What happens in Roninmäki stays in Roninmäki. Well, not this time. Going through wild rumours, false names and evasive replies, we found out what the famous M-parties are all about.
Midnight, the last Saturday of October. I make my way to Roninmäki for the first time in my life. I’m heading to the party so many people talk about. The M-building party. The theme is Halloween.
When approaching the location I notice a police car driving towards the M-building.
”Wow, the stories were actually true”, I think to myself.
I can hear loud music from afar. So can the police, obviously. They step out of their car on the other side of the street. Are they coming to stop the party before I even make it there?
Thank goodness, they aren’t. They just roam around a bit and leave. So far so good.
From the outside, the M-building looks dull, and it’s surrounded by just as dull pine trees. It is actually hard to imagine that the party mecca is here.
Looks can be deceiving, though. That’s what I find out when I step inside the building.
The stairway is packed with people. Most of them are dressed up according to the theme. Girls look like Taylor Momsen and guys look like Alice Cooper.
The people compose a spiral from the bottom of the building all the way to the top floor. There is a flood of people. Hundreds of people. Some are trying to make their way up, some down.
The noise is loud and it builds up with the chatter of all those three hundred or so party people. It’s hard to recognize the languages. Together they sound strange but surprisingly cozy.
Some residents have opened their apartments for the party. In one tiny apartment there is a DJ playing. In the same building there are various clubs people can choose from. Inventive.
It’s a unique concept for a party. It’s somehow chaotic but somehow very well organized. And everyone seems to be having fun.
I’m in awe of these people. It’s like they have their own little secret community here inside this ugly building, in the middle of the woods in Finland. Except from the fact that it’s not so
little. And it’s not so secret either.
So how the heck did I end up here?
The M-building is located in Roninmäki, Jyväskylä. It is a KOAS apartment building and known to be populated by exchange students.
Around the campus and beyond, you hear a lot of stories about the building. I was first intrigued by it when my friend, who had been tutoring exchange students some years ago, told me about the building’s insane theme parties. White party, red party, Friday party, Saturday party, pizza party… She said there was a party for everything and all the exchange students joined them.
I googled the building and found blog writings, Facebook pages and even YouTube videos dedicated to the M. One blog post from 2011 claimed that the building was famous also outside the Finnish borders. According to the post, the Erasmus students in Europe know the M-building as THE party building. Many wish to be accommodated there when arriving to study in Jyväskylä.
Looking more into the subject, one word started to describe the building at its best: controversial. One of my first sources of information praised the M-parties. Another source of mine disagreed:
”I think you shouldn’t write about the M. The parties are probably illegal and the authorities may have even banned them.”
Though there were rumors all around – some saying that the parties were long gone because of underage drinking, theft and vandalism – it was somewhat difficult to get behind the M-myth.
And then, finally, I came across Kim Dexter’s Facebook profile.
Dexter, who in his profile calls himself ”the janitor at the M-building”, seemed to be exactly the person I was looking for. I reached out to him, hoping to make some progress with my investigations.
After a while he replied to me. It turned out Kim Dexter was actually only a virtual character kept up by the party organizers. The person behind Kim Dexter doesn’t want to have his – or hers – real name published.
I asked the person who replied to me for an interview. After some time of deliberation, I got an answer:
”Ok… We agreed to give you the information.”
Dexter says he started organizing the parties last year. Before that, the M-building was already long known as the party building of the exchange students of Jyväskylä. According to Dexter, there were even six to seven hundred people partying under the same M-roof in the building’s most glorious days.
Lately, things haven’t gone so smoothly for the party people of the M.
”This semester, the residents of the building haven’t been willing to open their apartments for the party. Before, people loved to open their apartments. We became like family”, Dexter
explains.
The M-building parties were earlier organized by teamwork. There were teams for ideation, organizing and decorating, for example.
”Now it’s difficult to get people to volunteer”, Dexter says.
”Some people think we are doing this for business but it’s not true. We are having these parties because we love to entertain people.”
Confrontations with KOAS have always been a challenge for the M-party organizers, also for Dexter.
”I personally got warned by KOAS a couple of times. We organizers and
KOAS made a deal that after each M-party we would clean the whole building. And we do that.”
Despite setbacks, Dexter and his friends keep on organizing the parties.
”The party must go on. And it will. KOAS and the police are always trying to stop us. Sometimes I don’t understand why these parties are so wrong. We don’t do crime, we just entertain. This party is the bridge between all international students here.”
Well Dexter, when will you host the next party?
”We’re going to organize a Halloween party soon. And you are invited.”
”We hope the M-building spirit is alive and well”
Tiia Matilainen from KOAS thinks the M-building has earned its reputation. According to her, the parties have somewhat calmed down during the recent semesters.
”At its worst, we received complaints from the houses in the neighborhood. The music was so loud the people living close by could hear it to their homes”, states Matilainen.
