When facing either midterms or final exams, some students are leaving behind the stress of projects and finals, and learning to meditate.
They call it a drum circle.

Students such as Van Norman find that drum circles are the perfect way to take time out to release negative energy. By chanting and relaxing while patting small, lap drums and sometimes playing other instruments, they are able to forget about the added pressures that tests may have on their bodies.

“It’s a beautiful way to get people together,” Van Norman said. “It helps to open the mind and will.”

Van Norman was first exposed to drum circles when he was eight years old. He was visiting his godmother in Northern California when she brought him to a Native American ceremony. Van Norman enjoyed the experience, but it wasn’t until he was older that he started taking part on his own.

“It was more about having fun than about having it mean something,” Van Norman said. “I took it more as a tool and less of a hobby.”

At 16, Van Norman decided to take part in a cultural drum circle near his home in Oregon.

“Something just clicked,” he said. “It was extremely satisfying. Everyone deserves to have that kind of experience.”

From there, Van Norman made it a point to attend every year.