CORRECTION: HQNN removed a quote on April 15 attributed to Matt Diggins, which described Ben Gudzy’s state of mind, after Gudzy disputed its accuracy. HQNN has not been able to verify these facts.
The Quinnipiac University campus is buzzing after news broke of one student injuring his roommate with a knife early on Friday morning, with students who live in the same hall expressing outrage at the timing of communications from the university.
Casey McNichol, a freshman living in Mountainview, said she is frustrated by what she felt was a late response.
“I was pissed, honestly,” she said. “The school told us after the news story went out. Like we found out a solid 15 hours after it happened.”
Despite the comments of student residents on the campus, one parent said it was not a problem for everyone else to worry about.
“It was isolated and between two people,” said Jim Noga, suitemate Joseph Noga’s father. “There was never a problem with anybody else.”
At 3:10 a.m. on Friday, Hamden police officers responded to a call at Quinnipiac about a potential fight between two students on the second floor of the Mountainview residential hall.
Officer Paul Calamita arrived and found a freshman male with a “large laceration” on his neck, according to a police statement. Sources with knowledge of the event later identified the victim as David Rowe.
Rowe told police his roommate, Benjamin Gudzy, jumped on him while he was asleep and punched him.
During the scuffle, Gudzy allegedly cut Rowe’s neck with a knife. Calamita and Quinnipiac Public Safety officers negotiated with Gudzy and obtained the weapon, the release said.
Gudzy and Rowe were transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital shortly after for related injuries.
The victim, according to the university’s statement, left the hospital Friday.
Noga said Rowe is back in his dorm room.
“I would say that the suite is operating fine right now; the guys are all good,” he said. “And nobody has a reason to worry about anything.”
Gudzy, on the other hand, is suspended from the university, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Last year, Gudzy attended the Grove School in Madison, his LinkedIn profile notes. The boarding school is targeted at “bright but struggling adolescents have come to the Grove School to gain self-awareness, learn life skills, build healthy relationships, and succeed academically,” its website says, adding it “provides a comprehensive, intensive therapeutic and educational program that inspires personal development…”
HQNN contacted several of Gudzy and Rowe’s suitemates, who all said they did not want to comment at this time.
Freshman Matt Diggins moved out of the suite last semester.
“I think I know most of it, but I can’t be sure,” Diggins said. “All I know is that they were arguing over the light and then [Gudzy] waited until [Rowe] was asleep.”
McNichol also said she too was not shocked the suspect was Gudzy.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised,” McNichol said.
While the dorm was never in a lockdown, residents of Mountainview said they wished they had been notified of events earlier.
“I understand why they didn’t want to cause commotion or anything,” said freshman Kaitlyn Cestaro, who also lives in Mountainview, “but I do think that if we didn’t know what was happening at the time, we would have felt safer if we were put into a lockdown or told immediately.”
Melissa Wright, another Mountainview resident, added she did not hear anything about the incident until 8 Friday night. The university’s email was not sent until a half hour later.
“I found out from my brother’s girlfriend before I got anything from the school,” she said.
While some students were unhappy with how the university handled the situation, Anya Grondalski, freshman political science and journalism major living in Mountainview, said she was impressed with Quinnipiac’s response to the incident.
“Professors and staff have been very understanding,” Grondalski said. “I just wish people realized it’s not entertainment, it’s real people’s lives.”
John Morgan, associate vice president for Public Relations, told HQNN on Saturday that the university could not provide additional commentary about the incident, and Alfred Garcia, the resident hall director of the dorm, did not answer calls Saturday afternoon.
Additional reporting: Garret Reich
This story has been edited since its original publication to clarify attribution of the names of the alleged victim and alleged perpetrator.
