[As] the afternoon snow began to fall, several dozen students pedaled their bikes across the University of Vermont campus in tribute to Connor Gage, a first-year student who had died earlier this month.
The UVM Bike Co-Op, where Gage had volunteered, led the ride that culminated Tuesday in a memorial service inside the Old Mill building, where a crowd gathered to share their memories of Gage.
“Connor was an amazing volunteer, he was everything our club looks for in a new volunteer,” said Connor Smith, president of the co-op. “He was motivated, he was dedicated, he came in for all his shifts, he worked late, and most of all, he really enjoyed and cherished what we do as a club.”
Smith announced an award that will be presented at the end of the spring semester to a volunteer who best embodies the spirit of the 19-year-old neuroscience major from Little Falls, New York, who died Feb. 2 of hypothermia. The co-op is working to make the award permanent.
“I think we can all learn from Connor’s spirit and ethic and memory,” Smith said.
Gage’s parents came up to Burlington to ride in the memorial. After his death, his family set up a GoFundMe site for a “Connor Gage Never Walk Alone Memorial Fund,” to try to keep what happened to Gage from happening to other students. The site has raised more than $3,000.
“When Connor was little, he was very chubby. And round,” said Dorothy Gage, Connor’s mom. “He didn’t really like hiking or biking, or doing anything outside, just playing video games. But we liked to bike so we kind of dragged him along with us, and we live in a town where there’s really big hills. Difficult hills to climb on a Chopper, you know those little bikes with no gears?
“So we used to tie rope on Connor’s bike so we could drive him,” she said. “But he grew a lot, he matured a lot, and he developed a love for biking and other things outdoors.”
A longer ride in Gage’s honor is being planned for later in the semester once the weather warms up.
Gage was found unresponsive in the snow in the North End of Burlington and pronounced dead at the scene early on Feb. 2. His death was attributed to hypothermia, exacerbated by acute intoxication early. Police said he had been cutting through a parking lot after attending social events at one or more fraternities, and was stopped by a fence. Gage was said to be wearing inadequate clothing for the weather, which was between -1 and -4 degrees. All fraternity activity at UVM has since been suspended.
