Yesterday, on the 8th of February 2018, the Student Magazine Aino published the story “Sisäpiirivitsi” (“Inside Joke”), which discussed the discriminatory speech and behavior found in the Aalto community. The story also mentioned a few student associations by name.
After the publication of the story, the author, Sonia El Kamel, and Aino’s editor-in-chief, Emilia Mäenmaa, have received a huge amount of feedback. Lot of the feedback has been positive, praising the article, but there has also been some critical feedback. Some of the feedback was totally unacceptable, vulgar and personal.
Aino is an independent publication that operates independently from the Student Union and is committed to following the guidelines for journalists. Nevertheless, its employees are employees of AYY. As an employer, AYY has a zero tolerance regarding threats, vulgar speech and other poor behavior towards our employees.
AYY condemns racism and discrimination strongly and unequivocally, and we do not accept any kind of discriminatory behavior within our community.
The theme raised in the article was discussed at AYY’s central office when the Secretary General was interviewed for the story. The publication of the article and the discussion it has created have shown that there is still much work to be done to promote equality. That is why AYY thinks that it is extremely important to have a broader discussion about the subject throughout the entire Aalto community.
More information: Secretary General Niko Ferm (050 520 9415, niko.ferm (a) ayy.fi)