By Samantha NeudorfEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Although he may not be here with us, his memory still lives on.

Conor Wynne passed away in his sleep on March 28 in the Netherlands South. Wynne was a freshman marketing major from Trumbull, Conn. and lived in Orange House.

The cause of death is still unknown and there are no updates at the time of publication, according to the Nassau County Police Department and Nassau Medical Examiner.

Though there was no official cause of death by the medical examiner, students recall what happened Friday morning.
Alex Cain, a freshman information technology major, was Wynne’s suitemate in Orange House and was one of the first to be told about what happened. He and Wynne’s roommate Julio Maccario received an email from the University at around 10:00 a.m. saying that something had happened.

“I had work really early in the morning, but I was able to get out a little early, probably about 11:00,” Cain said. “When I came back, there were 10–15 various emergency vehicles outside — ambulances, police cars, unmarked vans, etc.”

There was a lot of speculation, according to Cain. People were saying that somebody had a heart attack or fell. The detectives told Cain and Maccario that they were not allowed to say anything at the time and that the school was taking care of it. They wanted to make sure Wynne’s family in Trumbull, Conn., was informed by a representative from Hofstra or the local police department.

“That put a really strange burden on us, because you had all of these people that had kind of figured out that it had to have been Conor but didn’t really know what had happened,” Cain said.

Cain received between 100 to 200 text messages and phone calls from people asking what he knew that day.

“He was the person who he’d always pick up his phone or respond to your text messages … when he didn’t do that, people immediately knew something was wrong,” Cain said.

Michelle Finan, a freshman economics major, lived in Orange House and was close with Wynne as well. She remembers him always coming home, no matter what happened.

“Conor came home all the time, no matter if it was 2:00 in the morning, 3:00 in the morning, 8:00 at night. He always came home, and it was so out of the ordinary for him to not be back in the dorm,” Finan said.

Finan said that on Thursday night, Wynne was trying to swipe into Orange House at night, but had misplaced his ID card. He ran into friends from the house next door, Utrecht House, who let him stay over. Wynne slept on a futon in the room.

“I know that the people whose room he was in are still devastated by it. It’s upsetting that their friend passed away in their room, and they got rid of the futon,” Finan said. “They’re really hurt by what happened, too, because I know that if they thought he needed help, they would’ve called Public Safety or an ambulance. They wouldn’t have let him suffer.”

Cain said that the police were notified later than expected because they thought Wynne was still asleep.

“Classic Conor would fall asleep and he’d be asleep until like 3 in the afternoon, especially on Fridays … he’d usually be sleeping because he had nothing to do on Fridays,” Cain said.

Cain, Finan and many others drove up to Trumbull, Conn., this past weekend for Wynne’s wake. The funeral was private for family members. Cain said that there were hundreds of people in attendance to pay their respects.

“I’ve been to a few wakes — by far the most people I’ve ever seen at a wake in my entire life. There was a line through six rooms to get into where he was,” Cain said.

Finan agreed and knew why there was so much support.

“So many people were upset because he’s a young person, his life was taken so suddenly. No one said goodbye because no one expected to have to say goodbye,” Finan said. “It was a nice thing too, because people wouldn’t be upset if you didn’t touch their lives. He obviously positively impacted so many people. So many people.”

Thomas Edert, a freshman with an undecided major, lived in Orange House near Wynne and remembers his welcoming personality and kindness towards everyone.

“He was just someone that could be everyone’s friend no matter what. You could do something wrong to him, he would still be like, ‘Wanna hang out?’ He saw all of the good,” Edert said.

Cain remembers Wynne’s easygoing personality and love for the rapper named Drake.

“I don’t think there was a moment in our house where he wasn’t blasting Drake at literally the highest volume you can have. And he’d be screaming the music — screaming it!” Cain said.

Finan remembers how Wynne would always be able to cheer her up and was fiercely loyal to his friends.

“Conor was the most energetic, happy-go-lucky person ever and he found humor in everything … he was such a good-hearted kid, he would do anything for any of us if we needed it,” Finan said.

Wynne’s belongings have been removed from the room by administration, and the aura has not been the same.

“It was weird walking into that room, especially for you guys, and seeing all of his stuff there and thinking like, he’s never going to be back here,” Finan said. “When they took all his stuff away it was so much worse, now that the room is empty.”

It is still unclear what happened on Thursday night. Cain said that Wynne went out with his fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Mario Bolanos, the Assistant Director of Student Leadership and Activities for Greek Life, did not respond to comment by the time of publication. The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is not allowed to comment due to legal issues set by the national chapter.

Finan still feels uneasy about this because no one knows any new information.

“We still don’t really know everything that happened and there’s not closure. There isn’t,” Finan said.

But, there is reassurance because Wynne was loved by so many. John Wynne, Conor’s father, was appreciative of how many people from the Hofstra community drove up to Trumbull to show their support.

“We were overwhelmed with the amount of students … thank you all very much for your support,” John Wynne said.

What sits well with Cain is the fact that he was well-loved by many and happy with life.

“He’d be out having a good time, spending time with friends … nothing seemed off about him and that gives me some closure in the sense that I know he was happy,” Cain said. “He pretty much had everything he wanted. He had friends who loved him, he had a family who loved him. Anybody would’ve done anything for him.”