Mission Impossible 2022 Brought a Mystery to Campus

By Caroline Stanton

Under the crisp night air, a swarm moved in. Hundreds of mere mortals, dressed from head to toe in all black, many with black paint streaked across their faces. In a buzz of nervous, excited voices, they waited in anticipation. 

To the average reader, this may sound like the start of an Oakland Raiders football game or some ancient, medieval feud about to be settled. But to the dedicated Cedarville reader, this is the start of something arguably greater. It was one of the most exciting events of the fall semester – Mission Impossible. This event has been a campus tradition for many years, one that both new and returning students alike look forward to. 

In the weeks leading up to the event, the Cedarville Student Government Association Events Committee put a lot of effort into not only advertising the event but also making it sound appealing and mysterious to students in order to build excitement. The theme was ominous, a murder mystery, and students were tasked to be put into teams to find out who killed the beloved campus sea creature, Cedar Shark. 

After hearing a cryptic monologue from the killer, the hundreds of students ran off of the soccer field toward various stations. The game was roughly structured after the familiar board game Clue, with groups of 6-10 students competing to find out the person, location, and weapon used in the killing. 

The first station was right outside the Dixon Ministry Center, where students usually gather to have chapel. Not on this night though. Students gathered to interview 6 suspects, looking for italicized letters within each suspect’s poster that would give away who the killer was. 

Once they had their guess, the groups sprinted off to Founders Hall, where the next station would give hints as to where the location of the killing occurred. In between stations, players had to watch out for students trying to chase them and hit them with pool noodles to make their team stop and the competition harder.

Jonathon Butcher, a sophomore finance major, claimed that the attackers in between different stations made the whole event “much more exhilarating and exciting,” especially since it was under the cover of darkness. 

Finally, the teams had to run to several stations set up around campus to find clues to the weapon of destruction. Emily Cone, a sophomore Professional Writing and Information Design major, has experienced what Mission Impossible has looked like throughout different years. This year was her favorite.

“It was much more fun this year, partly because they did such a better job of spreading out the stations and making us run more,” Cone said. “It felt much more exciting because we had more places to go and weren’t as clustered”. 

Because of the competitive nature of the event, students were forced to put themselves into small teams that had to work together to solve the mystery throughout the course of the night. As a result, groups formed that would perhaps not naturally form otherwise – students in different grades, majors, and houses had to work together towards a common goal. 

“In some ways, an event like this is the most helpful and fun way to make new friends,” Cone said. “Mission Impossible was definitely a success, and I made good memories and new friendships as a result.” 

Caroline Stanton is a sophomore AYA English major. In her free time, she likes to read, hang out with friends, and daydream about living in Europe.