Over the last year and a half there has been a rise in students throwing projectiles, juggling and slacklining on the quad. This craze is owed to one of the fastest growing clubs at the University of Rhode Island: URI Flow.
URI Flow is anything but a traditional club, it is instead an outlet to step away from the stressors of life and into a casual, fun and rewarding environment. Members are not required to do anything and have no responsibilities.
“We do everything without the responsibility of doing anything,” Scott Botelho, president of URI Flow club said. “We’re first a place of relaxation and escape from the stressors of life… most people don’t take the time to step away from that and relax and let their body downregulate.”
Flow, however, stems beyond just relaxation and instead dates back for more than 150 years, and later adopted into a psychological theory. It is the ideal state of mind for performance and ranges along a spectrum. Botelho argues that everyone has experienced flow at some point in the spectrum.
“Flow is achieved by the correct balance of challenge and skill,” Botelho said. “That means increasing your challenge as your skill increases so that you don’t push it too far and cause anxiety but you don’t push it too little and cause boredom. You want to be right on that razor edge where it feels like everything should be falling apart but somehow you’re holding it all together…it just feels amazing.”
Botelho described the club as a way to overcome challenges. This is why the club focuses on using a variety of objects, like projectiles, juggling and slacklining. The club is also very diverse, with majors ranging from engineering to theater and accepting and welcoming of everyone.
URI Flow has been growing rapidly ever since its creation, the club went from eight members to 470 within a year. Flow counts all of their members that show up daily as well as occasional members. The club operates through their Facebook group by posting when members will be out on the Quadrangle hanging out.
“It opened up my whole word,” Botelho said. “I used to [be] a little shy and a little introvert and now I can just walk up to anyone and just say whatever I want. Eventually you’ll be able to realize stressors are just challenges that can be turned into fun if they’re approached progressively and with a good attitude.”
To stay up to date with URI Flow you can join their Facebook group for updates: URI Flow or visit their website becometheflow.com