It’s been a year and a half since the pandemic hit Finland and us university students were sent home to study remotely. I can count the number of times I’ve been at the campus since then with one hand: I participated in one exam, visited the library twice and picked up the year tag for my student card twice. Not a single lecture in person. And since I’m close to graduation there aren’t going to be lectures in person for me anymore even now that the covid situation is getting better. Wish I had appreciated the last real classes I had back in early 2020. All those times I was sitting there, doodling in my notebooks, wishing the class would end soon - how could I have known how much I would miss that? 

A year and a half later, I feel like I’ve lost all connection to university. My job has also been 100% remote since mid-March 2020 and since I live alone, sometimes life has seemed more than a bit unreal. Like, is there anybody actually out there or am I in some twisted episode of Black Mirror, talking to AIs in Teams and Zoom or something? My motivation to study has gone down the drain along with the connection to university that I’ve lost. Or, well, there is one connection still left. Yeah, you guessed it, I’m talking about BTSB.  

How in the world has this group of “like-minded weirdoes”, as someone once put it, managed to keep up amazing team spirit during a time we’ve been told to keep distance from people outside our own households? Granted, much of BTSB’s communication was already done via WhatsApp and Facebook, but our meetings and get-togethers were always in person prior to this. I think we’ve had two meetings face-to-face during the pandemic (outdoors with safety distances) while the rest has been in Zoom. Like many other student clubs, we’ve also had parties via Zoom which has been at the same time depressing and comforting. We’ve played Card Against Humanity online and last year we also had an unforgettable Christmas party via Zoom, watching The Grinch (the one with Jim Carrey, a big hit back in my childhood) together. That turned out to be more fun than I think any of us could have predicted.  

BTSB has kept the publication of the webzine going on throughout the whole pandemic. Issue after issue, we’ve had new articles, poems and short stories submitted by the talented team. Even through the stress and apathy I’m sure we’ve all gone through, we’ve managed to pull through for each issue. For every desperate we-need-more-articles, there has been a draft or two up someone’s sleeve. And for every exhausted sorry-I-can’t-make-it-this-time, there has been understanding and encouragement. So, a huge thank you to the whole BTSB team for the work they’ve put into the webzine. You’ve all written wonderful things, given great feedback and support to one another and helped keep the publication alive. 

Somehow BTSB has even managed to get new members during the pandemic even though we haven’t been able to do the traditional student club introductions to the freshmen. Instead, we’ve done two introduction videos that have been shown to the freshers via Zoom and let me tell you, they were beauties. The abomination of an editorial title of this Chief Editor’s Note is from our second video which was about the cringiest thing I’ve had the honour and pleasure to be a part of. It remains to be seen if any new students will dare to approach us after seeing that.  At least last year we successfully recruited new members who are still writing for us.

The question of how BTSB has succeeded to keep the publication going and team spirit alive is still open. I don’t know if anyone else is even thinking about it. For me, university has become so distant during this time that right now I couldn’t care less about my studies, but somehow I’m willing to spend countless hours working on this student webzine of ours whether that means writing articles, giving others feedback or editing silly introduction videos. Clearly, we’re doing something right as a community. What it exactly is, I don’t know. Maybe it’s better not to think about it too hard and just enjoy the fact that I’m proud to be a part of a group such as this. 

The pandemic started during my first year as the editor-in-chief and I felt quite disappointed at the time. I genuinely enjoyed being the chief editor and it felt like I was being robbed of it. And so, I am very glad to be giving the position another go, this time alongside with my co-chief editor Daniélle. We both helped each other out during our times as the chief editors and so it feels fitting to do it together now. The two of us used to do Hamilton jokes about being one another’s “Right Hand Man”, but obviously we need a new pop culture reference for this new dynamic... Anyway, the BTSB team is ready for a new semester. Some of the older members have moved onto new projects while others remain. But hey, once a BTSB member, always a BTSB member.  

What about this new issue then? Well, you’re in for a treat as we have a whole bunch of fresh articles and pieces of creative writing for you to check out! For our new freshmen, there is Daniélle’s “do’s and don’ts” list to help make your academic career easier. Henna has interviewed the hostesses of the podcast “Opiskelija Dilemmat” while Robi tackles the topic of toxic positivity as well as offers a short story with great autumn vibes. For poetry, we have Anthony’s updated version of “Youth” and Sara’s comeback in BTSB with a new poem. Annika’s new poem is great for the autumn season as is Emma’s think piece dealing with stress and seasonal depression. For students both old and new, there is also Sini’s reassuring article about how much your plans for the university studies are bound to change over the course of time. 

Enjoy the autumn and this new issue!