Sophomore Alyssa Pfeiffer leans over a table, conversing with her friends on Tuesday, Feb. 18 in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center ballroom,as they attempt to solve the mystery of Peruna’s disappearance. Flipping through the packet of suspects, they begin narrowing down the list of potential kidnappers. No worries. Peruna is fine, this was all part of the Housing Unification Board’s—or HUB—murder mystery night event.
“I really really liked the murder mystery but it was also just fun that we were kinda left to our own devices, and it was like, ‘Figure it out and have fun doing it,’” Pfeiffer said.
Music with a peculiar tune plays while teams around the ballroom confer. Balloons and goodie bags line the tables for each Commons with Peruna stuffed animals and stickers packed inside. Students grab Smallcakes cupcakes from the back table while more clues are announced.
To kick off the event, participants were prompted to work with their teams to solve the mystery of Peruna’s faux disappearance from his birthday party. Guests were given packets with information about the suspects and evidence in the case.
The HUB hosts eight to 10 events throughout the year, each a distinct product of the work of a director. This particular event was planned by Ainsley Johnson, the director of intellectual engagement, and took months of planning. Other events include RC Games, Quiz Bowl, Pottery Barn and more.
Each event is a way for students to support their residential commons as they work to earn the most Commons Cup points. The Commons Cup is “a set of friendly competitions that promote commons pride and affiliation,” according to the HUB website. The cup comprises four categories—athletics, intellectual, community engagement, and creativity—and students can earn points through HUB events or intramural sports wins.
Although these events happen throughout the year and work to invoke unity, students sometimes step back from their involvement with their commons and do not attend HUB events due to a lack of interest or outside factors. Their classic big events though are usually popular and a lot of fun, said Regina Romero-Garza, a first-year law student at SMU and HUB graduate advisor.
“Honestly, I’m just glad people showed up because I know the RealFeel’s like 15 degrees outside right now and there’s like three other events going on in HT, so it’s just super fun,” Romero-Garza said. “We were just hoping everyone would have a good time and earn some points for their commons.”
This mystery night event brought in about 50 people on the chilly Tuesday night, including sophomore Kernell Slack, who associates with Lloyd Commons but lives in Upper-Division Housing now. He said that despite being out of tune with current HUB events, he tries to attend them when he can.
“I saw the interesting atmosphere of the event and I was like, I just had to come,” Slack said. “So far my favorite part has been just seeing all the suspects. All of them seem like they have the ‘murdery’ vibe to them and just trying to find the actual killer.”
The atmosphere had strong ties to the murder mystery story itself with planning beginning in November 2024, Romero-Garza said.
“We couldn’t get Peruna because there is an important basketball game today and he’s busy but we are trying to celebrate everything,” she said. “So we did SMU’s favorite colors, Peruna’s favorite colors, and trying to do cupcakes; no carrots or anything, couldn’t get any carrot cake but, next time!”
The hard work paid off in the eyes of Pfeiffer, who enjoyed the event.
“We got the accomplice right, not the mastermind, but we got half of it,” she said. “We were so close though!”