Hard attitudes
According to a survey, 41 percent of 14-year-old Finns think that terrorists do not deserve to be treated in a humane way. 42 percent approve of the death penalty. International diplomacy does not seem to have a high profile among Finnish teenagers either. Over half of the 14-year-olds in the survey did not know whether they agreed or not with the claim ”International diplomacy can help us solve conflicts between countries.”
Mercenaries
Team Astralis consists of five Finnish teenagers. The team has been playing computer games in international tournaments for over a year. The game is always the same: Counter- Strike. The young players are bored with the game already, but they love to travel and win. This far playing the game has not really been good business, but the team hopes that eventually it will be. They are the most professional team in Finland, and they want to get more fame and sponsors. If someone would ask, they would consider leaving the country and playing in some international team.
Godfather of comics
Comic syndicates are like record companies for comic artists. They represent comic artists and distribute their strips to different newspapers. Most comics published in Finnish newspapers are distributed by syndicates. While this is a good thing for syndicated artists, small and new artists have difficulties in getting their work published.
Safety net for teenagers
Physician Erkki-Pekka J. Helle has run a health education column called Bees & Honey in a popular youth magazine Suosikki for over thirty years. Every month, Helle receives several hundred letters from teenagers who ask him about for example weight issues, sexuality or bullying. Helle’s column is a safety net for many teenagers who are afraid to turn to their parents or go to the school nurse with their problems. The questions Helle gets reflect the shortcomings of health education in schools.
Edited by Reeta Holma and Ylioppilaslehti staff.
