On Aug. 6, after the SIG Fair, Assistant Director for Student Activities Vic Lindsay stood on the Main Plaza of Saadiyat campus, recoiling as three students poured ice-cold water over his head as part of his participation in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Since the beginning of August, social media sites have flooded with videos of celebrities and the general public pouring buckets of ice-laden water over their heads after expressing their support for the Association for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS. Upon completing the challenge, participants nominate others to take on the challenge. When nominated, people have the choice of pouring water over their heads, donating to the association or both. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was launched as a marketing strategy to raise funds and awareness for this progressive neurodegenerative disease, which affects nerve cells in the brain and spine.

It is estimated that 450,000 people people are diagnosed and living with ALS worldwide. There is no effective treatment for ALS at the moment, however, this sudden influx of funds will be channeled toward research. Prior to this summer’s tide of awareness, ALS had not received significant media attention.

Student Government members, Dean Tinagero and other members of the NYUAD community have participated in the challenge. President John Sexton had two students pour water over his head while standing over a kiddy pool on the streets of New York.

 

When asked about what led him to participate in the challenge, Vic Lindsay explained how he was nominated by college friends who had knowledge of ALS:

 

“I was nominated to complete the challenge by my friend Tristan Roy ... Tristan was nominated by another of my good friends from college whose mother is living with ALS. I have another friend who is living with ALS as well, so was somewhat knowledgeable of the disease before the ice bucket phenomenon swept the world.”

 

Freshman Adam Ashraf was eager to take on the challenge and said "[I] asked a friend whom [I] knew was going to do the Ice bucket challenge to nominate [me]".

 

Batu Aytemiz, a sophomore, who was nominated by a friend, saw the challenge as a fun and silly summertime activity.

As of Aug. 29, with the waters of awareness receding with the end of the summer, the ALS Association had raised over 100 million USD.