It is now the turn of Marianna Kupias, the chairman of Kansy (Kansalliset ylioppilaat) to tell us about her experiences in societal involvement. Marianna, who is very active in politics, is a 4th year student of Political Sciences.
How did you end up in politics?
I never thought that I could get this far in party politics! Since I was rather young, I have been very interested in history and society. My parents weren’t that into politics, though they did follow the news and current debates. In high school I became more aware of my possibilities of making a difference and then five years ago, when I was 18 years old, I joined Kokoomus. I remember thinking that maybe there I could find people who shared the same interests that I had. And I wasn’t wrong!
But it wasn’t until I got into the university, in 2011, that I became a really active member. Now I have been in the board of Kansy for four years and one year as the chairman.
Kansy is the right-wing of HYY. Who are you guys really and what do you do exactly?
Since Kansy was found already in 1952, we have loads of traditions. One great example is Vappuratikka. Every first of May we rent a tram for a couple of hours to travel around Helsinki. It’s really funny! Besides those more traditional events, we organize more casual events every now and then.
Right now when the elections are just around the corner we have been very busy with street campaigning. For a couple of weeks we distribute flyers and talk to citizens about our views in Elielinaukio.
Kansy is a member of Tuhatkunta, which is the Student Union of The National Coalition Party (Kokoomus). Borders between member organizations of Coalition Party are shallow so we meet each other a lot and co-operate frequently.
Kansy influences in the Representative Council too. How many members do you have there and what are your key points there?
We form a coalition called Edistykselliset with the Center Students. We have two representatives at the moment. To be honest, I am not that aware of what is going on there, since I have never been an actual representative. A proper way of dealing with economy is anyway always important to us.
If some day Kansy would take over in HYY, what would the university look like?
We have discussed many times about the way teaching is organized. We believe it should be way more interactive. Right now many students feel that getting through the university is one lonesome toil. How well one can really learn if he/she just devours the books and goes to the exam?
We also speak strongly for tuition-free university, at least for Finnish students. In our thinking, that is the way to ensure the equality of possibilities for all.
Students tend to lean to the left-wing rather than the right. Do you feel that you have been looked down in the university for supporting rightish values?
Well, I have to admit that it is not unusual for me to feel that I’m in a minority in the university. But I think that other students know that people in Kansy are quite moderate. And normally students are open-minded so I haven’t bumped into anything nasty. After all, everybody wants the same thing: welfare to everyone – only the means differ.
Then let’s get to the elections. You have really devoted yourself to them, right?
Yes, for the last couple of weeks the elections and other organizational things have occupied me at least 15h/week. I try to do as much as I can. Apart from Kansy’s own activity, I have participated in Fatbardhe Hetemaj’s campaign. These aren’t my first elections. Actually since 2012 I have been involved in every election.
From what I’ve noticed, people seem to be very frustrated in politics right now. They feel that in the last period of rule, nothing has been done and parties just bickered with each other. So the elections couldn’t come at a better time! It’s time to have a new beginning.
We are now in very difficult situation with economics. The main question has been whether we should cut public spending or increase the level of public debt. I am interested in economics and this is an important question, but I still really hope that in the future there would also be talk about other things than economical ones in the parliament.
Any greetings for our readers?
I would like to encourage people to approach us without prejudice. If you want to know how people in Kansy think about something, just ask! And remember to vote! Cheers!
In this series we celebrate the upcoming parliamentary elections by interviewing students involved in HYY’s political organizations about their values and political opinions. We want to encourage a multivoiced university and dialogue between different political groups by giving voice to these brave and visionary fellow-students. Different views – same university!