{"id":16135,"date":"2026-03-10T14:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T12:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/?p=16135"},"modified":"2026-03-11T11:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T09:34:29","slug":"aina-on-joku-joka-ottaa-vastaan-tulevaisuususkosta-ja-materiaalisista-olosuhteista-opiskelijoiden-mielenterveysviikolla","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/2026\/03\/10\/aina-on-joku-joka-ottaa-vastaan-tulevaisuususkosta-ja-materiaalisista-olosuhteista-opiskelijoiden-mielenterveysviikolla\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThere Is Always Someone Who Will Catch You\u201d \u2013 on Faith in the Future and Material Conditions during Students\u2019 Mental Health Week"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opiskelijoiden mielenterveysviikkoa vietet\u00e4\u00e4n valtakunnallisesti 9.\u201315.3.2026, t\u00e4n\u00e4 vuonna teemalla ”tulevaisuususko”. TaiYon hallituksen j\u00e4sen Tea Sir\u00e9n kirjoittaa blogissa tulevaisuususkosta ja materiaalisista olosuhteista opiskelijoiden mielenterveysviikolla.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201d<\/span>\u201cYou must discontinue your studies and register as a full-time unemployed jobseeker.\u201d<\/span><\/i>This was the message that Kela sent to students applying for basic social assistance just over a week ago, at the beginning of March 2026.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The message encapsulates something fundamental about the attitudes many students feel are directed at them: work, discipline, punishment, personal growth, and productivity are prioritized over the intrinsic value of academic institutions, education, and a broad understanding of the world. From these chilling starting points, we enter the annual\u00a0<\/span>Student Mental Health Week<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0organized by Nyyti ry from 9 to 15 March 2026. At times it seems that well\u2011intentioned mental health discourse becomes entangled with a neoliberal, work\u2011 and performance\u2011oriented logic of self\u2011improvement. This led me to reflect on what the mental health of an art student means to me in March 2026 \u2013 in a world marked by overlapping crises and ever\u2011deepening inequality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On its website, Nyyti ry states: \u201cStudent Mental Health Week is a campaign aimed at highlighting students\u2019 mental health situation and building a more mental\u2011health\u2011friendly study culture.\u201d Nyyti ry also notes that it works\u00a0<\/span>to remove the structural issues in society that undermine students\u2019 mental health. That is good, because there is certainly no shortage of such problems!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I recognize that students\u2019 well\u2011being \u2014 and, in line with this year\u2019s theme, their confidence in the future \u2014 is more fragile than ever. However, the themes of Mental Health Week can, from a student\u2019s perspective, remain rather abstract, at a distance from the material realities that shape modern student life.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The life of an art student often revolves around the daily struggles of getting by. Everyday course meetings and developing one\u2019s own artistic practice or pracitcing one\u2019s own instrument are overshadowed by worry about keeping a roof overhead and having enough food on the table, for oneself and sometimes also for one\u2019s family. In addition to working, one is expected to make progress in one\u2019s studies, which \u2013 especially at Uniarts \u2013 often demand undivided attention, significant personal, temporal, and even financial investments, as well as determined self\u2011management.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would argue that mental health and its close relative, \u201cfaith in the future\u201d are concepts that emerge as by\u2011products of experiencing\u00a0<\/span>basic security<\/span><\/b><\/a> kokemuksesta. Perusturvalla tarkoitetaan perustuslain 19 \u00a7:n 2 momentin mukaista syyperusteista perustoimeentulon turvaa. Perusturvaan voidaan katsoa kuuluvan etuudet, jotka eiv\u00e4t ole ansiosidonnaisia. T\u00e4llaisia etuuksia ovat muun muassa asumistuki, toimeentulotuki, vammaistuki, opintotuki ja v\u00e4himm\u00e4isp\u00e4iv\u00e4rahat.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the Basic Security Report 2021\u00a0Perusturvaraportissa 2021 <\/a>lainataan haastateltavaa jo kannessa: \u201d<\/span>live in a constant state of crisis and distress<\/span><\/i>.\u201d I would note that the report was published before the Petteri Orpo government and the massive cuts to student well\u2011being \u2014 including the reinstatement of the separate student housing supplement, the reform of social assistance, and, as the final touch, record\u2011high unemployment. I can\u2019t help but wonder how the person who gave that quote is doing now.