At Alpha Chi Delta [Chi Psi] at Clemson University, the emphasis this semester has been on mental and physical well-being. According to new #1 Kent Carroll, XΔ ’23, they’ve adopted the Gentleman’s Club from other Chi Psi Alphas and put it to good use this fall.
“We usually have a meeting every Wednesday as one big group,” says Carroll, who was the Wellness Chair and #3 earlier in the fall. “We talk about feelings, what’s going on in our lives, and all of that. It’s just an open space to talk and help each other out.”
Carroll says each Wellness Chair will have resources for any mental health issues that arise and can be a good resource for Brothers during Gentleman’s Club meetings. He said they are starting to focus on physical health too.
“We decided to start doing some physical health events along with our mental health work because the two really go hand in hand,” says Carroll. “We planned a wellness hike to Issaqueena Falls that ended up being about four miles round-trip. It was perfect for both our mental and physical well-beings.”
Starting in the spring semester, they hope to expand that focus on physical well-being to include eating right, exercising, and just generally taking better care of one’s body.
Gentleman’s Club at Chi Delta has been going on for about a year now, and whoever wants to come to the meetings can come. Once there, anyone who wants to talk can talk. No requirements.
“It’s pretty cool now the Wellness Chair is one of the most contested positions in our Alpha,” says Carroll. “I’m glad to see the importance of this position getting highlighted here.”
Carroll says some people he knows struggle with mental health issues and they slowly come out at random times, so the Gentleman’s Club is definitely helping to drop the guardrails.
“Guys have spoken up to me and to the group about their own issues, especially during COVID,” he says. “We’ve all had some mental health struggles with COVID going on, so it’s really good to be able to openly lean on each other like this.”
He says the notion of opening up – something that isn’t always easy for young, college-aged men – has started becoming more normal at Chi Delta and that once one Brother speaks up, it seems to open the floor to others being comfortable sharing their own experiences.
“Mental health is something we all have our own personal struggles with, and it’s really important for us to be there for each other,” says Carroll. “It’s something we find really important in the Alpha. It’s one of our core values. We all want to check in on each other.”
