By Randee May, Staff Writer
With the ice-bucket challenge going viral, it was only a matter of time before Armstrong’s Greek Life got involved. On Wednesday, Aug. 27. members from various sororities and fraternities on campus took on the ice bucket challenge in front of the Student Union.
Known for taking part in charitable events and lending a helping hand to the community, the fraternities and sororities on campus made a stand against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
ALS causes muscle function to slowly deteriorate, before becoming completely nonfunctional.
The ALS Association is fighting against the disease. French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot founded it in 1869. In 2013, the organization raised $2.8 million for the cause, but thanks to social media’s ice-bucket challenge they’ve received over $100 million this year.
“It’s all about networking,” Chelsea Senquiz said.
Senquiz of Tri Sigma organized Armstrong’s ice-bucket challenge for the Greeks after Josh Johansson of Phi Kappa Alpha contacted her about the challenge.
Originally, Johansson did not fully understand the purpose, but once he was up-to-date, the duo got to work.
With thirty buckets of freezing cold water and ice, Tri Sigma, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Kappa Sigma, and Phi Iota Alpha would not only accept the challenge, but they would also donate to help the cause.
Catie Sykes and fellow Tri Sigma member Katie Stanfield said, “Everyone is bringing one to five dollars to donate.”
Jared Rogers even donated a jar full of coins. “I didn’t know much about ALS,” he confessed. “But this is great.”
Although the Ice Bucket Challenge has made a large impact on the community, there have also been some negative views towards the challenge.
There have been complaints that the challenge is for attention instead of helping the cause. Water conservation is an issue too, especially in drought plagued areas like California. “I think it’s half and half,” Justin Risch of Sigma Alpha Epsilon said. “I didn’t know what ALS was, but I did my research and it made me more aware. Now we are raising awareness and doing it as Greek members to help raise awareness on campus.”
While it may be half and half, Chelsea Senquiz added, “I could be poor, but if I do the challenge and post it on Facebook my friends will see it and maybe they’re poor, but they can share it and their friends will see and maybe someone who has money will donate what we couldn’t.”
Nominating the Georgia Southern, Kennesaw State, and Georgia State’s Greek Life was one way of spreading the word.
“I think it’s going to be a snowball effect,” Senquiz said.
The ice-bucket challenge went viral quickly, now other organizations like the American Cancer Society are brainstorming for challenges that could go viral and help spread the word about their own causes.
