Gintaras Bright
Arthur Yang completes the USC Ice Bucket Challenge as Elijah Gonzales pours a bucket of water on him
Students enrolled at the University of South Carolina (USC) in the MIND club—standing for Mental Illness Needs Discussion—have recently had a widespread impact on social media. The club shares the vision of the American nonprofit organization Active Minds. Dedicated to promoting mental health among young adults through peer-to-peer dialogue and interaction, Active Minds runs campus chapters, leads campaigns, and hosts events to open conversations about mental health.
“Our club shares their vision of creating supportive communities where people feel comfortable talking about mental health,” Peebles said.
On March 31, 2025, @ucmind on Instagram posted a reel in which USC MIND founder Wade Jefferson and board members Claire Peebles and Hunter Helmly propose the Ice Bucket Challenge: having someone pour a bucket of ice water on your head.
“Our main goals are breaking the stigma surrounding mental health, advocating for suicide prevention on campus, and promoting daily mindfulness,” Jefferson said. “At MIND, we believe conversations about mental health should be just as common and comfy as conversations about physical health.”
They demonstrated how to do the Ice Bucket Challenge. Peebles nominated other individuals before Helmly dumped a bucket of cold water on Jefferson and then on Peebles. Jefferson nominated others after completing the challenge, saying, “Let’s get this conversation started.”
Participants in the #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge support efforts to help young adults across America feel better about mental health issues. During the summer of 2014, the same challenge went viral on social media for a different cause.
Co-founders Pat Quinn and Pete Frates initiated the trend to promote awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and encourage donations to research. ALS is a nervous system disease that causes nerve cells/motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord to die, resulting in loss of muscle control, atrophy, and paralysis.
Pouring ice-cold water on oneself serves as a metaphor for the shock and impact of ALS or, now, mental health struggles. The trend swept across Arcata High students’ social media, and, whether or not they were aware, spread the message of mental health awareness through the community.