About

The USC Speak Your Mind Challenge, also known as the #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge, refers to a revitalized Ice Bucket Challenge started by the mental health awareness non-profit Active Minds and the University of South Carolina (USC) Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) club in April 2025. The internet challenge went viral on TikTok and Instagram as people nominated each other to pour a bucket of ice water on themselves, just like the viral 2014 trend. Memes about the USC Speak Your Mind Challenge went viral online, mostly because people were humorously complaining about being nominated.

Origin

On March 31st, 2025, the University of South Carolina (USC) Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) club posted an Instagram^[1] Reel to its account @uscmind, announcing the #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge, which was a way to raise awareness about mental health. Over 15 days, the video received roughly 12,400 likes (shown below).

A donation page for the fundraiser was set up on the website of Active Minds^[2] soon after, amassing over $24,100 by April 15th, 2025.

Spread

In the following days, many did the viral challenge as they were nominated by other people. Many of the videos appeared on YouTube^[3][4] in early April 2025.

On April 13th, TikToker^[5] @baylee.perkins posted a video of herself with the caption, "When I see my fuckass friend nominate me for the USC speak your mind ice bucket challenge," gaining over 452,600 likes in two days (shown below).

On April 14th, 2025, TikToker^[6] @_e3ric posted a similar video with the caption, "Me because my friend nominated me for the USC speak your mind ice bucket challenge," gaining over 20,700 likes in a day (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References