By Miranda Moses
Theatre Magnet director Cliff McClelland gasped for air while 15 of his students dumped 12 buckets of ice water on his head.
McClelland was nominated for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by several people including Theatre Magnet teacher Erik Archilla. McClelland invited all of his students to meet up after school before the football game on Friday and charged each student a dollar to dump a bucket of ice on his head to raise money for the cause.
“My wife’s mom died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, and I wanted to do it for her, even before it was big,” McClelland said. “I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how it would feel bucket after bucket after bucket after bucket. Right in the middle, I was starting to lose sensation and was unable to breathe, so I’m like ‘Yeah, maybe I should pause for a moment.’ The last thing I want to do is be on Eagle Eye flipping and flopping on the ground like a fish.”
Many of the students who attended had previously participated in the challenge. They said they wanted to help the cause further by pouring the ice on their teacher’s head.
“I think it’s gonna be pretty funny to see his expression when he gets ice water dumped on his head,” freshmen Piper Simmons said. “I’ve done the challenge, and it was cold. It was just really cold. I made my sister do it, and I splashed water on her face – it was great. It’s nice to see teachers getting involved.”
Some students said they offered their help as revenge.
“We all love Mac, but sometimes we just gotta get a little payback in there for all those times,” senior Chloe Clark-soles said. “I thought it was a really great idea. I think it’s a really great way to show everybody that it is for fun, but it’s also about the donation.”
The event raised around $30, and McClelland said he plans to contribute an additional amount and donate on behalf of RHS Thespians.
“I’m very excited that our department is supporting this cause and that they’ve rallied together to raise money and awareness for it,” Archilla said. “It’s great.”