A student who fell 40 feet to her death from Fordham University’s clock tower will receive a posthumous degree, the New York City college has confirmed.
Sydney Paige Monfries, from Portland, Oregon, died at the young age of 22 just weeks before she was due to graduate after she fell from the Keating Hall bell tower at around 3 a.m. on Sunday. The New York Police Department said the student went to the tower with her friends in the early hours of Sunday, as reported by The Daily Mail . Sources added that Monfries and her pals were climbing the spiral staircase at Keating Hall tower when she tripped on a landing and fell 40 feet.
She hit her head on the ground and her vitals reportedly “flat-lined at the scene.” Emergency service workers were able to revive her but they struggled to move her on a stretcher in the tight area, so they were forced to use a rescue blanket to lift her up and out of a window. She was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital in “extremely critical condition,” with paramedics confirming she sustained injuries to the back of her head and her pelvis as well. Monfries ended up passing away at the hospital just after her parents arrived with two priests.
The school confirmed the student’s death in a letter to all of her colleagues and revealed they would award her with a posthumous degree.
“It is with great sadness that I report that Sydney Monfries, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill, died today after sustaining a fall inside the Keating Clock tower in the early hours of the morning,” Fordham University President Joseph McShane wrote.
A #PDX native & Fordham University college student has died after NYC police confirm she fell from a bell tower on campus.
Administrators confirm Sydney Monfries graduated from @JesuitHighPDX in 2015. In 2016, she interned at @KGWNews . Our hearts go out to her family. pic.twitter.com/TWLXAuL5Cy
— Maggie Vespa (@Maggie_Vespa) April 15, 2019
“Our hearts go out to Sydney’s parents, and her family and friends — theirs is an unimaginable loss, and we share their grief.”
“There are no words sufficient to describe the loss of someone so young and full of promise — and mere weeks from graduation. Fordham will confer a bachelor’s degree upon Sydney posthumously, which we will present to her parents at the appropriate time,” McShane added.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , the Keating Hall clock tower is closed to students, and those who dare to go inside can face disciplinary action. However, many engage in a “rite of passage for seniors” at the Bronx university, including Monfries, where they climb the tower, touch the bell, and register the event on camera. The incident is now said to be under investigation.
So sad, update from school .. It is with great sadness that I report that Sydney Monfries, a senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill, died today. Our hearts go out to Sydney’s parents, and her family and friends—theirs is an unimaginable loss, and we share their grief. pic.twitter.com/m8WqWPWewO
— Kemberly Richardson (@kemrichardson7) April 14, 2019
The NYPD added that the student fell while trying to get a “better view” of the city’s skyline, while a student named Anne said “they were posting on Instagram when it happened,” as per The Daily Mail .
