Students across the University of Oregon’s campus — and throughout Eugene — are bringing attention to mental health struggles by dumping buckets of freezing water over their heads. The USC Speak Your MIND Ice Bucket Challenge — an initiative led by the student group called Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) — has taken the internet by storm, with celebrities like former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and TikTok star Brooke Monk joining in.
With so many participating, it can look performative. Why should we sacrifice our warmth and dryness?
About a week ago, I was nominated for this challenge. At first, I thought it was a second coming of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
However, viewing the challenge from the outside, I didn’t realize the real, tangible change that participating in this challenge could create.
In March, a student-led group from the University of South Carolina called MIND started this movement, encouraging participation through Instagram. Their goal was simple: raise a few hundred dollars for mental health awareness.
Today, the challenge has raised over $380,000, all going toward Active Minds, a large youth mental health nonprofit, based in the U.S.
Still, some remain unsure about the challenge’s legitimacy.
“I wasn’t sure about the impact at first,” Ike Hutchinson said. Hutchinson is a junior and business major at UO who recently participated. “But I did it for those around me affected by mental health.”
$380,000 sounds like a lot, but it’s just a start. We must keep participating and spreading the word.
According to the World Health Organization, one in seven adolescents aged 10 to 19 experiences a mental health disorder. Think of all the young people you know; chances are, several are struggling.
The USC Speak Your MIND Ice Bucket Challenge is also very accessible: all you need is a bucket, water and a way to post online.
For UO junior and computer science major Cooper Sevigny, the challenge carries deeper meaning. He recently lost a best friend to mental health struggles and shared why the movement matters.
“This challenge humanizes us,” Sevigny said. “No one is invulnerable to freezing cold water, just like no one is invulnerable to feelings of depression and frustration. We always seek help for physical injuries but often ignore mental ones.”
This challenge gives visibility to injuries we don’t always see.
The money raised empowers more than 500 Active Minds chapters to host guest speakers, run workplace workshops and distribute crucial mental health resources.
Although this movement might feel distant at first, it touches more lives than we realize. Who could you help by sharing one silly, shivering video?
So grab a bucket, take the plunge and Speak Your MIND.
And as Sevigny said, “Even being able to laugh and be silly is beneficial for everyone involved.”
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