Some of the previous parties have gotten out of the hands of the organizers. Matilainen believes those experiences have made the organizers realize the apartment building isn’t a suitable venue for massive parties. Matilainen says that KOAS is pleased with the current calmer phase.
”Nothing has been broken in a long time and the building has been cleaned up after the parties”, she says.
”We hope the M-building spirit is alive and well. It’s great to read comments from the previous residents who say their time in the M-building was the best time of their lives”, Matilainen ends.
In Finnish: Salaperäisten M-bileiden jäljillä
Kommentointimahdollisuus on poistettu käytöstä, mutta alta näet aiemmat kommentit.
Jeffrey
I'm happy to read this, i was a resident of the m-building a couple of years ago!
Good to hear M is still alive!
31.10.2013
Petita
Hahaha COOL!! How much I miss those days in Finland and our fucking crazy parties in M-building COME ON!! Atún con pan, tuna with bread hahaha we love Roninmäki ^.^
31.10.2013
glenda
M-Building parties were the best of JKL... at least 2010-2012
31.10.2013
juicy
I have been to the M building parties last year and this year..it has gone from good, worst and really bad...there were theft, underage teenagers, fights, vandalism and open dealing available under that one roof...the party was shut down last halloween. One person almost jumped from fifth floor to down because he was soo fucked up that people had to hold on to him in order to pull him back up. It was crowded, and there were too many people in the staircase, so it took a long time to come downstair..should the parties be shut down?? yes it should! i have gone enough of M building parties to understand its problems.
1.11.2013
Petr
Niiice! The M building made it to the papers. I'm just glad I knew the legend long before that and before Kim. But I cheer for him. Kim is really great idea and he is doing his work well. I hope M building spirit never dies
1.11.2013
Chidi
M-building parties is the best recommended thing for any student coming to Finland. For all people that come to study in jkl, the experience is the single biggest souvenir they all take back home and would always cherish for the rest of their lives. Am very glad to have experienced loads of these parties and not to mention being a resident in 'M' for a whole year. I so wish the spirit never dies and the fun continues. Thumbs up to all its current organizers.
My verdict: a 'must experience' during your stay in Finland and not just jkl!....long live the M-building spirit!!!
1.11.2013
Ave
They try to keep the spirit alive but nowadays it's only for a rather small inside people. It used to be public but then the teenagers came and made a mess, so for a while they had to stop the parties completely. I'm surprised that the M-building still keeps on going though. From my point of view the glory days were 2009-2010, especially the spring -10. Then everyone knew everyone and erasmus students were like one big family. In the parties people held their doors open and there was no stealing or breaking stuff, and in the next morning everyone participated in cleaning. All in all, common respect and everyone having a great time. Also in the following years the parties were still good, but never reached the same level as in 2010. I'm glad to have experienced those unforgettable crazy moments! :)
1.11.2013
Dani
I lived on the second floor during 2012-2013 academic year, it was an incredible and out of time place.
Aside M-Building parties which were a special moment for all of us, almost everyday you could hear ppl making parties on night to somewhere in the building or in some apartment, so you could just wake up, take some drinks, join them and have alot of fun till morning, while the other buildings were silent and rest in peace ;)
I fucking miss Jyvaskyla and my M
1.11.2013
Tello
Flat N° 9 (Casa Italia) 2009-11
Already in 2003 I’ve heard from a Suomi friend about M building Party in JKL, in 2007 I was in JKL as visiting student (was living in N) but during that year, party were more or less all in Kortepoja, beside the famous PIZZA PARTY in the common room of J building.
From September 2009 the party’s were back in M-building, amazing party’s but no organization, result were:
Common room Closed, Sauna Closed, Koas mad at all Erasmus :-)
In Janury 2010 we moved in flat N° 9 of M building "Casa Italia" and once per month on Sunday in front of a cake and coffee we organized all the party’s.
The party improved in all fields thx to University and what we were learning in the different faculties, we had Event Management, Marketing, Art, Sport, Language, Economy, Hospitality; Music and so on, we put in practice what we studied.
The cleaning was basically the best part, really social, and who can’t forget the French ladies cleaning in them pyjama?
I Just know is spend 2 incredible years in JKL and in M building, thx to all made it possible.
When I’ll be Grandfather I’ll have plenty of story to tell my grandchildren when I’ve them on my knee
Cheers Tello
1.11.2013
Cecile
I was resident in 2006-2007. I had one of my best time in the M Building. telling all the stories would need a entire blog on itself. Parties were every days and nights and i remember closing my apartment door only a few times in one year. I met some of my best friends overthere. THANK you so much for your post, you made my day remembering it. but show must go on hopefully residents will carry on it!
1.11.2013
The slayer
M building parties are for losers, users and self abusers, I've seen them all last party!
1.11.2013
Hereweare
The slayer, is the typical Finnish looser: unhappy person, frustrated and think that people with other nationality is bad.
26.11.2014