1902 – Protest becomes student union
In 1902, the KTH student union was formed. It originated as an irritation over the so-called compulsory system, where students were expected to pay a fine of one krona for late arrival or non-attendance – attendance was mandatory.
At an agitated meeting in January, the student union of the Institute of Technology was formed. It would take three years to bring about a change in the compulsory system. When teachers and university management resisted, the union turned directly to King Oscar II. Then the clamor took a different turn.
To show their gratitude to the king, the technologists began to call themselves Oscar, or as it has been spelled since the 1930s, Osquar, and the female students Osqulda.
Since then, the union's mission has been to work to develop education and improve the conditions for studies.
Today, female students at KTH are called Quristina (or Kristina ) in student-related contexts. It replaced the older name
Osqulda after a union decision in 2018 to modernize traditions and remove problematic associations.