Student Affairs

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• Take care of your physical health — get
enough sleep (at least seven hours), eat a
balanced diet and exercise.
• Get plugged into your community —
join a club, faith-based organization or
a civic group.
• Be proactive — when faced with a
challenge, it is important to acknowledge
the difficult emotions you may be feeling
such as anger or despair. At the same time,
making a plan for how you will overcome
is just as important in order to give you a
sense of autonomy over the situation. If
your problem seems too big at first, try
breaking it up into bite-sized goals.
• Practice mindfulness —mindfulness
consists of focusing on the present
moment in a non-judgmental fashion.
Check out Clemson’s mindfulness class
called Koru Mindfulness at
• Remember how you’ve overcome obstacles
in the past — remembering former helpful
and unhelpful coping strategies can help
dictate what will help you succeed in the
present moment.
Need other resources? Healthy Campus, The Mayo Clinic and the American Psychological
Association have great resources on resilience.
SAFETY
Campus Safety
Every member of the campus community is responsible for safety awareness. Multiple
agencies work cooperatively to educate the campus community about all aspects of personal
safety. The Clemson University Police Department (CUPD) is responsible for campus law
enforcement and security. All CUPD officers are sworn law enforcement officers and are
responsible for promoting safety through community policing and offer educational
programs in classes and residence halls. The Clemson University Fire Department (CUFD)
and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are dedicated to protecting life, property and
the environment. The University is the primary response area for CUFD and EMS, but
they also provide fire suppression to the City of Clemson. Clemson University Emergency
Management works with the University community to provide emergency response training.
Every building on campus has a Building Security Coordinator who works with Emergency
Management to create evacuation and emergency action plans.
Unfortunately, there is always a possibility an emergency may occur. It is important for
everyone in the campus community to remain aware, informed and take appropriate
safety precautions every day. The University has several methods of notifying the campus
community of emergency situations. Sirens are strategically located across campus and are
activated when necessary to alert the community of an emergency. In addition to sirens, the
University sends CU Safe Alerts via text message, email, RSS and Twitter feeds. The University
also updates the alerts webpage uring emergencies. Lastly, the
University uses the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) to send emergency
text messages to all phones within a specific geographical location.
include injury, sexual assaults, mental health concerns, substance dependence, automobile
accidents, police involvement and poor academic performance. Families and students should
familiarize themselves with Clemson’s policies and risk-reduction strategies related to
alcohol and other drugs.
Clemson is committed to maintaining an environment that is healthy, safe and attractive
for all members of the community. Clemson University offers many different resources
for students related to alcohol and other drugs. These include educational activities from
Healthy Campus, counseling and support groups through Counseling and Psychological
Services (CAPS), and substance-free events through Campus Life. If you begin to have
concerns about your student’s alcohol or other drug use, you can refer them to self-
assessment tools through Healthy Campus or the Assessment, Consequences, Training and
Transition (ACTT) program through CAPS. ACTT offers psychoeducational groups for alcohol
misuse and therapy groups for marijuana use and other addictions. In addition, students may
need to participate in individual therapy to address alcohol and other drug use focused on
increasing self-understanding and moving toward healthier lifestyles. For more information
about the ACTT program and self-assessment tools, visit and look to
the right navigation bar.
Healthy Campus
We strive for Clemson University to be a national model of health, safety and sustainability
and for our students to experience a way of life at Clemson University that contributes to
their lifelong health and well-being. Healthy Campus strives to achieve this by providing
exemplary leadership and advocacy for public health, engaging learning activities and
population-level interventions.
Healthy Campus offers information and presentations focused on but not limited to the
following areas both online and as requested: alcohol and other drugs, anxiety, body image,
building social connections, depression, eating disorders, empathy, fitness, interpersonal
violence, mental health, mindfulness, nutrition, safety on social media, sexual health,
sleep, stress, sustainability, tobacco and other health-related topics. Two major educational
activities organized by Healthy Campus for new students are AlcoholEdu and Aspire to Be
Well. AlcoholEdu is a web requirement for new students to complete through Orientation.
In this online educational activity, students learn about the mental and physical effects of
alcohol, prepare to be active bystanders, and review state laws and University policies related
to alcohol use. Aspire to Be Well is a peer-led, health- and safety-focused dialogue presented
by Healthy Campus facilitators. This 90-minute dialogue covers areas key to maintaining
a healthy and safe lifestyle, including overall well-being, alcohol and other drug misuse
prevention, mental health and suicide prevention, and interpersonal violence prevention
while focusing on bystander intervention.
Encouraging Emotional Wellness
Help your student overcome, recover and draw strength from difficult situations. Resilience
is a key way to make it through tough times. The Mayo Clinic defines resilience as “the ability
to adapt to difficult situations.” Another way to think about resilience is bouncing back from
what life throws at you.
College presents a prime opportunity to learn resilience as students will face various
obstacles, such as transitioning to a new environment, navigating a new social world and
making friends, not to mention the reason why they’re there — school! “Resilience skills
can help students not just get through college but actually thrive and flourish while doing
it,” said Paula Davis-Laack, who designs resilience training programs for professionals and
organizations.
The good news is resilience is something everyone can learn. Here are key ways you can help
your student build resilience before, during and after college:
• Socially connect — building and maintaining strong social ties with family and friends
is a fundamental way to become more resilient when life knocks you down.
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT:
SAFETY
• CU Safe Alerts inform of emergencies
or disruption to campus services, such
as storm warnings and test sirens. CU
Safe Alerts are sent to all @clemson.
edu email addresses, and can also be
sent as text messages to registered
cellphones.
• Students can sign you and themselves
up for CU Safe Alerts at
HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT:
ENCOURAGING EMOTIONAL
WELLNESS
Encourage your student to follow
Healthy Campus on social media and
visit the Healthy Campus website —
— for
great resources, information and tips
on health and wellness.