Wellbeing gone interactive: ‘In the rage room, I pictured my roommate’s face on the punching bag’

One event that generated a great deal of attention from students passing by was the (non-violent) rage room, an orange shipping container planted right in the middle of Erasmus Plaza, and it was developed in collaboration with EFR, the study association of the economics faculty.

While this particular rage room did not include smashing plates and pottery with a baseball bat, it was not any less interactive. Students were given the opportunity to throw on a pair of boxing gloves and let out all their anger, aggression, and negative feelings in a healthy manner by punching a boxing bag to their heart’s content. All under a techno club-like atmosphere, complete with loud electronic music, strobe lights, and even a smoke machine.

“Inside the rage room, I pictured my roommate’s face on the punching bag”, said a participating student. “I was finally able to let out all the anger I feel when she refuses to clean up after herself. It all felt so righteous, and I definitely think the rage room should be here to stay.”

Other rage room participants claimed they couldn’t help but feel completely free when they entered the rage room and were able to, as someone said, “I forget that I am on campus for thirty seconds and just release all of my emotions.”

Many visitors of the rage room praised it for allowing them to find ’cathartic release’ within the orange container. They appreciated the social aspect, accessibility and interactiveness of the event, which, according to the organisers of the Student Wellbeing Week, are the characteristics which students typically praise the most.

“Wellbeing means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, so it’s always nice to see how all the events match to students of different academic backgrounds and interests, and we really make an effort to make wellbeing accessible to everyone”, explained Maud Molenaar, who is a student assistant at the Student Wellbeing Programme.

Another event that merged interactiveness with wellbeing education was the ‘Spin the Wheel: What do you know about sex?’ game, also located at the Erasmus Plaza. The wheel of fortune-like game was developed in collaboration with the student association Erasmus Pride, and it consisted of participants spinning a colourful wheel and answering a series of questions related to sexual wellbeing and sexuality education.

Depending on the number of questions answered correctly, for example, one question being “Explain what a ‘Plan B’ is”, participants could win a variety of small prizes. The host of the game explained how it had been designed for students to have fun playing a well-known game while simultaneously becoming educated in aspects of sexual wellbeing and sexuality.

For students looking for a more intimate and workshop-like wellbeing activity, ’Cross the Line’ took place in a classroom in the Van der Goot building. This activity, directed by a professional, consisted of students crossing a line on the floor depending on whether or not they had experience with themes ranging from sexual harassment to discrimination, followed by a coherent group discussion after every topic addressed.

“It was a very intimate and supportive experience, and it made me realise that us students are not alone when facing these issues. For example, it made me realize just how many students have suffered from some form of discrimination in their lives, and it was really impactful hearing each person’s personal stories with the topic”, says one of the participants after the session.