Intended for meditation: University builds Rammel chamber for horny students

Maastricht - A discussion has broken out at Maastricht University about a soundproof chamber that was originally intended as a meditation room.

When the futuristic-looking box called "Mindfulnest" was built at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2022, the university's own newspaper"Observant" described it as an "oasis for relaxation and meditation".

Last week, however, the reporting on the "Mindfulnest" no longer sounded so cheerful. The Dutch university newspaper reported on complaints about students doing it in the cabin, hygiene concerns and calls for the former oasis of well-being to be demolished.

A poster with instructions on how to meditate hangs in front of the isolated cubicle. "Make yourself comfortable" or "Do what feels good" can be read on it, for example. In a video released by the university to mark the opening of the "Mindfulnest", it says that you can use it to relieve stress.

In the faculty council, students now complained that some fellow students were taking these instructions too seriously.

Whether as a couple or alone in the cabin: the mere thought of the activities that hormone-driven students have already carried out in the "Mindfulnest" would now deter people from using the facilities, was one argument put forward by critics.

They therefore called for the demolition of the originally certainly well-intentioned quiet room.

Until then, students at Maastricht University will have to be patient a little longer: In March 2025, the Rammel chamber is to be dismantled one way or another, as the offer was financed by funds that will no longer be available in the future.