Early start of russe hierarchy: The headmaster stopped riking-pins

The short version

• “Riking-pins” have been discovered at several secondary schools in Eastern Norway.
• Pins are used to position yourself among fellow students and for the shuttle bus.
• Ombudsperson for children and young people in Akershus, Buskerud and Østfold, Henrikke Bugdø-Aarseth, confirms the phenomenon.

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– We noticed some of that last autumn. We have areas here in Frogn where residents are richer than others. Of course there is a culture for ending up on a Russian bus. And there is culture for wearing certain clothes.

This is what the principal at Dyrløkkeåsen school in Drøbak, Hakija Hauge-Hrnic (30), tells VG.

Outside the headmaster’s office, young pupils collect heavy bags of school milk for lunch. Here the students are from five to 16 years old.

At junior high school, secrets became kingpinsA small pin or badge that someone wears on their clothes. discovered earlier this school year.

– At the start of the school year, we noticed that some people were wearing pins. Where one indirectly talked about status, finances and background. And preferably with a view to positioning yourself in relation to who you will end up on a Russian bus with and things like that, Hauge-Hrnic describes.

The new principal had absolutely no sense of what they found.

– When we discovered this, we tackled it quite early on, he assures.

– How did you react when you discovered the use of these pins?

– We were really wondering what this was. I quickly thought that this was a bad way to include. That it was directly exclusionary for many students. That it was simply inappropriate, he replies.

– We can’t have it like that at our school, adds the principal.

– Shocked

Only a five-minute drive from his school, Russian president Celina Kristensen (19) and inclusion manager Mathias Figved (19) are a little tired after Russian baptism A ceremony or party that marks the start of the Russe celebration for graduating high school students. the day before.

They meet VG in the large hall at Frogn vgs. Both agree that their own rikingpins to position themselves – do not belong anywhere. Not even at the secondary school in the neighbourhood.

– Stupid, simply

– I was completely shocked. I think it’s very ridiculous. Stupid, simply, says Russian President Celina.

Inclusion manager Mathias wholeheartedly agrees:

– It was absolutely right for the principal to crack down on this. After all, school is supposed to be a place where you want to get a little away from what is at home. When you then see that some students come to school wearing pins that signal that they come from rich homes, it becomes a constant reminder that you are not where the others are. The family’s financial status is a very sensitive topic for many, Mathias reminds.

He supports the principal at Dyrløkkeåsen one hundred percent in taking this Pentecost out of the school.

Both Celina and Mathias are clear that when you form different groups of friends also in the Russian environment, it should not be because of people’s finances.

– It happens because you click together. That’s the way it should be, says Celina.

– Do you experience any kind of ranking among the Drøbak Russians?

– It is so difficult to say. Because there will always be unwritten norms. But there are clearly some gangs that have more influence than others – without even knowing it, the two answer.

Some also have more influence over the younger generations, they believe.

– Many people look up to the Russian. So you probably have more responsibility than you might think, reflects the Russian duo.

The so-called riking pentecost has been discovered at several secondary schools in Eastern Norway. This is confirmed by the representative for children and young people in Akershus, Buskerud and Østfold, Henrikke Bugdø-Aarseth.

– It is a pin that signals that parents have good finances. We have also seen that tax lists or information about parents’ income have been printed, she says.

– In some environments, the emphasis on social hierarchies starts very early. In this there is also a positioning to become relevant to join Russebuss, adds Bugdø-Aarseth.

In recent years, she has fought against this positioning – which often leads to many young people being banned from groups of friends.

– Those who cannot afford to join a Russian bus – tend to become so-called wandering Russians. While those who have been on the bus – sell it in a kind of inheritance system to those who can afford it in the generation that comes after, explains the student representative.