In the dark morning hours, there is nothing less appealing than clamoring into the freezing waters of Baw Beese — but that’s exactly what 12 students do on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

“It is the physical reminders of the spiritual realities we’re in that we’re fighting,” freshman president of Areté Luke Waters said. 

In the water, the students begin a five minute timer, sing a sea shanty of Psalm 136, and face the mental challenge of freezing temperature burning skin. They then rush off to 8 a.m. classes with complete normalcy.

Areté is a men’s club started by a group of freshmen striving to strengthen traditional masculinity through mental, physical, and spiritual practices. 

“Your body is not your own. It is God’s, and so we should get used to denying our fleshly impulses and overcome hard things. For example, I don’t want to get in the water, but I’m going to get in the water,” Waters said. 

Areté comes from the Greek word meaning excellence or virtue.

“We are attempting to build a group of joyful and self-controlled men,” Waters said. 

To accomplish this mission, the group practices weekly cold plunges in Baw Beese, boxing, self-defense exercises, and a group Bible study. 

The group of 12 official members has grown close while modeling a brotherhood to promote accountability for the members. On Sunday evenings, each member of the group meets with their accountability partner to assess the upcoming week and establish their goals. 

“It is cultivated through accountability partners,” Waters said. “We have a bunch of guys who all want to learn how to exercise self-control, who all want to build a relationship with God and we encourage each other to find that.” 

Although the mission of Areté has been to encourage Godly manhood, the group’s original intent was to be an intercollegiate boxing club. 

Freshman Andriy Pasichnyk, member of Areté, said he had hoped to create a club that would focus on boxing for competition, but with the help of Waters, he said he has been happy with the club’s evolution. 

“It started to turn into something more ambitious and fruitful,” Pasichnyk said. 

The evolution of the club allowed many freshmen to get involved with its formation. The appeal was to provide a different avenue for brotherhood outside of fraternities or athletic teams. 

“When I came to college, I was looking for a place where I could not only learn something, but that I could also grow spiritually, physically, mentally,” freshman member Widley Montrevil said. “Areté has provided me with all these materials. 

Pasichnyk and Montrevil both accredited Areté for their personal growth last semester. 

“It is looking at who you want to be, who you are willing to work to become,” Pasichnyk said.  “Because it doesn’t really matter what you do or don’t know about masculinity when you first join. It’s if you are willing to put in the work and effort to become the man that you want and aspire to become.”

The club ultimately hopes to produce men ready to go out into the world as warriors for the truth of the gospel, Waters said.

“It is better to be a warrior in a garden, than a gardener in a war,” he said.

The performance halls and practice rooms are empty and Howard Music Hall is silent on Sunday nights–except for room 220. That’s where the Hymn Singing Club meets from 7-9 p.m. 

The Hymn Singing Club, which achieved official club status this semester, seeks to encourage students through the study and singing of hymns, according to sophomore Stephen Zhu, president of the club.

“It’s easy to see hymns as nice poetry and music that you sing  in church every Sunday because that’s just what you always do,” Zhu said. “But good hymns are full of biblical truths, and we can learn a lot about God and ourselves.”

The club met informally last year, said sophomore Ellia He, the club’s treasurer. The founding members held a shared love of hymns and began singing throughout the semester and into summer session, she said. 

“We want to get the word of God into your heart through as many avenues as possible,” He said. “We get truths and goodness from studying, but the beauty of music is a completely different avenue that touches your heart in a more direct way.”

Sophomore Hannah Wong, the club’s vice president, said learning the scriptural roots of hymns adds intentionality to the members’ singing.. 

“It’s the same way you read old books — it’s tried and true, it’s timeless,” Wong said. “People have sung about this for ages, and it’s been shown to be good.”

Members study a hymn at every meeting, discussing its history and composer, according to Zhu. They also learn new hymns and practice choral pieces to perform on campus. 

“Sometimes we’ll just flip through the hymnal and find some hymns we don’t know. We’ll look at the lyrics and see if they’re good,” Zhu said. “If we like it, then we’ll just learn it.”

The club performed Christmas carols last semester and sang in the Knorr Dining Hall on Ash Wednesday this semester. Zhu said he hopes to perform at Hillsdale Hospital and senior housing centers where people likely grew up with traditional hymns.

Sophomore Madeline Blake, one of the club’s founding members, said hymns guide and shape thoughts and emotions. 

“I come away encouraged and happier,”  Blake said. “I’m thinking about ways I can continue praising God in life and having that underlying joyful heart.”

Wong said hymns place scripture habitually in her mind. 

“It’s a helpful reminder because oftentimes it talks of scripture or sets your mind on God,” Wong said. “The richness of the content of hymns is really amazing.”

Members of the Hymn Club see themselves as implementing Christian community.

“We come to sing together,” He said. “In Heaven, that’s the one thing we’ll be doing for sure. Why aren’t we practicing that now?”