Midterms at MCLA are a notoriously stressful time for students. With multiple exams, assignments, and projects demanding attention, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
This year, MCLA introduced a unique and unconventional way for students to blow off steam during this busy period: a small Rage Room set up in a tent in front of the Amsler Campus Center. The goal was simple—provide a safe space for students to release their frustrations physically and momentarily escape the pressures of academic life.
The concept of a Rage Room is straightforward. Participants enter a room or, in this case, a tent, where they are given protective gear—helmets, gloves, and padded suits—and a range of objects to break, including old electronics, glass bottles, and random household items. The idea is to smash these items with various tools, like hammers or bats, to vent frustration and stress.
While Rage Rooms have been around for years in larger cities as a fun and cathartic activity, it was a novel addition to MCLA’s campus and specifically timed to help students during midterms.
For MCLA students, the appeal of this Rage Room lay in its simplicity and the rare opportunity it offered to engage in physical release without judgment. Many students came out of the tent expressing how liberating it felt to smash something tangible when their emotions felt overwhelming. One student noted, “I didn’t realize how much I needed that. It was such a release, and after just a few minutes, I felt like I had left my stress inside that tent.”
Another remarked on how the experience allowed them to refocus on their studies: “I was juggling a lot of things, and everything was piling up. After I finished smashing, it felt like a weight had been lifted, and I could concentrate better.”
The Rage Room experience brought with it more than just a few minutes of fun destruction. There were real psychological benefits associated with such activities. Studies have shown that physical expression of stress—like hitting or breaking objects—can trigger the release of endorphins, which are the body’s natural stress relievers. Students, often sitting at desks for hours studying or writing papers, found this sudden, intense physical activity to be invigorating and helpful in releasing tension that could have built up.
Moreover, smashing things in a controlled environment also gave students a sense of empowerment over their stress.
Many students deal with midterms by trying to maintain composure and pushing through long hours of study. The Rage Room offered a break from this restraint and provided an outlet for raw, unfiltered emotion. Being able to vent their frustration in a safe space allowed students to feel more in control of their stress, which, in turn, helped them approach their academic tasks with renewed energy and focus.
The Rage Room was also a social experience. Many students participated in sessions with friends or classmates, turning it into a shared moment of release and camaraderie. Afterward, students gathered outside the tent, laughing and talking about the things they had smashed or the feelings they had let out.
In this way, the Rage Room wasn’t just about smashing objects; it became an opportunity for students to bond over the shared stress of midterms and remind each other that they were not alone in their struggles.
One important aspect of this Rage Room was its temporary nature, and its location in front of the Amsler Campus Center made it a visible, easily accessible spot for students who needed a break in between study sessions. While the tent setup was simple, the impact was anything but. Students who may have been skeptical at first soon found that this unconventional method of stress relief offered them a much-needed release during a difficult time.
It wasn’t just about the act of destruction—it was about the sense of catharsis that came with it.
For many, the Rage Room provided a brief escape from the pressures of academic life and allowed them to return to their studies with a clearer mind. Although some may prefer traditional methods of stress relief, such as meditation, yoga, or talking to friends, the Rage Room offered a new alternative that appealed to students looking for something different. The short, intense bursts of physical energy provided a fresh way to deal with the mental strain of exams.
As midterms continue to be a challenging time for students, MCLA’s Rage Room experiment showed that alternative forms of stress relief can have a positive impact on student well-being. Whether it’s smashing a laptop or simply feeling the satisfaction of breaking glass, this small tent in front of the Amsler Campus Center became a beacon of release and rejuvenation for many students.
Sometimes, when the pressures of school seem too much, all you really need is a bat, some old electronics, and a few minutes to let it all out.
