here: (https://inside.ayy.fi/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=40468584&preview=/40468584/40468656/2018_11_L13_EN_ratkaisuvaihtoehdot_taustamuistio.pdf )

The goal of the community structures project is to discover via surveys, interviews and discussions how the cooperation of the Student Union and the associations within it and the structures of the Aalto community could be developed in a way that would result in an even more unified student community in which the students of the different schools will be taken into account as equals better than before. The community structures project started at the beginning of August and continues into the spring.

In 2018, the Student Union is celebrating the Year of Art. Throughout the year, we invite various creative individuals or groups within the Aalto community to talk about their art. In October, TOKYO talks about the artistic past and present of the annual Maskerad party.

Maskerad party crowd at 2016’s party themed Knights of Hearts

Maskerad is the annual ball of TOKYO, i.e. the students of Arts and Design at Aalto University.

Unlike the more traditional annual balls, Maskerad is not an academic sit-down event but a masquerade to which all Aalto people are warmly welcome. This year, Maskerad will be organised on Saturday 27 Oct in Kellohalli at Teurastamo with the theme FairytaleForestFire.

The Maskerad tradition has its roots in the early 1900s. Back then, the masquerade was known as the Ateneum Maskerad after the place where our learning institute was then located. According to rumours, the tradition came to an end in the 1950s as the party crowd of Maskerad had along the years managed to get barred from every restaurant in Helsinki.

In the early 2000s, TOKYO decided to resurrect Maskerad. Based on our school’s new address, the Ateneum Maskerad became the Arabia Maskerad, and each year’s party was given a different theme.

This year, the Arabia prefix has been left out of Maskerad’s name as if to symbolise the fact that we have finally left the Arabia campus behind us. Who knows, maybe Maskerad will be given a new prefix next year.

In 2011, the party had a Retro Sci-fi theme

It is attempted to always keep the themes of Maskerad current, either in relation to our student organisation or the surrounding world. TOKYO’s last year as an independent student union, for example, was celebrated with a Maskerad with the theme ‘Vive L’Art!’ (Long Live Art!).

This year’s theme, FairytaleForestFire, can be interpreted by each and everyone as they see fit. For us, the theme was inspired by climate change. This year, everyone has been talking a lot about the very dry and forest-fire-prone summer. Is global warming true – or only a fairy tale?

As part of the Otaniemi Night of Arts campus festival on Saturday 6 Oct, TOKYO is organising the Maskerad history exhibition, that is, an overview of the history of Maskerad.

There will be posters, photographs, videos and costumes on show from years gone by. At the exhibition’s opening at Otaniemi Night of Arts, this year’s official Maskerad poster will also be revealed and the ticket sales started for the actual event.

The theme in 2015 was The Grand Illusion

Maskerad is art, because its attendees make it art.

Each year, the party crowd spend countless hours planning and constructing their costumes based on their personal interpretations of the theme. The best works of art are rewarded at the evening’s highlight, the costume competition in which all party guests get to see everyone else’s interpretation of the theme. The variety and creativity of the costumes is an incredible experience that continues to amaze year after year.

Heidi Kivistö
TOKYO Board member

This autumn, the Otaniemi Polytechnical Students’ Museum celebrates its 60^th anniversary with appropriate elation and activity. But what on earth is the Polytechnical Students’ Museum?

In her blog text, Museum Director Tiina Metso transports the reader from the moments of the Museum’s birth to the current day and explains how the best Teekkari Museum in the world is operated and developed.

A poster inviting volunteers to help at the Museum in 1957/58

A Museum is a window to a community that displays both the past and the present. A museum must look like its makers, not like a distressing mausoleum. At best, a museum is an exhibition that brings different people together and in which conversations are had, connections made and celebratory moments enjoyed. In the words of Snoopy, a museum offers “food for thought.”

The Polytechnical Students’ Museum, also known as the Teekkari Museum, has been offering diverse glimpses of the past via objects and especially stories for the last six decades. Preferably accompanied by joyous laughter.

The road to the current basement museum has not been straightforward. The museum was born in 1957 as a result of volunteer work at the old Poly (i.e. the Student Union of the Helsinki University of Technology’s old building on Lönnrotinkatu); its age is counted onwards from the appointment of the first Museum committee a year later. It is fun to see that the first Museum already displayed various traffic signs and logos that had been grabbed along the way. Apparently, some things never change.

