Two Beers with Ruben Rygh: "Getting involved - that’s the stuff"

Going all out throughout his years at Ås, he has not gone unnoticed. You have seen him on stage at revues, working for Samfunnet, behind a camera, at Caféklubben, or maybe even as a student ambassador.

Journalist: Guro Størdal

Translator: Aleksander Mæland Munkejord

Phorographer: Margreta Brunborg

Avoided Ås

His student life did not start in Ås. Actually, he actively avoided NMBU, wanting a big city with a proper student life. Therefore, he went to Bergen, but for no more than eighteen months. He soon realized that it just was not right for him, and after stumbling upon the program called Renewable Energy in Ås, he gave the Agrarmetropole a chance. He never looked back, except in disbelief of how dumb he had been...

Photography from day one

In Bergen, he learned that it is wise to sign up and look for activities as soon as possible. He knew that he wanted to get involved with the photo committee, so at graskurs part 1 he asked around and was referred to as “a big hairy guy with a camera”, also known as Petter Meeg, who pulled him into the committee and set him up for work already at the Semester Kickoff. He was also involved in the Photo Club, which had several photo enthusiasts pushing it through. After a while, he joined the board of the club, but as many of the enthusiasts were leaving Ås, and Ruben got busy with other volunteer positions, and with the Covid pandemic making things even worse, the Photo Club saw little activity. Now that things are opening up, he hopes to start some action there once again. “We have got it all just standing there. Darkroom and everything!” he says. Exactly what will happen is not clear just yet. “The program is coming,” he says, smiling.

Revue

Another activity that has made its mark on his time here at Ås are the revues. The revue timeline started at a rather unusual place, at “Klimaspillet”(The Climate Game)! He joined Klimaspillet during his first semester at Ås, and they were invited to UKA17 in Trondheim, to visit the local Klimaspillet section over there. There, they attended the UKErevue “Ta-de-du!”. The only former on-stage experience he had was from the final act of performance back in 9th grade, but after seeing the revue in Trondheim he was eager to try it out himself! Back in Ås, he found that the deadline for applying for UKEactor had passed, but he submitted a late application anyways and got through both audition one and two, and all of a sudden he was on stage during the UKErevue 2018.

“The revue time was amazing!” he recalls. A strong fellowship was formed, also strengthened by the passing of one of the central pieces of the revue, Even Skramstad. When they were done with the revue, they wanted to find a collective together. They were all prepared to live poorly, commute far and pay a lot, but then they stumbled upon Stova, right here in the center of Ås! Several of them moved in there, and Ruben has lived there ever since. He has greatly appreciated being able to live in Stova with close friends, having the opportunity to frolic around like he wants to. There has been one ongoing conflict though: Coffee vs. tea. It has been all about having the most extensive shelf, with different kinds of drinks and brewing equipment; but Ruben feels content now, as other faithful coffee drinkers have moved in.

The Corona projects

When you are active and have a determination like Ruben, a shutdown of the community can provide new and unknown possibilities. Rather than sitting down moping, Ruben and his collective took the initiative to do things they would not be able to otherwise. The first thing they did was make their own revue in the collective, “The Stova Revue”, which can be found in its entirety on Instagram. After that, a greenhouse, some hens and a pizza oven came along one after another. Now, they can reap what they sowed, literally, with tomatoes in the greenhouse, fresh eggs from the hens, and homemade pizza. An overarching goal has been to do it all as cheap as possible. Thus, they have done as much as they could by themselves, and have driven to both Oslo and Ytre Enebakk to pick up parts for the different projects.

Change of plans

The plans for 2020 were originally quite different. In the fall of 2019, he was elected Chief of Events at Samfunnet, and was supposed to fill the house with activities and events. “I had really little experience from the Events Committee, but I had participated at a lot of events!” he laughs. He held the position for two months and twelve days before the pandemic put all activity to a halt. He remembers well the message they posted on Facebook the first time Samfunnet closed down, about how they hoped to reopen after Easter. Instead, they had to get acquainted with infection control, and completely reorganize how to host events, trying out cohorts and other strategies. The board themselves did not get much out of this, but Ruben feels like they helped testing it all out so that UKA20 could be hosted as smoothly as possible.

