Senior’s death stuns campus

‘‘Dustin taught me that there is always something positive and humorous in every situation,” wrote Kirk Pruett of Towson, who was one of Dustin’s track teammates. ‘‘He lived his life with such an undeniable joy and happiness. Thank you Dustin for being a great friend, teammate and inspiration to us all.”

Some of the site’s visitors knew Bauer personally, and remembered his kindness, his successes at the track field or his unruly hair. Others, who had only heard of him or had never met him, offered words of support, encouragement and prayer to his family. All that was a reflection of the way the community of Mount Saint Mary’s University chose to deal with the grief and shock from Bauer’s death.

Bauer died overnight March 12-13 at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. On March 8, Bauer fell 13 feet over a railing at an apartment on campus.

In the days after Bauer’s injury, the college had provided counselors, priests and psychologists to help students deal with their grief. But the small, tight-knit campus has proved to be the most helpful medicine for healing.

Now, students at the second-oldest Catholic University in America are coming together, and hope to overcome the tragedy through shared faith and prayer.

‘‘We are a very strong community,” said Monsignor Stuart Swetland, vice president for Catholic identity and mission at the college. ‘‘When bad things happen at a small community, it comes together.”

The messages to Dustin’s family were just one of the signs.

Another was the fact that the college men’s basketball team dedicated their victory in the Northeast Tournament Final to Dustin. And then there were the hundreds of students who attended Bauer’s funeral on March 17.

‘‘The church was full. ... Easily there were 200 people,” said James Donohue, chair of the college theology department, who said he was impressed with the students’ empathy, thoughtfulness and desire to help. ‘‘I have not had a funeral in years where so many people came to the cemetery,” he said. ‘‘There were hundreds of people, most of them were students. ”

The college continues to investigate details of Bauer’s death, which college officials said may have involved alcohol.

Spokeswoman Linda Sherman said the college has strict regulations against alcohol on campus, and will closely look into the accident after students return to school Tuesday.