Just Beat It!

Spotlighting the Psychology Department

At Queens University of Charlotte, creativity and cognition reach out of the classroom and into the community. This semester, Psychology and Studio Art double major, Molly Bloomer and Professor of Psychology, Dr. Cherie Clark, are leading Queens students in restarting the Beat It! Program at Hopewell High School. They are employing music and clay to enhance mental health and combat violence.

“It all started with me cleaning Tillet, (Queens’s ceramics and studio art building,) and finding a box of goat skins,” said Bloomer. Discovering drum building materials in the studio inspired Bloomer to approach faculty about revitalizing the program.

Utilizing her networking skills and faculty donations, she secured two hundred pounds of clay from a local business, Carolina Clay Connections. These materials will now be donated to Hopewell High School.

Throughout the semester, Hopewell students will use this clay to build their own drums and then participate in weekly drum circle activities. Jordan Kramer, Arts Leadership and Administration and Studio Art double major, minoring in Professional Writing, is one of the students assisting with the building process. Kramer explained “we’re rolling out slabs and then we’re taking a tar template and laying that on top. We cut [the clay] . . . and then lift it up and wrap it around” into a cylindrical drum shape.

Creating a drum is a tangible activity that supports communication, expression, and human psychology. “We are building peer mentoring relationships” said Bloomer. Students often feel incapable of art, and Bloomer hopes to create a “safe space” to “disprove that idea.”

Ceramics and percussion are healthy artistic outlets that provide new ways of coping with stress and complex emotions. Beat It! allows students to interact with art as a tool for mental health. “Even if they don’t consider themselves to be good at art there is still something they can take away from it . . . and it is a clay experience they might not otherwise be able to have,” said Bloomer.

In turn, Queens students have experienced the importance of these learning relationships first-hand. “I definitely wouldn’t be able to do this without the amazing faculty support. [My professors] not only encouraged [the project], they’re there for me when . . . I don’t think I can do this,” said Bloomer.

Once the drums are fired and ready for percussion, students will begin working in groups. “To finish the project, we’re coming together to make a song” said Rachel Wallace, a Studio Art major assisting with ceramics and the project’s musical component. She describes the activity as “layering beats  . . . like a drum line, but with bongos.”

At the end of the semester, Hopewell students will have more than just a drum and some new skills. Bloomer hopes that they experience “increased self-efficacy and self-esteem and learn leadership and team work.” This artistic and team-building experience contributes to healthy self-image, positive behavioral patterns, and non-violent outlets for stress.

Beat It! has opened up interdisciplinary connections within the College of Arts and Sciences. “Being involved in this project is helping me understand what I want to do futuristically, with my career path, because I’ve always had a foot in each world” said Bloomer. This semester, art and science unite, molding a new rhythm within the community.

Gabrielle Girard