UKErevyen 2018 won the NM cup for student revues for the scene «Der untergang on ice»

“Settling down”

He is now entering his last year at Ås and would like to ease it down a little, in regard to his volunteering. “Now I work a little at Caféklubben, work as a multitool for Samfunnet, if they, for example, need a host for graskurs part 2, I am the leader of Tenorens Fagforening, and Formeringssjef for Sangkoret Lærken, and work as a student ambassador”, he recites. “And also, I’m a barman at Samfunnet”, he recalls a while later.

He realizes that he may not have settled down completely, but these are all things he enjoys doing. Being a student ambassador, at least, he finds pretty nice! “Getting paid for something I feel like I’m doing anyways” he laughs. Talking positively about NMBU is no problem at all. But one thing keeps coming up: “Photography is the most fun,” he says. And among other things, he repeatedly ends up chatting about cameras and photos with the photographer during the interview.

You will find him behind the counter at Café Klubben!

The commitment of other volunteers is the driving force

He is anxious about how things will be in the coming year, for the student environment after corona, but has faith that it will all go well. “It’s so much fun!” he says. There are so many committed, cool people.” This is what he finds the most motivating to keep himself engaged. He is aware of the cliché, but it means there is something to it. “Getting involved is just so important, you meet so many people, and Samfunnet is really unique!”, he says. When you go out you meet friends and other acquaintances at Samfunnet almost every time.

Best regards to Ruben:

Dear Ruben! As the first heir of a farm with no less than three goats, you were quick in securing the self-sufficiency of Stova. When the crops from the windowsills and your aquaponic system were no longer satisfactory, you designed and built both a greenhouse and a hen house. You always impress, be it with tools, a pen, tiller, microphone, harpoon, camera or spatula. With your man-bun, plaid shirt, kefir grains, sourdough bread and homebuilt pizza oven, you have now passed both LEEK100, -200 and -300. We congratulate you, and hope that the new Stova carries enough sense to avoid serving you french-press-low-status-coffee! If not, just make yourself something nice in Caféklubben. Thanks for letting us enjoy the smell of your Asian experiments, wake you up with fly kicks through your door and hearing you laugh out loud when you are alone. You are a vital part of the down-to-earth working-class avant-gardism of Stova. We love you so much, Rubbe/Ruby mac Rubster/Rubydub/Rubidubidoo.

Lots of hugs from old Stova

Dear Ruben!

No challenge is too demanding, and no obstacle is too big for you when at first you’ve tasted blood and a new idea is brewing. You have a determination matched by no one, and when you add the creativity of MacGyver and the economic sense of Scrooge McDuck, you are able to achieve a lot with very limited means, like the pizza oven and henhouse, for example.

We cannot write a greeting without mentioning your party skills, or rather, your after-party skills. Whether that is due to a severe case of clinophobia, or just a genuine joy of life, we do not know, but you surely never say no to a decent after-party (or indecent, for that matter). You always care for others and make sure that everyone around you feels good. Despite your somewhat impaired hearing, you have an outstanding ability to listen and to carry a conversation. That is something we truly appreciate!

Big hug from Ingrid, Marit Serianna and Oscar

Ruben,

We write to you with joy, eagerness and hope. Some may say that random events brought us together at the board in this office wing, but we choose to believe that it was meant to be. Despite a board duration characterized by a state of emergency and digital meetings, we are truly grateful for how you have taught us to keep both our mood and spirit high, even if the job has sometimes felt hopeless.

Everyone needs an “AOB-item” in their life, as it keeps us sharp and provides joy and variation. AOB is perfect for people with a lot on their schedule and a scattered mind, and it allows flexibility. We hope that you keep on with these AOB-items, even if we no longer gather weekly for discussions and debates in the meeting room.

May the future bring even more late nights and fun pranks, like multiple ferné-bombs (There, you are a pioneer)!

Best wishes from everyone in the Board of Samfunnet 2020.