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Pour Mental Health

Ariel Xu '28

May 9, 2025

At the start of the Spring term, the USC MIND Ice Bucket Challenge–SpeakYourMIND–swept across Mercersburg Academy. Originating with a University of South Carolina club promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention, the campaign encouraged participants to pour ice water over themselves as a symbolic gesture representing the daily struggles faced by those living with mental illness. Almost all Mercersburg students have taken part, filming videos, posting them on Instagram, and nominating their friends to continue the challenge. The movement gained further traction after journalist Jenna Bush Hager performed the challenge on NBC’s Today Show. 

“What I remember about the ice bucket challenge when I heard about it, it was big in 2014-2015. It was run by the ALS Association and shared some of the same conversations that we’re having now. I wondered if that was the most effective way to be raising money,” said Director of Library Services Alexandra Patterson. “But, they did actually manage to raise $220 million and ended up on the Today Show, so I think there’s precedent for doing this to raise awareness, but if I remember correctly, that version was run by the ALS Foundation itself, and they were asking celebrities to be a part of it.” The ALS Association supports research and care for people with progressive neurodegenerative diseases. 

One among the many Mercersburg students who have been involved, Frederick Wu ’26 said, “I participated because I’ve never done it before, and I think it’s pretty cool, though I didn’t even know it was for mental illness.” 

Another student, Serena Gibbs ’28, said, “I participated because I feel like everyone else participated, and it would be weird if you didn’t participate. I feel like more of the challenge was about how many people you know and could nominate, and how many people nominated you, rather than mental health. And I don’t think it promotes any awareness of mental health because more people are focused on nominating people and making a good video than on concerning themselves with doing the research.” 

Leah De Leon ’27 echoed a similar sentiment, saying: “It was definitely more like a trend. I just wanted to fit in the crowd, so I just did it. A lot of people don’t know why they are being nominated, so unless they know the reason, honestly, it is pointless.” 

Cecelia Wang’ 25, however, connected more deeply with the symbolism of the challenge,:  “The important part of this campaign is the feeling after you pour the ice water, the feeling constantly comes to you. It makes my brain feel ill, and I just don’t like the feeling. And I think many people with mental health issues do feel similar things, like how they cannot control their minds and how their minds are always constantly struggling, and I think that was what the ice bucket challenge was supposed to evoke.” 

Wang further offered,“ I don’t think Instagram is the correct platform to raise this awareness. Even though I see good intentions, there are still other ways to do so.” 

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