This past fall brought in Chatham University’s class of 2026 and, with it, a swath of new clubs and student organizations. Now that first-year students are adjusted to campus life, these clubs hope to offer students activity, interaction and community outside of the classroom.

Mental Health Club – Meets from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Carriage House’s 24/7 Lounge and 7 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays in Beckwith Hall inside of Buhl

Last summer, Christine Worms ‘25 reached out to Jackson Adkins ‘25 to address a problem she felt Chatham’s student body had: mental health was not being talked about enough. 

“A lot of folks think that mental health really only applies to them, or the people in their life, if it’s a problem,” Adkins says. “If you’re suffering from some mental illness, then you have the conversation about mental health, when in reality, it’s a lot more about like, ‘OK, this is how I’m feeling today.’” 

Together, the two of them are co-presidents of the Chatham Mental Health Club. The structure of the meetings are pretty fluid, Worms says, meaning students can bring whatever issues they have into a safe space to find more coping methods for mental wellness or to get connected to external resources. 

If students don’t want to talk, they provide coloring sheets for a non-verbal emotional outlet. 

For this term, Adkins and Worms hope to have a speaker come to campus to educate students about mental wellness sometime in April. 

Information: @ChathamMentalHealthClub on Instagram, [email protected] and [email protected]. Faculty adviser: Dr. Jennifer Morse. 

Tabletop Gaming Club – Meets weekly or biweekly from 4 to 6 p.m. Fridays in the Carriage House Main Lounge 

The Tabletop Gaming Club hit the ground running with an Uno tournament in the fall. Now, it has 60 active members. 

Club president Sophia Margittai ‘25 started the group as a place for members to play Dungeons & Dragons, but it has expanded to cover any tabletop games they can get their hands on.  

The club aims to be a comfortable place for people to socialize while playing, Margittai says. 

“I noticed that the members of the club are majority very open about being queer and very open about being on the [autism] spectrum, and those are also two things that I’m pretty open about, too,” they say. “I think that this is a really great way to have two different groups. That’s what I really, really hope that people can find – new friends.” 

Right now, the club uses games borrowed from the Carriage House. The goal is to receive funding to purchase more games and provide more options for game nights. Also on the agenda are classes for Magic: The Gathering and other tabletop role-playing games. 

Information: @ChathamTabletopGamingClub on Instagram and interested students can join the email list via email at [email protected]. Faculty adviser: Hunter Dyar.  

Chatham University Sustainability Explorer Post – Meetings are subject to the club members’ and guest speakers’ schedules 

Even if you’re not a sustainability major, this club might interest you. Sebastian Mull ‘25 created it as a way to teach all students methods of incorporating sustainability in their desired career.  

If he gets more funding, Mull plans to set up trips off-campus to learn about sustainability. He is also looking into making the club an affiliated branch of the Boy Scouts of America’s Explorer program. He hopes to get more resources and expand the club to teaching non-Chatham students from ages 12 to 20.  

“That would allow us some growth and then also that is going to bring us connections to the scouting program. We are kind of two organizations in one, which is pretty neat,” he says. 

For April, Mull plans to have a tree planting and Earth Day event. 

Information: @Chatham.Explorer on Instagram and [email protected]. Faculty adviser: Dr. Tony Goreczny.