Wednesday evening superheroes and super villains gathered in California Lutheran University’s Student Union building for a Peace Convention. One of their own had been killed, and it was time to find the culprit. Superhero enthusiasts were gathered to interview each suspect and get to the bottom of this mystery.

Emily Hare, a senior at Cal Lutheran, was intrigued by the murder mystery night that was posted all over Facebook due to her strong interest in murder mysteries. It all started with a murder mystery she attended in Las Vegas, Nevada and she has been waiting for a similar event ever since.

Students were encouraged to dress up in superhero attire, and the event provided masks for each guest to feel included. Along with masks, guests were able to create superhero names, had full access to a superhero-themed photo booth complete with props and visit the popcorn bar full of flavoring, marshmallows and assorted candy.

When festivities began, each superhero and villain were introduced along with a little detail into their backstory, and then the guests had 20 minutes to press them with questions.

“We had to go around and interview each of the heroes and villains to see what their means of opportunity and motive would have been,” Hare said. “They all had certain answers, and then you had to figure out whose stories did not align with each other.”

The superheroes and villains were played by fellow Student Union front desk workers, each of which were dressed head-to-toe in character. Intrigue, played by Madi Marzinzik, was able to sneak past most interrogators, but ultimately was determined to be the murderer.

“My boss, Scott Silverman, gave me an opportunity for the whole staff to come up with an event,” Abbigael Howard, the creator of this event said. “I have been wanting to do a murder mystery night for awhile now, ever since I was little.”

The idea was formed and Howard began planning with some help from Scott Silverman, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Life. She was the driving force of the event with Silverman there to help approve the budget and order supplies.

“I have encouraged the students who work at our information desk to propose programs they would like to run,” Silverman said. “When Howard shared the idea for the Superhero Murder Mystery event, it seemed like a fun event that students would enjoy.”

Howard saw the night as a success. She was not only pleased by the attendance, but also how invested the students were in the program. Some of the attendees really got into the interviews, and some of the suspects would even argue that it was more of an interrogation. Most of the guests also had some sort of costume on, including one group who showed up as the Powerpuff Girls.

The guests were not the only ones enthusiastic about the event. Cody Jones, who played the role of the Winged Defender, was excited to get a little bit of acting experience in.

Jones also valued working with Howard.

“She knows how to program events, and how to plan every detail,” Jones said.

According to Silverman, the Student Union is there for much more than just studying. It is a place for social interaction through video games, meetings, watching TV and events. Student input is welcomed, especially if students have any other idea for events like this one. There is a suggestion box in the Student Union, and who knows, your suggestion may become a real event.

Makenna Pellerin
Staff Writer
Published April 27th, 2016