Student boilersuit (Swedish ''studentoverall'' or ''studenthalare'', Finnish ''opiskelijahaalari, Canadian Flightsuit''
''or Coveralls
or redsuits''
) are
boilersuit
A boilersuit (or boiler suit), also known as coveralls, is a loose fitting garment covering the whole body except for the head, hands and feet.
Terminology
The term ''boilersuit'' is most common in the UK, where the 1989 edition of the ''Oxfo ...
s widely used for specific events at
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...
and
polytechnics in
Sweden,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. Typically, the suits are procured by the student associations of
faculties or programmes. At the major Swedish universities (like
Lund or
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Located north of the c ...
) the use of boilersuits is limited to engineering students, however at
Stockholm they are also worn by students of other programs, but their use has spread to students in other fields at some of the smaller university colleges. In Finland, boilersuits have also been foremost identified with engineering students, but see extensive use in all of the student organizations of Finnish institutions of higher learning, such as the
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
and
Aalto University
Aalto University ( fi, Aalto-yliopisto; sv, Aalto-universitetet) is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the ...
.
History and use
Student coveralls have become one of the most conspicuous
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...
traditions at some educational institutions, despite its short history. The use of overalls started in the
Royal Institute of Technology in the late 1960s, and spread around Sweden and Finland during the 1970s. Apparently protective clothing was needed in excursions to companies, which soon led to use at parties as a way to identify students of different fields and organizations. The height of the use of the overall was reached in the late 1990s. Due to quick rise in popularity, most student organizations now offer the students a chance to purchase their own overalls during the freshman year. Since the 1990s, the custom has remained popular although perhaps in slight decline as the overalls are sometimes viewed to signal a lifestyle bordering on
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
and drunken misbehavior, up to the point where some pubs and clubs even choose to ban the use of overall uniforms.
These boilersuits are not only seen in Scandinavia. At
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...
, the
McMaster Engineering faculty has had a group of representatives clad in red coveralls known as 'redsuits' for decades.
Other faculties, societies and student residences have also adopted the suits as a form of identification during McMaster's Welcome Week. At
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...
in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, the
Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering has a distinct group of student who wear coveralls to demonstrate their school spirit. Numerous people throughout the city and campus recognize students in these coveralls as U of T engineers and members of
Skule (TM). The
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
Engineering Students in
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the close proximity of the ci ...
, are also identified by their navy blue or grey coveralls, often decorated with significant patches from various interests and activities the student has accomplished over their time at school.
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
's
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...
has representatives in dark blue Air Force style coveralls, aptly named the "flightsuits".
Likewise,
Western University in
London, Ontario
London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...
awards coveralls, nicknamed 'covies,' to student leaders within the Faculty of Engineering (in grey) and
Medway-Sydenham Hall (in black).
Design and appearance
Unlike coveralls generally, the student boilersuit isn't used for work, but mostly for parties. However, as the coveralls are meant to endure years of abuse, the wearer often being under the influence of alcohol, the coveralls are made of high quality fabric and usually at least somewhat waterproof. Practical additions such as zippered pockets of various sizes and belt loops are added by the manufacturer, and as a part of the manufacturing process the coveralls are sometimes printed with the particular student organization's logo and ads of the various sponsoring companies, ranging from small local enterprises to national divisions of multinational corporations. Often, the large corporations choose to sponsor the suits as a part of their recruitment campaign, ensuring that they have the attention of the graduating students when they enter the working life.
The colour of the boilersuits is usually determined by the faculty or programme, which — the subjects being many and colours few — leads to quite spectacular colour combinations such as purple, turquoise or pink. Multicolored variants exist, but typically the suits are of one color. As it is customary to personalize the suits, they are almost invariably decorated with various badges, souvenirs and inexpensive gadgets. Occasionally a boilersuit will tell of its owner's interests, political views, personal history and even military experience. The time spent as a student can be seen from the amount of decorations one has added to his boilersuit, as all students start with blank boilersuits. There's also a practice of swapping a part of the suit with another person, typically with a partner or a close friend. Badges are also readily swapped, especially amongst friends who are of different organizations. Rarity of a certain badge can be considered a bonus.
Traditions
![StudentBaptismTammerkoski](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/StudentBaptismTammerkoski.jpg)
Certain traditions relating to the use of boilersuits exist. Typically, a new student will be given permission to use their boilersuit during the later half of their first academic year, often after a certain number of "freshman points" have been collected by participating in various social events like parties and contests held by the organizations. During the first academic spring, the various engineering student organizations tend to host events during which the new students are officially taken as a members of their organization. During these events, the students often volunteer to go through a minor rite that often includes diving into a pool, lake or river with their newly issued boilersuits as a "student baptism". Typically in Finland these events are held around the largest student holiday of May 1 or ''
Vappu'', when thousands of students gather outdoors to celebrate. Lesser traditions can dictate that a student should sew his badges onto his boilersuit by hand, and that the boilersuit should not be cleaned except either by swimming in the suit or by hosing it down.
In some schools, two students who are dating exchange the overalls leg part with one another to show that they are taken. In Finland, it is more common for engineering students to wear their suits as overalls, while non-engineering students more commonly wear them as pants, tying the arms of the suit as a belt of sorts.
Naming
The boilersuit may have local names at individual universities. The Swedish term is simply ''overall'' or ''studentoverall'', also ''studenthalare'', but it is sometimes nicknamed ''ovve''. In Finland, the
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
word for overall is ''haalarit'' and the
Finland Swedish word is ''halare''. The Canadians refer to them differently depending on the university or area. They are called ''flightsuits'' by
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
's
Carleton University
Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...
,
''redsuits'' by
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...
and ''coveralls'' by
Western University.
See also
*
List of student boilersuit colours
*
Academic dress
*
Youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community.
An emphasi ...
*
Student cap
References
External links
3m's overallproject
{{Clothing
Jackets
One-piece suits
Uniforms
Academic dress
Student culture
Academia in Finland
Academia in Sweden