A 22-year-old university student from the US has died after falling 12m from a campus tower she had climbed to allegedly take pictures for social media.
Sydney Paige Monfries, who was studying journalism at New York’s Fordham University, was fatally injured in the tragic incident at 3am on Sunday morning.
Fellow university students told the New York Post climbing the structure was a popular tradition on campus and was considered to be a “rite of passage”.
One student, identified only as Anne, told the US publication she believed Ms Monfries had climbed the tower with several other students when the tragedy occurred.
She will now be awarded her degree posthumously. Picture: Facebook/Sydney Monfries Source: Facebook“I heard they were just getting a better view of the city,” she said. “I think they were posting on Instagram when it happened.”
School spokesman Bob Howe told the New York Post the tower was “always locked” and that the organisation was looking into whether the lock had been tampered with.
“Access to that tower is always locked,” he said. “University officials are investigating how the students gained access to the tower.”
However, Anne said the Keating Hall clock tower was regularly left open at night.
“The doors aren’t always locked. They’re unlocked at night when they’re cleaning. They are always doing some kind of cleaning or renovation,” she said.
Her death was announced to students in an email sent by the school, which described the “unimaginable loss” suffered by Ms Monfries’ family, friends and school community:
#BREAKING Fordham University Student Sydney Monfries has sadly passed away. Attached is message from the school. @PIX11News #Fordham #Bronx pic.twitter.com/sHP8sLdOs2
— Cristian Benavides (@cbenavidesTV) April 14, 2019
According to the university’s website, Fordham University is a Jesuit, Catholic institution focused on instilling students with “wisdom, experience, morality, critical thinking and creative problem-solving”.
