News in English

Indoor pests force student to change residence

ToasÂ’ Pekola apartment buildings situated in Ilmarinkatu, Kaleva, have been suffering from fur beetles for years. According to the locationÂ’s housing manager, Veli-Matti Rajala, the infestation started probably before Toas bought the buildings in 1997. According to Rajala, all buildings on Ilmarinkatu suffer from infestation. Toas will provide pesticide to all residents of Pekola on request. However, Toas will take care of only apartment-specific pest control.

“Pest-control of the whole building is possible only in the context of more extensive renovations. But I don’t know when such a renovation will be carried out", says Rajala.

Jaana Mäntylä, a student at the Tampere University of Technology, had already decided to buy a place of her own when she became aware of the infestation.

"If you spread pesticide in one flat, the beetles just move to the next one. There are beetles in the common areas, too, at least in the clubroom. The pests had such an influence on my living convenience that I did not want to live in Pekola any longer", states Mäntylä.

She lived in Pekola for over a year, during which the beetles fed on her textiles for six months.

“When I moved out of Pekola, I chucked away a couple of refuse sacks filled with clothes eaten by the beetles. I guess the clothes had cost me a few hundred euros. I threw away a brand-new pair of jeans as well. I had not worn them once when the beetles had already eaten the other leg", regrets Mäntylä.

Neither the applicants to nor new tenants of Pekola receive any warning about the infestation. Nevertheless, Toas will compensate the tenants for their textiles eaten by the insects.

Tamy tightens the belt

TamyÂ’s Executive Board is planning to integrate the tasks of the section secretaries, because their salaries comprise the largest single item of expenditure in TamyÂ’s budget. The board aims to cut down the number of secretaries from six to five or to five and a half.

"Tamy has strived towards being a good employer by offering the secretaries a full-time and a year-round job, even though itÂ’s not in our financial interest. Currently we are employing one secretary at a loss", explains the Chairperson of the Board, Anna-Mari Huhtinen.

Many secretaries often work overtime, which the board wishes to stop by re-defining and specifying the tasks of the secretaries.

"The secretaries attend to many tasks that should fall into the responsibility of the University or some non-governmental organisation. In addition, some of the secretaries are not even aware of the precise nature of their job. In order to specify the roles of the secretaries, we will scrutinise all the tasks the jobs currently include and reorganise them into a more practical system", says Huhtinen.

TamyÂ’s current Excecutive Board plans to cut from the budget all the excess costs that the previous boards did not dare or have time to cut. The board plans to economise on the sections, events, and theme weeks that attract only few participants.

"We will target on the activities that have become stagnant. If the content of a given activity is relevant to TamyÂ’s ideology, we could maintain the activity by making rearrangements. Events, for instance, are so inexpensive to hold that quitting them would save us practically nothing", remarks Huhtinen.

The board is considering to integrate the funding of the sports section, the theme week for sports, and the Amazing Tampere event. With the ensuing savings, it would be possible to hire a part-time secretary for sports.

In addition, the board tries to increase TamyÂ’s incomes with a new investment strategy, which would allow for investments longer than one year, investing on private stock exchange companies, and hiring a treasurer.

Näty will most likely stay in Tampere

The intended relocation of Näty, the acting department of the University of Tampere, to Helsinki will not happen in all likelihood. Although the final decision has not been made yet, the University is practically certain that the department will stay in Tampere.

The Ministry of Education left its final proposal concerning the relocation of Näty in the financial negotiation between the ministry and the university this spring. The director of planning at the University of Tampere, Markku Pimiä, does not see any reasonable arguments for the relocation.

“The proposal will be rejected with 99 percent certainty. Näty is a highly valued and top-ranking unit on its field with good prerequisites to stay independent of and unconnected with the so-called Innovation University that is being established in Helsinki", says Pimiä.

The discussion on relocating Näty was launched last winter. Immediately, the plan faced heavy criticism from the administrations of both the University of Tampere and the City of Tampere, as well as from a number of Members of Parliament.

Extra exam possibilities for students soon to graduate

Two additional examinations will be held in May for students studying according to the old degree requirements. In addition to taking book exams, students can take maturity tests and exams through special arrangements. The exams will be organised by the Summer Examination Office.

The University advises students to take care of matters concerning graduation already in May, as the normal office hours of the staff do not apply during the UniversityÂ’s summer holidays.

Students planning to graduate according to the requirements of the old system should complete all the relevant courses and exams before the end of July. However, the credits do not have to be in the study register already in July. Therefore, it is possible to take an exam in July, for instance, although it would not be entered in the register until in August.

Similarly, students can apply for a certificate before all the relevant credits have been entered in the register. The application must be submitted in July, but the certificate can be written and delivered to the student in August.

Seppo “the Jester" takes over Aviisi

At the end of April, TamyÂ’s Council of Representatives selected a new Chief Editor for Aviisi, Seppo Honkanen, 28, formerly an editor for the city magazine Tori.

“I enjoyed my time in Tori, so I am a bit sad to leave the magazine. I am slightly nervous, too, because my role in Aviisi will be quite demanding. Nevertheless, I have always been drawn towards new challenges", describes Honkanen.

Honkanen has been an editor for Tori since 2006. During his time in the magazine, he has written stories, photographed, done layout, and been in charge of the visual format of the publication.

Skilled in graphic design, Honkanen has finished a two-year BA programme in Photojournalism as well as studied Political Science at the University of Tampere.

"I think that my training in visual journalism worked in my favour when they chose the chief editor. The layout of Aviisi is currently quite stylish, so I do not plan to make big changes in that. Still, I would like to spice up the cover a little and have more human-interest angles in the stories - with a tongue-in-cheek attitude", reveals Honkanen.

Honkanen is noted for his tongue-in-cheek attitude in student life, too: together with his friends in 2001, Honkanen founded a co-operation focused on the promotion of an easy life-style, Kikkailija, which loosely translates as the Jester. With this in mind, Aviisi just might feature more laughs in the future, one way or another.

"I do not plan to make Aviisi into a joke in any way. In-depth feature stories will not disappear, but the general attitude of the stories might become more animated", reassures Honkanen.

Honkanen will enter Aviisi next August, when the current Chief Editor, Tuomo Tamminen, withdraws for his paternity leave. After his leave, Tamminen will start a new post as an editor for Hämeen Sanomat.

Translations: Kia Kujala