The clatter of plates breaking echoed through the hallways of Hodge Hall this week as part of the Kelley School of Business’ Balance Week activities.
In a room on the second floor, students lined up to release stress by flinging plates into a set up tent.
The rage room and many other events this week are part of Kelley’s Balance Week, an end-of-year initiative to prioritize student well-being in what can be a highly competitive atmosphere.
Balance Week takes place the week before finals. The week includes activities such as petting service dogs, slime making and even a cornhole tournament.
“I like to get all my anger out before finals,” said Josie Zink, a sophomore studying information systems and business analytics. “Sometimes it’s good to let it all out.”
Colorful Sharpies are scattered on a table and Zink and her friend Siya Wadhare, also a sophomore information systems and business analytics major, begin writing things that stress them out on their plates: accounting, the electric bill, chores, bad roommates, creepy men, Kirkwood at night, a Python class.
They take their time, filling the bright white plates with Sharpie-written notes. Finally, they are ready to smash.
The women don protective masks and approach the black and yellow Smash Mobile rage room tent. Remnants of past participants’ shattered plates litter the plastic tent floor.
On her first try, one of the women’s plates completely fails to break. On her second try, it bounces through a gap in the back wall of the tent. The Smash Mobile worker hands it back to her. Turns out there’s an art to smashing plates.
Most people are more successful, getting their plate to shatter on the first try. The workers at the check-in table give tips on the best throwing techniques.
“Palming it usually works best,” they tell one student.
“It’s no secret that Kelley can be really toxic and competitive,” senior Henry Schamp said. “So to be able to have an outlet for people to go pet some puppies or break a plate- although it sounds a bit trivial, I do think it’s fairly important for kids to have that outlet to balance themselves out.”
Schamp is a member of the Kelley Mental Health Task Force. As a member of the task force, he advises staff members at the Kelley Office of Student Support on how best to address student concerns.
The Mental Health Task Force partners with organizations such as Balance at Kelley and the school itself to help put on Balance Week. But well-being at Kelley goes beyond this single week.
Balance at Kelley is an organization dedicated to reducing the stigma around mental health.
“Pretty much every student struggles or experiences rejection in some kind of way and it’s tough to know what to do when you’ve not experienced that before,” junior and Balance at Kelley president Tyler Flaa said.
Many Kelley students, he said, are used to being at the top of their class in high school. The challenging classes at Kelley can come as a shock, as can the impossibility of getting into selective workshops or business fraternities.
That’s where Balance at Kelley comes in. Flaa believes that by opening up a space for students to talk about their struggles, they can normalize mental health discussions.
“The most brave thing you can do when you are in a situation that you’re really struggling with is ask somebody for help,” Flaa said.
The club hosts events to raise awareness, including Lights for Life. On National Suicide Prevention Day, they decorate luminaries to memorialize the 1,100 college students who die each year from suicide.
The club also acts as a low-stress involvement opportunity for students.
“We’re a club focused on forming interpersonal connections with each other,” Flaa said. “So that the freshmen that join feel like they have a community or feel like they have these upperclassmen that they can look up to and ask questions.”
