The USC Speak Your Mind challenge is a mental health awareness campaign, started by the students at University of South Carolina. The challenge had gone viral on social media and caused a chain, for people to start doing it nationally.
“They definitely reached the goal in spreading awareness. I did end up getting nominated and it was a pretty quick, simple, and fun thing to do just to simply spread some awareness,” said Kylie DeRose.
The challenge originally started for ALS awareness, having ice water being poured on someone to mimic the loss of muscle control people with A.L.S have.
“I think it’s great that they were able to bring the ice bucket challenge after 11 years to put out a new thing we should be aware of, all as people,” said DeRose.
This challenge has brought people together from all over to point the subject towards mental health, with people all over posting their take on the challenge after being nominated.
“I think mental health awareness can not be stressed enough for how important it is. I think bringing this challenge back and spreading the message of how important mental health is, even as a reminder, is always going to be important,” said Zach Pelkington.
The challenge raises funds for Active Minds, which is a Washington D.C. based nonprofit organization. This organization is based all around promoting and advocating for mental health awareness.
“I think what they are doing is a great thing. Mental health affects how we feel, think, the things we do, and so much more,” said Pelkington.
The Active Minds organization was established by Alison Malmon in 2003, three years after her brother, Brian Malmon, tragically took his own life.
“Mental health should always be something that is spoken up about. Nobody deserves to suffer in silence and even making people more aware of this definitely benefits people struggling, letting individuals know that there are safe spaces for mental health related conflicts,” said Willie Buffenbarger.
People sharing their feelings or having a safe environment for mental health is a crucial matter for encouraging empathy, improving social skills, and improving well-being.
The USC ice bucket challenge effectively highlights its purpose. Understanding the rationale behind it piques people’s curiosity, and the focus on mental health as the reason is a positive aspect. The University of North Carolina started this challenge after Wade Jefferson, a junior at USC, created his club called the “MIND Club” after his friends died due to successful suicide attempts, according to NBC News.
“It makes me sad knowing this is the true reality of some people’s lives, because it isn’t their faults. It’s always going to be crucial for people to remember how important mental health is and the fact it affects people on a daily basis,” said DeRose.
The ice bucket challenge became popular all over the world, trending all over for people to spread on their Snapchat stories, TikTok posts, and Instagram stories.
“It is more than a trend of course, it’s just a great thing that it had become a national challenge when it originally just started at a university,” said Buffenbarger.
