Murder at the All-Trojan Retreat

     On Friday, April 13, Pahrump Valley High School students were invited to stay awake all night on campus for a night full of fun and bonding. The theme this year was “Clue,” based off the popular board game. The event was hosted by the Student Council with all proceeds going to the general StuCo fund.

   All students who wished to participate were required to fill out a permission slip and pay a $10 fee prior to the event. Starting at 7 PM, students were bracing themselves to stay up all night by chugging energy drinks outside the doors, so they wouldn’t have to face the threat of being woken up in hilarious ways, such as an air horn to the face.

  The night began with check-in, as each student was given a name tag with a schedule of the night. Each name tag coincided with a group based off of various characters from the game, such as Mrs. White,  or Colonel Mustard. The whole point of the event is to bond with students that you have never talked to, so the groups were created with the idea in mind that no one would be grouped with their friends, to the dismay of many.

   A tradition of the event is to watch a movie at the beginning that follows the theme, so after check-in students watched the movie “Clue” in the auditorium. After the movie, students heard a strange scream over the intercom, not knowing where it had come from. The scream was created by Kathy Niles, senior, and Shelbie Lucas, junior. Students were then led to the two-story building to enter their rooms.

   On the way there, a crime scene was unveiled. Two students, Jayden Stebbins and Hailee Wright, sophomores, were lying dead on the ground in front of the staircase with blood surrounding them. Students had no idea what was happening.

Stebbins and Wright’s roles were essentially the “zombies” of the night. If a student left their group to go to the bathroom etc., Hailee and Jayden could tag the student to become part of the “Mr. Boddy” group. As the night continued, they would infect the population to grow their own group. Makeup and fake blood were provided in their room if one wanted to decorate themselves as a zombie, but a form of bandage was also provided to signify the dead team. Other team members were left in mystery as to where their teammates went, as they never returned to their previous classrooms.

   Each group had a different colored bandana so it was distinguishable who belonged to each group. This aided the students and chaperones in finding their groups.

   The games started with different forms of name games. “One of their main goals by the end of the night is to remember everyone’s name in their group,” stated Wright. Throughout the night, games were also played to stimulate trust and bonding.

   A highlightable moment of the night was a game of tag between all teams. Two games were created, one upstairs and one downstairs. Students played in a pair of tag teams, hoping to tag into a group before the person designated as “it” could tag them.  “I like to think of myself as an athlete,” stated Alyvia Briscoe, senior, “but if my calves are this sore after running for the All Trojan Retreat, I don’t think I know myself very well.”

   While most of the night consisted of games, a portion was put towards teacher appreciation. All students wrote a letter to their favorite teachers and conveyed their appreciation to them. The letters were designated to be handed out at a later time.

Another positive aspect of the night was Williams’ workshop, which consisted of a self-love lesson. Each student folded a piece of paper, in which they wrote positive things about themselves on one side, and then passed it around for others to write positive adjectives on the other side. It conveyed to the students how to talk about themselves and others in a positive manner. “The workshop forced us to see the good qualities about ourselves,” stated Lucas. “At the end, we compared what we see in our ourselves to what others see.”

   The most memorable moment of the night every year is Capture the Flag. It is played with two teams across the entire campus, allowing students to explore in a way they may have never before.

Every year there has been an issue with cheating and as a result, the flag being broken. In light of this, they changed it from a lantern to a foam glow stick this year.

   The night ended with another round of group games on the football field at 6 AM. Students bid the school farewell as they told their parents and friends all the exciting moments of the night and prepared for a full 24 hours of rest.