Cap Degree (Lakkiasetus)

The right to wear the tassel cap belongs to a Teekkari. Thus, neither the honorary title Teekkari nor the tassel cap itself may be used by a first-year herd animal, whose behavior resembles that of a lemming and who is therefore called a fuksi.

Once the fuksi has passed the May Day rituals and proven a certain intellectual and social maturity, they become eligible to wear the tassel cap, thus transforming into a Teekkari (though with still-damp ears). The role of the mother decreases exponentially—on a famously steep curve—and the average interval between phone calls home grows to four days.

The right to address older students informally applies in practice only to Teekkaris whose course number at the time of the fuksi’s capping Wappu is between 2 and 4. It does not extend to those of the so-called n:th year, who have decided in their wisdom to linger at the university beyond four years and who demonstrate this with a large knot cluster or bow-like structure in their tassel cord.

When encountering a finished architect, Master of Science in Technology, Licentiate of Technology, Doctor of Technology, teaching staff, or professors—recognizable from tassel cords that have entirely lost their shape—the proper behavior is to flee. Thus, fuksis and one-knot Teekkaris, upon spotting such a natural superior on campus, in town, countryside, roadways, stairwells, fields, or asphalt works, must hide behind the nearest corner, pole, or tree, and only cautiously reemerge once the coast is clear. The sole exception is for the particularly self-assured fuksi or one-knot Teekkari who, upon meeting such a superior, feels mentally and physically ready for any task or question posed by them.

The cap must generally be kept clean, but stains and marks earned with honor must be cherished. These honorable blemishes should be presented with great pride upon request by Teekkaris with 2–4 knots, and without request to the natural superiors listed above.

In exceptional circumstances, the cap may be gently hand-washed without spinning, using mild detergents familiar from TV ads and approved in critical homemaker circles. One should favor environmentally sound products that cycle naturally as nutrients rather than polluting waterways. However, tradition insists that no Teekkari cap has ever actually been washed.

The cap can be desecrated either verbally or physically. Desecration is the gravest crime a Teekkari can commit, and it triggers a torrent of muttering and disapproval from true Teekkaris, supported unanimously by all fuksis and one-knot Teekkaris. Non-Teekkaris may also desecrate the cap and must be treated likewise. If a technology student desecrates the tassel cap, they must undergo tar heating, eiderdown nest emptying, and punishment in the Western style, leaving the event blackened, phoenix-like, ashamed, and carrying a written purchase promise for a tassel cap. This applies especially if the guilty student is without a cap and therefore without a title.

Lack of money is no excuse for delaying the purchase of a tassel cap. The Republic of Finland guarantees every student a study loan, from which the fuksi must allocate funds in their spring budget for cap acquisition. The price each year should be asked from the previous year’s fuksi (now a Teekkari), from a 3rd–4th year Teekkari, or from an n:th-year student, keeping in mind the rules of address. The price should be budgeted with index adjustments.