The journey has gone from the Harbour City via the mini exhibition located in the brand-new student centre Dipoli’s Klondyke to finding a permanent home in the vibrant heart of the Teekkari village. Water damages have been escaped to the old bank facilities of Otakaari 11 and even to the bike cellar in Otaranta. Another escape is ahead already in spring 2019.

From the beginning, the basic idea and bright guiding star of the Museum has been collaboration, whether in renovating the facilities, collecting materials or celebrating important events. Every involved volunteer has always found their own place and purpose as part of the bigger group.

When dealing with larger undertakings, the Museum invites the community to help, and this call has always been answered generously. In the Museum’s previous renovations, hundreds of volunteer hours were donated in the fair spirit of communal work. That is why the Museum is the community’s Museum, where the most valuable thing is doing things yourself and together.

The Museum evolves through changing times. The community surrounding it is changing, adapting and becoming more communal. That is why the Museum must also reflect the current age, just like its operators. Considering what is ahead is also an important part of evolvement and development. That is why the Museum is determined to recruit and train new guides and other museum operators. Without them, the Museum would be a lifeless storage facility.

There is more truth to the slogan ‘the best Teekkari Museum in the world’ than people think. The Museum is a member of the International Council of Museums ICOM, according to whose information it is the only student-owned and operated museum in the world. At the same time, it is the world’s only museum focusing solely on student culture.

The achievement of world-class greatness is the fruit of the labour of several generations of Teekkaris and thousands of volunteers that gives joy to thousands of visitors annually. The Museum’s collections are growing and supplemented all the time. This is thanks to all donors and object hunters. Each donation and acquisition is received with gratitude.

Such a unique museum deserves to be celebrated with joy and large crowds. That is why the Museum’s 60^th anniversary will be celebrated on the premises on Saturday 6 Oct at 2–5 pm. The celebrations are part of the programme of the Otaniemi Night of Arts campus festival. In addition to refreshments, the programme features greetings from the Museum’s early years and fun vignettes with the mysterious headline ‘That’s me in this photo!’

We wish you heartily welcome!!

In Otaniemi in September 2018

Tiina Metso
Museum Director

With a new semester beginning, it’s good to think about what kind of a community we want to be for our new students.

Many are nervous about the first day. New students are wondering how they’ll be received in their new university. We who are already here need to take responsibility for our community being as open, safe, inclusive and equal as possible to everyone here as well as all newcomers.

Aalto University Student Union wants to keep discussions on equality matters open both among the student community and at the University, so that we can all work together towards an even better community.

Equality work is always present in the everyday of AYY. The Student Union has a harassment contact person service that students facing harassment situations can contact for help and advice. The AYY experts advise and train student tutors and active association members on equality matters. This autumn, AYY is also campaigning against all kinds of harassment occurring amongst the student community.

To while away a summer’s day, I asked the Aalto President Ilkka Niemelä for his thoughts on equality. Take a look at the video clip of our chat.

Wishing an amazing new semester to the entire Aalto community,

Noora Vänttinen
Chair of the AYY Board

In 2018, Aalto University Student Union is celebrating the Year of Art. Throughout the year, we invite various creative individuals or groups within the Aalto community to talk about their art. In August, we hear from the pole dance association Otanko.

Image: Assi Vainikka

Otanko, or the Otaniemi pole dance association, was founded precisely three years ago by a group of pole dance enthusiasts. The association organises weekly pole dancing classes and other related activities for its members, while non-members can enjoy their performances or try out the sport for themselves. At the moment, Otanko has around 150 members and 12 instructors.

The association operates within the Aalto University Student Union, but the atmosphere of their dance classes is most interdisciplinary: the group also features several students from the University of Helsinki, for example. There’s absolutely no need to have previous experience of pole dancing to take part in the activities. Classes are offered from beginner level onwards, and more than half of the current instructors began their own pole dance careers by taking Otanko classes.

Pole dance is an art form that combines dance and acrobatics, with its moves revolving around a vertical pole that’s around 45 mm thick.

The sport has its roots in Chinese pole – a circus skill developed before the Common Era – and in the Mallakhamb sport originating in 12^th-century India. In both of these, the vertical pole around which the athletes perform tricks is thicker and coarser than the pole used today.

In its current form, pole dance is still a young sport. The first studio was founded in the 1990s. There are constantly new moves, techniques and expression methods being developed which, compared to sports established longer ago, enables pole dancers to use a great deal of creativity even in world championship competitions.

