Author: Laurie Call

Tonight, March 8, Campus Activities Board (CAB) is hosting its second annual Clue Night in Chamberlain.  It features a real-life version of the board game invented by Anthony Ernest Pratt in 1944, where teams of 3-5 people attempt to solve a murder mystery.  The first team to successfully crack the case will receive a prize.

The mystery will be  solved much like it is in the board game. In short, there will be a list of potential characters, weapons, locations, and times for when the murder occurred. Participants can bring a team of 3-5 people or come solo to join a team.  Upon arrival, they will receive a blank answer sheet with all of the possible combinations of solutions to the puzzle listed.

Just like in the traditional game, each character has a certain amount of knowledge.  It’s the team’s job to find all the characters and eventually piece together the information until they are left with one character, place, time, and weapon.

In CAB’s rendition of the game, however, the characters will be hiding all over Chamberlain.  Entourage Coordinator Abby Taylor ‘19 added, “It’s a lot of fun, teams are running around all over Chamberlain, characters are spooky and are hidden in sly spots!”

Taylor first heard of bringing the board game to life from a middle school that put together a similar event. She saw the opportunity for a CAB event and thought it could be a hit. After adapting it for college students, she added a Houghton twist to make the event more unique and enjoyable.

Last year was CAB’s first attempt this event. Since it went over so well, they decided to host a similar event this year. “It was very successful last year because we had a lot of students show up, and they all had really positive feedback and enjoyed their time being in the game,” Taylor said.

There is only one person on campus that knows the answer to the conundrum, and that’s Abby Taylor. Even the characters involved only know the information specific to them.  CAB designed the event as a fun night worthy of taking a break from homework and getting lost in a puzzle.  As an added bonus, there will be plenty of sparkling cider available in the atrium before the game starts, so guests can grab a quick glass before they start.

Taylor remarked, “I’m really excited that Clue night, an original idea and something totally new to campus, went over so well last year and that CAB is hosting it again. CAB loves bringing new and fun events to campus!”

As for any advice on how to crack the case, Taylor adds, “It’s both a game of strategy and luck. Asking the right questions gets you the right answers, and sometimes a team will just stumble across the right character at the right time and discover the exact information they need.”

More information on the event is located on CAB’s Facebook Page. Carefully examining the page may also give you a leg up on the competition. CAB invites all students to put on their thinking caps to head over to Chamberlain Center tonight.

This year’s Christian Life Emphasis Week (CLEW) speaker, Rev. Dr. Meredith Lee Griffin Jr,. delivered a series of messages focusing on identity formation and spoke on the theme of  “The World Needs the You God Sees.” The pastor, who hails from Wilmington, Delaware, encouraged students to articulate one simple question out loud: “How do I know who I am?” Griffin addressed the student body in chapel on Monday and Wednesday and delivered two additional messages on Monday and Tuesday night.

On Monday night, Griffin held a public discussion in Java 101, integrating Christianity with the recent incident in Charlottesville.  Reflecting on the coffeehouse, Dean Jordan mentions that he is particularly proud of the students who asked hard questions, and respected how students from multiple backgrounds came together trying to find answers about Houghton’s direction in the future.

In his addresses, Griffin often referenced a change occurring on Houghton’s campus. Dean Jordan also comments about how there is less of a common understanding about Houghton’s true identity, saying “It’s up to us to think about what Houghton means and start to live it out in different ways.” To assist in the change that he is advocating, Dean Jordan states that he plans to “help students find out who they are and then help them put it into practice.” He also noted that his preaching centers around a theme common to Griffin’s messages, focusing on a singular idea: “Before you are anything, you are God’s beloved child.”

Madison Detwiler ‘19 says the content of the two chapel messages Griffin delivered were “things just about everyone on campus needed to hear.” She continues, “Sometimes we can forget that we are changing and figuring out who we are when we come to college. There is so much going on here between school and social lives, so it was nice to step back and be able to think about those crucial questions.” Detwiler also says that she appreciated Griffin’s engaging tone. “The student body seemed to be really engaged. People were laughing and showing verbal expressions of their agreement to what he was saying. Overall, It was a really good week and I hope he comes back.”

“He provided an equal mix of being encouraging and challenging,” Stephanie McMahon ‘19 contributed. “Encouraging us to take off our mask but also challenging in that he told us to step into that role that God has called us to be in. He did a great job picking a message that was applicable to people he was speaking to. He said what a lot of people needed to hear right now where we are.” When considering a way to keep Griffin’s message relevant in her heart even after he has left Houghton campus, McMahon said: “It’s good to remind ourselves how God sees us continually through the day. You don’t need to put on a fake face for other people.”