Each day, on average 22 U.S. veterans commit suicide due to PTSD and other war-triggered mental illnesses. As of late, people have been making an effort to reduce this number and contribute to help these veterans.
Fortunately, Jesuit was able to do its part in helping the cause, as they hosted the first annual 22 Kill Push-up Challenge. This past Tuesday, November 10, nearly every Jesuit student athlete took to Postell Stadium and lined up to do 22 push-ups to help this dire cause.
According to Jesuit’s strength and conditioning coach, Jeremy Weeks, the purpose of the 22 Kill Push-up Challenge is to “bring awareness to some of the challenges that veterans face, specifically PTSD.” Weeks added that this program is through a non-profit organization and it aims to bring awareness to these issues, motivating individuals to help the cause.
Although this is the first time Jesuit has done this during the school year, the football team partook in the challenge this past summer. With the help of Naval Academy commit Peyton Long ’16, the team hosted this event in the summer and it was a bigger success than expected. This prompted Athletic Director Steve Koch to host it again just this past week.
The turnout was amazing among Jesuit athletes, with the number reaching 459 students in attendance. With this large turnout, Weeks hopes to do it again in future years to come. When asked if he was happy with the results, Weeks responded by stating, “I thought it was great, I thought there was a great turnout with the guys and faculty as well.” Weeks added that “It was really cool to see all the different people out there.”
According to Casey Snelson ’17, the event was “great for raising awareness.” Snelson added, “It is crazy to see how many veterans take their lives each day, a fact that motivates us all to help them.” Heath Vankirk ’17 echoed Snelson’s call for support, saying, “I hope [Jesuit] can host this event for years to come because it is a great cause and one we should all be eager to support.”
There is no doubt that veterans deserve all the support possible after all the suffering and sacrifices that they have made for our well-being. Luckily, Jesuit allows us to help their cause, and Coach Weeks and Koch deserve a big thanks for bringing awareness to the Jesuit students of this cause.