Audiences can see pole dance performances at various events, for example, as well as in pole dance competitions all year round. In addition, the internet – especially Instagram and YouTube – offer a nearly endless supply of videos to watch. Anyone interested in the sport is welcome to pop in on one of Otanko’s beginners’ classes, for example, to see if pole dance is for them. There are also several commercial pole dance studios in the metropolitan area, in which you can try out the sport.

Most people coming to our classes have discovered pole dance while looking for new challenges in the field of exercise and ways to express themselves through dance. Indeed, a typical pole dancer has an athletic or a dance background, although this is by no means a necessity. The sport is fascinating because even beginners are able to do and express a lot, yet even the best of dancers still has plenty more to learn.

What many find particularly inspiring about pole dance is the way that movement and expression on the pole are not restricted by having to stand on your feet: on the pole, you move in the air while your body is supported by nearly all of your body parts in turn. Often the most attractive moves are indeed performed high up in the air with all limbs free to create beautiful lines.

Pole dance is art, just like all other art forms incorporating dance and acrobatics. It can be used to evoke emotions, tell stories and express the dancer’s inner world.

At the moment, pole dance differs from other dance genres especially in the way it enables the athletes to use an exceptional amount of creativity even in the very highest levels of competition. There’s not just one correct method of expression or atmosphere for a pole dance choreography, and in addition to combining the established basic moves, dancers have plenty of room to come up with their own unique moves. An objectively right or wrong way to pole dance simply doesn’t exist.

Sara Ikonen
President of Otanko ry

During 2018 the Student Union is celebrating the Year of Art. To celebrate, we give voice to several creative individuals or groups acting in the Aalto community. In May, it is Metal Club Mökä’s turn.

Mökä goofing around at the 2018 Sitsikilpailut contest

Metal Club Mökä is a culture and sports association acting in the Student Union’s sphere of influence, with the mission of spreading the holy message of metal music to every nook and cranny.

The Club, more affectionately known as Mökä (a Finnish word meaning “disturbing loud noise”), was born in 1998 from the crazy needs of metal fans in the teekkari community, more expressly their wish to host a metal festival at the Alvari square. The task was too grand for just one person, so the metalheads had to find more metalheads to help with the organizing. That was where it all began.

We listen to heavy music. We experience the fires of hell when in the sauna. We organize gigs for bands. We grill when the weather is right (meaning constantly). We do trips to heavy metal events. We help with the Tuska festival organizing every year. And to boot, we are active at playing floorball and football!

In August 2018, on the 4rd and 4th days the renowned Mökäfest is making a comeback.

The festival, open to everyone, celebrates the milestone of Mökä spreading the glory of heavy metal music both in Otaniemi and elsewhere for a grand total of 20 years.

The festival, held for the third time, is organized at the Täffä restaurant, with the Rantasauna hosting the afterparty. The festival offers something for everyone who enjoys heavy music, and we will see both Mökä-centered and Finland heavy culture renown bands. The confirmed bands so far are Ever Circling Wolves, Perihelion Ship, Cause of Death, Caught In The Between, Abstrakt, Asgardium, ARBALEST plays Bolt Thrower, Brymir, and Urn.

The festival combines several different purposes. In addition to being the Mökä equivalent of an annual celebration ball and acting as a meeting spot for all the academic heavy metal clubs of Finland, it is the biggest realization of the music we love, in Otaniemi. The idea of spreading metal music is to play it to the crowds. And to play it live.

Mökä has organized dozens of gigs around the metropolitan area throughout its history. Bigger is better, however, and inspired by domestic and international festivals, we wish to have one of our own! The inspiration is of course drawn from older Mökäfest events from 2013 and 2015.

While the festival is not taking place in the Alvari square, the future remains open.

How is metal music art, then? One cannot live without screeching guitars and double bass drum combos, that’s why! No other style of music has the raw strength of metal.

Metal is about raw emotion and animalistic energy. It whips people into a frenzy and unleashes the animal within. Raging around in a mosh pit and whipping your hair around releases and unravels stress.

The general mistake, however, is to think of metal as a one-dimensional” poundfest”. Metal has its fair share of virtuoso musicians, with lyrics that are as pondering and noteworthy as any other genre. The number of different subgenres in metal is truly mind-boggling. In addition to the more known subgenres of trash, death, black and power metal, the genre has had pretty much every instrument and genre mixed in at some point. Metal bands are found aplenty all around the world.

The power and diversity of metal will be proven true at the Mökäfest. See you there.

Combat Monster performing at the 2013 Mökäfest

Henrik Romppainen
Metal Club Mökä Vice Chair