Annual celebrations
What is this so called annual academic celebration?
Academic anniversary celebrations are an essential part of the wonderful world of university. Their roots stretch far back into history, even centuries ago, which is why the celebrations follow the old traditional formula in terms of dress code, behavior, and program. The purpose of the celebrations is to honor the aging student organization and to cherish academic traditions for new generations.
TYK ry has traditionally celebrated its anniversary parties every decade or half-decade. In other years, sparkling wine dances, known as “kuoharit”, are held instead of anniversary parties. With a smaller budget, kuoharit are clearly a smaller-scale event than the anniversary celebrations, but also considerably cheaper to attend. For many (bio)chemists, sparkling wine dances are their first academic celebrations.
Anniversary celebration program
The atmosphere of the annual celebrations is very festive and unique. They consist of an early evening cocktail party, an evening party, an after-party, and a sillis breakfast and morning sauna the following day. The official part of the celebrations is a formal evening party with dinner and speeches. In addition, drinking songs and other songs are sung at the evening party, and old dances are danced. However, the celebration should not be confused with sitz, which are smaller and more organized in terms of singing: in the early evening, the focus is on dinner and speeches given by the hosts and invited guests of honor. Later in the evening, the focus shifts to lighthearted dancing.
Secret after-party and morning sillis
After the official part and dancing, it has been customary to hold an after-party. The music at the after-party is both live and recorded, and the dancing is similar to that found at discos, which further lightens the mood. It has been traditional to keep the after-party location secret, so that the weeks leading up to the celebrations are shrouded in a sense of mystery.
However, it is worth exercising caution with excessive revelry, as the anniversary celebrations invariably stretch into the next day. The most energetic may navigate through the night via after-parties and after-after-parties to a sillis breakfast, which is part of the tradition and a sign that the party organizers take responsibility for the energy needs of the partygoers the next day. The atmosphere is usually euphoric in the morning mist, although there have been rumors of other states of mind over the years. The older and wiser ones, however, sometimes go to sleep for a while, as a tailcoat is not the best outfit for breakfast and the sauna.
Should I dare to join in?
Many may hesitate in the face of what seems like an expensive dinner ticket and an official program, but often completely without reason. It is impossible to overemphasize how wonderful an academic celebration can actually be. The average student is unlikely to have many opportunities to attend such celebrations, as the only academic anniversary celebrations held each year are organized by the Student Union of the University of Turku.
The Last Drop “Viimeinen Pisara”
The Last Drop is the association’s highest honor, awarded annually to no more than one person. The Last Drop is a sauna bucket with the names of the recipients of the honor engraved on its side. It is awarded at the Christmas party filled with drink, and the recipient also receives a gold-plated bucket-shaped medal of merit.
All those who received the last drop were awarded the TYK ry gold medal of merit in the summer of 2021. However, it has been almost impossible to find everyone’s contact details, and not everyone has been notified, so please send us a message if you have been awarded the last drop. email: puheenjohtaja@tykry.fi
The prize has so far been given to these accomplished members:
1982 – H. Björkqvist
1983 – T. Glumoff ja T. Laine
1984 – O. Puhakka ja Merja Perälä
1985 – M. Luoma
1986 – J. Varjonen
1987 – P. Rintola
1997 – Saija Syyrakki
1998 – Sampo Lahtinen
1999 – Pekka Heikkinen
2000 – Pekka Palo
2001 – Saku Tuominen
2002 – Lauri Polari
2003 – Anna Leisvuori
2004 – Martti Uusitalo
2005 – Emilia Harju
2006 – Mika Remes
2007 – Risto Savela
2008 – Vilja Siitonen
2009 – Erno Sundberg
2010 – Tuomo Liljenbäck
2011 – Jorma Kim
2012 – Jussi Suvanto
2013 – Milla Suominen
2014 – Tapio Lempiäinen
2015 – Venla Kumpulainen
2016 – Ville Eskonen
2017 – Enni Mannila
2018 – Risto Jokinen
2019 – Jenni Peuhkurinen
2020 – Antti Pekkanen
2021 – Maria Nieminen
2022 – Tommi Tervo
2023 – Anita Komulainen
2024 – Maisa Pikkarainen