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For art to change the world, we need artists who are hungry in mind, not in body. I am certainly not the only one who does not want to be part of a Uniarts where only the strongest and wealthiest succeed, and where EU citizenship is the key to opportunity. Art and culture arise from thought and perspective, not from intergenerational wealth or the \u201cright\u201d citizenship.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am proud that Uniarts is an internationally recognised and respected institution; a place people wish to come to from across the oceans to learn and create art. With a touch of bitter irony, one could say that the astronomical tuition fees for non\u2011EU students introduced by the Orpo government will likely improve international students\u2019 mental\u2011health statistics in the long run: it simply won\u2019t be possible to study in Finland anymore if you are poor. From a broader perspective, however, I do not believe that decisions like this will make Finland a more attractive place to study, live, or create art.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I will conclude my catalogue of hardships (which could be expanded endlessly) with a couple of self\u2011evident points that, at the very least, undermine my own mental health and confidence in the future: Where is future confidence supposed to come from when the Finnish government is actively violating the Climate Act and failing to do enough to intervene in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians or to halt our NATO partner, the United States\u2019, latest imperialist mega\u2011projects?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

En sano, etteik\u00f6 tulevaisuususkoa olisi, mutta toivon, ett\u00e4 opiskelijoiden mielenterveydest\u00e4 ei puhuttaisi t\u00e4n\u00e4k\u00e4\u00e4n vuonna kuin se tapahtuisi tyhji\u00f6ss\u00e4.\u00a0Kuten Taideyliopiston arvoissa linjataan:\u00a0olemme osaavia, tiet\u00e4vi\u00e4 ja tuntevia \u2013\u00a0emme optimoitavia koneita. Emme voi tehd\u00e4 taidetta, jos perustarpeemme eiv\u00e4t tule t\u00e4ytetyiksi,\u00a0vaikka hyvinvoinnin ammattilaisen kehotuksesta muistaisimme lev\u00e4t\u00e4 tai ”heng\u00e4ht\u00e4\u00e4\u201d.\u00a0Mielenterveydest\u00e4 puhuminen on t\u00e4rke\u00e4\u00e4, mutta minulle mielekk\u00e4\u00e4mp\u00e4\u00e4 on hahmottaa se riitt\u00e4v\u00e4n\u00a0<\/span>by\u2011product of adequate basic security \u2013 on a planet that hasn\u2019t died standing.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Quoting the anti\u2011capitalist Emilia Network, whose reading\u2011circle event title at the K\u00e4\u00e4nne Festival inspired me: I want \u201cEverything for Everyone\u201d \u2013 not just begging to regain lost benefits, but abundance and cream cake for all, as well as the power to imagine and build different ways of living together. I want to rejoice!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can meet TaiYo\u2019s staff and board members on both Helsinki campuses this week \u2013 we\u2019ll be serving free coffee to students for lack of anything better. At the S\u00f6rn\u00e4inen campus we\u2019ll be at TeaK\u2019s Tori on Wednesday 11 March from 11:00 to 13:00, and at the T\u00f6\u00f6l\u00f6 campus at Agora on Thursday 12 March from 11:00 to 13:00. You are warmly welcome to come talk with us about anything that comes to mind or relates to mental health. We\u2019re here to listen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As Prime Minister Marin once memorably said: if you\u2019re exhausted, just try to keep going! Hopefully the coffee helps at least a little.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the song \u201cKaunis Marjaana\u201d by Scandinavian Music Group, the lyrics go:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fair Marjaana keeps on pedalling<\/span><\/i>
\nHer screws are coming loose<\/span><\/i>
\nAnd the tyres spin empty<\/span><\/i>
\nFair Marjaana closes her eyes<\/span><\/i>
\nThere is always someone who will catch you\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At TaiYo, we work tirelessly to address the root causes of students\u2019 mental\u2011health challenges, both locally and globally \u2014 so that everyone has someone who will catch them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tea Sir\u00e9n
\n<\/em>Board Member<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opiskelijoiden mielenterveysviikkoa vietet\u00e4\u00e4n valtakunnallisesti 9.\u201315.3.2026, t\u00e4n\u00e4 vuonna teemalla ”tulevaisuususko”. TaiYon hallituksen j\u00e4sen Tea Sir\u00e9n kirjoittaa blogissa tulevaisuususkosta ja materiaalisista olosuhteista opiskelijoiden mielenterveysviikolla. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":16140,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-taiyo"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/taiyo.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5872766843095813383.jpg?fit=2560%2C2048&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2w00X-4cf","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16135"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16146,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16135\/revisions\/16146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taiyo.fi\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}