Declan Sullivan

Declan Sullivan: Notre Dame junior Declan Sullivan, 20, sent messages to Twitter from the top of the camera tower where he was recording a football practice less than an hour before he fell to his death Wednesday.

Declan Sullivan: In the first message, timestamped 3:22 p.m., Sullivan wrote, "Gust of wind up to 60mph well today will be fun at work... I guess I've lived long enough :-/."

The second message, which was sent at 4:06 p.m., less than an hour before his tragic fall at 4:50 p.m., reads, "Holy fuck holy fuck this is terrifying."

The National Weather Service reported winds of 51 mph in South Bend this afternoon. On campus, students struggled to fight the gusts as they walked to class.

The campus is reeling from the tragedy, students and faculty members alike taking to Facebook and Twitter to express disbelief that anyone -- let alone a 20 year-old student -- would have been in a camera tower under such harsh conditions. On Tuesday, in the wake of a tornado warning, Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly held the first indoor practice of his tenure, but despite similarly windy conditions today, the team resumed outdoor practice. "It almost certainly could have been avoided," said Andrew Seroff, 21, a senior at the university.