Students gathered outside the Illini Union on Friday to release their pent-up rage with a baseball bat and various smashable objects.
The Illini Union Board partnered with Axecessive Force, a company that brings rage rooms, axe throwing and paint splatter rooms to colleges countrywide, to set up the rage room pop-up at Anniversary Plaza from 1-5 p.m.
Ritika Patel, a senior in Business and director of special events for the Illini Union Board, said the board worked for some time to bring a rage room to the University.
“We noticed a need for a rage room a couple of years ago because we knew that was something students were really interested in,” Patel said. “It’s really exciting to actually see this come to light.”
Patel says it took nearly a year to bring a rage room to campus because of the rules and regulations that the Illini Union Board must abide by to bring vendors to campus.
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Axecessive Force met University regulations because they strive to be sustainable by providing participants with non-functional objects such as unusable electronics and old glassware.
“We were able to find this vendor where they focused on sustainability in a way that aligns with the University’s goals,” Patel said. “They use all obsolete equipment so we’re not harming the environment in that way.”
Axecessive Force also ensures safety, as students were required to gear up in helmets, chest guards, arm guards, shin protectors and boots before entering the secured rage room tent one at a time.
About 100 students lined up in the first half hour of the pop-up to break old plates, glasses, teapots, records, VHS tapes and more.
Saloni Ekal, graduate student in Information Sciences, said she visited the rage room to relieve some of the stress she’s been facing recently.
“I haven’t done this ever before, so the idea of breaking something to take out your rage seemed fun,” Ekal said. “The last couple of weeks haven’t been really easy, but this was an easy way to take it all out.”
Many people came to the rage room with friends, such as Jessica Warpehowski, junior in LAS, and Viktoria Sokolowski, junior in AHS.
“We came honestly just for something fun to do, and this is like our first time hanging out,” Warpehowski said. “There’s the stress of so much going on: work, school and trying to balance everything.”
Sokolowski and Warpehowski both recently transferred to the University, which they said added to their stress but helped them grow closer, especially after their time at the rage room.
“It was a good bonding experience,” Sokolowski said. “There’s a lot of built-up rage just from times past, so this was a good way to alleviate that together.”
Overall, participants had positive reviews as they exited the rage room tent, having lifted some of the weight off their shoulders as busy college students.
“My heart’s racing,” Sokolowski said. “At one point, I disassociated, and I was like, ‘This plate is getting all of me.’”
