[Seriously?] Express milk, anger or love of beer

There will be more room for self-expression in the designated uses of contemplation rooms on campus.

They are used to pray or meditate in silence. New mothers can express their milk there. But you can do so much more with the contemplation rooms, says the Executive Board. Together with the Student Council, they are looking at new options for a more multi-functional use of the quiet rooms.

Most students are unaware the contemplation rooms exist, says Hanna de Jager (Student Council). ‘Students don’t pray or meditate that much, let alone express milk. So they don’t use those rooms. Which is a shame, because they definitely need a suitable space for relaxation. Students have experienced a big increase in stress since the new resit policy.’

‘Employees also increasingly need to let off steam,’ adds Executive Board member Jens Boekhout. ‘The cutbacks are undoubtedly going to make a mark. I am expecting a lot of anger, frustration and aggression, which all needs to be channelled properly. That is where the contemplation rooms come in. Anyway, I don’t like unused office space.’

After an extensive survey of requirements, a shortlist of options has been drawn up. In pole position so far is shared use as a rage room,where people can vent their anger by trashing the place. That could help them deal with suppressed emotional pain. Boekhout: ‘We also have a lot of old furniture lying around since we introduced hot-desking. So this could be a cost-neutral solution.’

They let go of their inhibitions under the influence of beer. Apparently that helps.

De Jager (Student Council) isn’t totally opposed to the idea but she does think there has been a misunderstanding. ‘We were actually advocating a rage cage,which is a drinking game and quite different to a rage room. But maybe we can combine the two. Plus lots of students love screaming and letting go of their inhibitions under the influence of beer. Apparently that has a significant beneficial effect.’

Of course silence and screaming don’t go together, and neither do expressing milk and trashing the place. Boekhout sees a contemplation room reservation app as the solution for this. But first, in the great Wageningen tradition, there will be a dialogue, starting in May. It will include demos of possible future uses. 

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