On October 30, 2015, the Junior class council hosted its first class social of the year: a 1920’s Gatsby-themed murder mystery party.
The council had to create roles for all the attendees which included a back story and a list questions that their characters should ask each other. The plot involved the murder of a party goer, with Gatsby encouraging guests to find who committed the murder for a reward. Junior Class President Makenzie Cammack explained, “We took parts from the book, and other murder mysteries… It took a while, we were working on it up until the night of the social.”
The event kicked off with role distribution and a short period where attendees could familiarize themselves with their characters. The juniors socialized as their characters over dinner, which comprised of spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad. At the end of dinner, the lights went out and yelling could be heard. When the lights came back on, a dead body lay on the ground and no murderer in sight. The police chief, played by junior Travis Lau, had been “shot” during the chaos. Several key facts were noted on an evidence board and people had to figure out the murderer’s motive for killing the police chief.
There was also a photobooth where students could take instant pictures on a Polaroid camera in between conversations with other characters.
Overall, students praised the work put into the social. Junior Lauren Brese commented, “I thought it was really well planned. Everything pretty much went smoothly, everything was on time, and the social itself was pretty awesome.” Several attendees cited decorations, organization and the theme as enjoyable factors.
According to the class council, they hope to hold at least two more large socials with mini class gatherings in between in the near future.
Photographs by Ryan Su (’17).
