As most everyone with access to social media knows, the ALS ice bucket challenge, a trend dedicated to dumping a bucket of ice water over your head on video to raise awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), recently went viral. According to the ALS website, ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive degenerative disease that acts on the spinal cord and brain, decaying a sufferer’s motor neurons until they eventually succumb to the disease (http://www.alsa.org/). What many people don’t know, however, is that along with the popularity of and positivity associated with the challenge, a great backlash and opposition to it has erupted as well.

According to the article “Ice Bucket Challenge Raises Questions” by Ted Petersen and Megan Johnson,  the ALS foundation raised a total of $100 million over the course of just one month as a result of awareness generated from the challenge. This is a significant increase from the $2.8 million that they raised in the same amount of time last year. Statistics such as these irrefutably show the positive impact the challenge has made on awareness of and concern for the disease, but many are discontented with the challenge, which they view as a great waste of water. According to the aforementioned article, dissenters of the ice bucket challenge view the bucket of water you poured over your friend’s head as one less bucket of water that will be sent to someone in the world who is in great need of it, and the amount of people in the world who suffer from lack of water greatly outnumbers those who suffer from ALS.

Those who refute this idea of wastefulness have pointed out that many organizations are already dedicated to providing clean water to those who lack it, and the water dumped over heads to convey awareness of the disease is therefore not being taken away from people in need. According to “Ice Bucket Challenge Raises Questions”, supporters of the challenge point out that if someone with little to no access to water feels left out of the challenge, they are provided the alternative of donating.

The WJ community has been taking steps to raise awareness of and money for ALS as well. At the first pep rally of the year, members of the student body dumped buckets of ice water over the heads of teachers and administrators such as chemistry teacher Ms. Deo and principal Ms. Baker as a tribute to the challenge. Once the deed was done, Baker showcased to those in attendance the $500 check WJ would be donating to the ALS foundation.

WJ’s involvement in the cause doesn’t stop there, though; Senior Clara Moreno and her Leadership group have organized a walk to benefit ALS that will take place on Nov. 1. All who are interested are encouraged to contact the leadership class and join the march.

Through its association with “wasting” water and the backlash this has caused, the challenge has indirectly created more consciousness and recognition of those who lack sufficient water. Whether you feel that the ice bucket challenge is a great cause or a waste of precious resources, we have all been better educated on ALS among other struggles prevalent in the world, and have been pushed to raise awareness of them as a result, even here in Montgomery County.