Walking around the many student cities of Finland, the sight of groups of people in badge or patch covered overalls is a usual one.
The badges come from a range of sources: most organisations have their own selection they sell in their guild or association rooms, but badges for events or certain activities are also common. Fuksi or fresher groups may design their own exclusive badge, while enterprising students can cash in on a current meme to raise some laughs and possibly a small amount of money. Free badges are also common, provided by companies in return for recognition amongst the student community.
Each badge therefore has its own story. It is a story that begins with ideation, whether at the table of the guild room or the company office. Minds come together to find the idea most fun, most visible, most “right” for the occasion. The story continues through ordering, manufacturing and purchasing, eventually to become one piece of a whole at the hands of a clumsily sewing, or lazily glueing, student.
The meaning of these stories when put together is about much more than decoration. On the canvas of the overalls, they come together in an endless customisable and personal medium to tell a bigger story still – that of the life of student. With every badge added, the story becomes richer, the tapestry of moments fuller.
In the same way, when that group of students in badge laden overalls passes, they together represent a larger story than their own. The story of student life and culture, formed from decades of ideation and creation, joint work and shared laughs. Whether hanging up or lost in boxes, across the country in the homes of the young and old sit the thousands of canvases that make up that ever-growing story.
Whether student or long graduated, you are a part of that story, or perhaps, a similar one from another country. By doing all we can to support every student, we can together make sure the next chapter is a good one.