Christmas might preach peace and joy, but the end of semester stress and traveling troubles may leave some feeling more grinchy than graceful.
Still, PAX’s Rage Room, which took place in the Zondervan Library parking lot, was about more than just the opportunity to smash a few pumpkins and printers. It was about release and, perhaps ironically, healing in the midst of shattered porcelain and torn electronics.
“There's something about channeling your energy and expressing your anger that is important,” junior Kylie Roggie, a PAX cabinet member and public relations major, said. “Oftentimes people view anger as a negative emotion, but actually it can be very helpful when it's channeled in ways that aren't harmful.”
Roggie’s hope for the event was that it would allow students to find a healthy channel to let loose. Closed-toed shoes were required, but students’ parameters for how to enter the rage room were confined only by Roggie’s encouragement for attendees to meditate on issues that had bothered them lately.
Nonetheless, she also noted that students may want to consider leaving space for processing those emotions after the event.
“There might be some things that could resurface that you might not be expecting, which is helpful,” Roggie said. “But also sometimes that can be a little hard. It's kind of a balance all the time with everything.”
Senior Sam Maurer, a multimedia journalism major and fellow PAX cabinet member to Roggie, said that one part of the balancing act can be addressing problems early on, rather than allowing anger or frustration to tangle together over time.
PAX designed the Rage Room for students as a specific space to untangle those emotional knots, but smaller pains or grievances were also welcome.
“A lot of people tend to keep it (their anger) built up inside,” Maurer said. “And if you don't let that out, eventually it's gonna be a huge ending. So I think having that outlet to just let out physical emotions is really powerful.”
Ethan Cutshaw, also on the PAX cabinet as a senior social work major, hoped that through this event, attendants would be able to draw together and support one another. He noted that the event was made to be attended with friends, emphasizing the importance of processing both alone and as a community.
This is why PAX chose to offer hot chocolate to those in line. It’s also why they blasted rock music, fostering an atmosphere for students to build energy together.
Cutshaw said he also hoped the event would draw people closer to God.
“A lot of times we look at God being a jealous God,” Cutshaw said. “God can be angry (with) a righteous anger, different things like that. And I think giving people an outlet to kind of let go of that anger is just such an amazing way to … give people ease in mind.”
Lasting only an hour, PAX’s Rage Room was ironically a time to promote peace of mind, the student organization’s mission always at front of mind throughout the event.
While a single rage session may not have been enough to cure every student’s grinchy troubles, the reprieve was one more way for students to let loose with smashing success.
