THE SUMMIT
COVER STORY
Mental health Awareness
T he Undergraduate Summit held during Kappa Alpha Psi’s 14 th Annual National Founders Day featured the inaugural mental health awareness panel (MHAP) exclusively for our undergradu- ate membership on Saturday, January 5, 2019. Panelists included Brothers Ralph “RJ” Johnson, Trenton A. Nettles, Dr. Samuel Odom and Dr. Roger L. Wortham. Grand Board Member Andre J. Earls served as the moderator for MHAP. Brother Earls discussed and highlighted why mental health aware- ness was featured in the Undergraduate Summit to include the significance of understanding the impact of mental health on human growth and develop- ment. Brother Johnson, MBA, CCFC, CCJTS is a fall 2015 initiate of the Shreveport (LA) Alumni Chapter and he serves as the Chief Compliance Officer,
Behavioral Health Organization Liaison to Louisiana Association of Behavioral Health Providers. Brother Nettles is a spring 2010 initiate of the Oregon State University Chapter, the Iota Iota of Kappa Alpha Psi and he is Founder/ Owner-TNettles Advantage Associate Director of Fraternity/Sorority Life. Brother Dr. Odom is a fall 1993 initiate of the Dillard University Chapter, the Beta Gamma of Kappa Alpha Psi and he serves as a Professor and Philosopher on the campus of Southern University at New Orleans in the Millie M. Charles School of Social Work. Dr. Wortham is a fall 1969 initiate of the Southern Uni- versity and A&M College Chapter, the Alpha Sigma of Kappa Alpha Psi and he is a Psychiatrist at Psychiatric Associates of Lafayette, Louisiana. The panel opened with the three unique questions: I) Through the lens of your specialization, how does mental
health play a role in hazing? II) How do you deal with ‘bad apples’ in the chapter/ make better decisions? III) How do you balance stresses on college campuses? Subsequently, the session transi- tioned to the Q&A topics of a) Student athlete pressures b) Black versus White mental health and c) the effects of drugs and alcohol on mental health. Each of the four panelists responded to each inquiry which was followed by additional inquiry, comments, reflections and fur- ther dialogue. I) Through the lens of your special- ization how does mental health play a role in hazing? According to the Univer- sity of Michigan, Hazing is any action or situation, with or without the consent of the participants, which recklessly, inten- tionally, or unintentionally endangers the mental, physical, or academic health or safety of a student. This includes, but is not limited to any situation which:
17 | THE JOURNAL
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