2024-05-01T03:10:15-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/130426596/archinect-s-lexicon-sisu Amelia Taylor-Hochberg 2015-06-26T13:02:00-04:00 >2015-07-05T09:47:35-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/7h/7httretbbf97bku7.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p><strong>"Sisu"</strong>&nbsp;is a Finnish word, describing a trait with no precise English translation, but conveyed through the following qualities: stoic determination, bravery, guts, resilience, perseverance and hardiness. It is a quality strongly associated with Finnish identity, from a history of being bullied geopolitically by neighbors Russia and Sweden, and the paralyzingly cold, dark winters. According to its robust English-language Wikipedia entry, "<em>Sisu</em> is about taking action against the odds and displaying courage and resoluteness in the face of adversity. Deciding on a course of action and then sticking to that decision against repeated failures is <em>Sisu</em>. It is similar to equanimity,&nbsp;with the addition of a grim quality of stress management."</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/514x/7o/7o2lltbogwluieur.jpg"></p><p>I first came across "sisu" in the <a href="http://freecooperunion.org/disorientation/glossary/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Glossary</a> on <a href="http://freecooperunion.org/disorientation/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Free Cooper Union's website</a>, a compendium resource of the <a href="http://Cooper%20Union%20graduates%20stage%20tuition%20protest%20at%20Commencement%20ceremony" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">protest movement</a> against the school's <a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/90935135/cooper-union-board-votes-for-tuition-to-begin-fall-2014" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">decision to begin charging tuition</a>. The "sisu" entry is accompanied by a definition adapted from Wikipedia, and wh...</p>