Through the Student Cold Case Unit, students are encouraged to bring their fresh perspectives on well-known cases to discuss with other students, such as the Oakland County Child Killer and the Zodiac Killer.

President and criminal justice and psychology senior Maggie Miletic said the organization usually takes high-profile cases and re-examines the investigation with fresh sets of eyes.

"We take those cases that, you know, they have a story, they have the investigation, they have the suspects, but something is missing within the investigation, or maybe it was a poor investigation," Miletic said. "(We’re) just trying to see what could have went wrong, or what skewed the investigation towards not having someone identified as the individual who's committed those crimes today, and some of these cases are as old as 20, 30 years…"

Miletic said the purpose of the club is a combination of different factors.

"...It's to emphasize how important it is to go back on these cases, (to) remember the victim and remember what happened," Miletic said. "(It’s) partly to talk about everything, and partly for awareness, to let people know what kinds of things are happening in our world."

Similarly, Director of Communications and criminal justice and psychology junior Mia Sheppard said the club aims to give "closure" to those involved in the cases.

"Although these cases are technically cold, which means detectives aren't currently working on them, we believe that it's important to give the victims and their families closure," Sheppard said.

The club draws in members, who all choose to join for different reasons.

For social work freshman Jenna Hunt, the appeal stemmed from a combination of personal interest and her future career path.

"For me, I'm going into social work, so obviously I like the psych field and anything in that area," Hunt said. "I also really like learning about the motives behind why people do the things they do and all of that stuff. So joining this club, I really just like the idea of discussing cold cases, and just having that conversation of why people may do the things that they do."

Additionally, Hunt said she liked how the club offers an environment that supports fact-based discussions among members. 

"I think there's been a lot of, like, romanticizing serial killers in that field for a while, so it's nice to find a club and outlet for more of, like, an educated opinion, rather than just like a glorification of like, I don't know, something that's so serious and shouldn't really be that glorified," Hunt said.

The club existing on campus is important for several reasons.

Sheppard said the Student Cold Case Unit sheds light on many different types of cases.

"I feel like just the importance of the club is talking primarily about unpopular cases, so then we can create a greater diversity in the cases we talk about, to bring light to different situations," Sheppard said.

Hunt said the importance of the club stems from the ability for individuals with similar interests to gather together and socialize.

"I think it's important just because it allows, like, an outlet for like-minded people (with) the same interest to share our interests and be able to have discussions and just like a community based around the things that we like," Hunt said.

In terms of the club, Miletic hopes the Student Cold Case Unit can provide members with opportunities revolving around their interests.

"For now, I just want it to grow and let people know that we're out there and that not everything has to be so formal and so professional, that it's okay to get out there and have something on your resume that's not, you know, always an internship or something," Miletic said.

Similarly, Sheppard hopes the club can bring those with similar interests together into a tight-knit community.

"I hope that, obviously, for the club to expand, but also for it to reach different types of students with different majors and backgrounds, just so it has a better opportunity to create light within our community about different cold cases," Sheppard said. "Also, just to create a nice community within the Spartan space, since we're such a big university, for people to come together and meet a smaller group of people."