One student’s challenge will come to a close this weekend.
On June 13, people watched as a girl lowered herself into a plank position on Turlington Hall’s second-story platform and completed exactly 22 pushups.
Virginia Stanton, a 22-year-old UF biology and philosophy graduate, said she is participating in the #22Kill challenge to spread awareness of the fact that 22 veterans commit suicide every day.
According to the challenge’s website, #22Kill asks participants to post videos doing pushups with the movement’s hashtag in an effort to collectively complete 22 million pushups.
Stanton said she set out to complete her pushups in front of 22 different UF landmarks.
“If you go on Facebook, all the videos are the same,” Stanton said. “I thought, ‘How can I change it a little bit?’ And at the same time I was nostalgic about leaving UF.”
Stanton said she had to leave UF’s campus for the summer before the 22 days were up, so half the videos were filmed at her home in South Carolina. Her last video will be posted Saturday.
Jimmy Mac, a Marine Corps veteran and the program director for #22Kill, said Stanton’s videos were valuable to the #22Kill mission.
“We want to thank the (UF) Student Body,” the 36-year-old said. “We are one team, one fight. It takes everybody to take care of an epidemic like this.”
Stanton is currently completing training to become a Marine Corps officer.
“I can only imagine what veterans must feel like after they retire,” she said. “This challenge is scratching the surface, but it’s better than doing nothing.”
