WATERVILLE – More than 800 fellow Colby College students and staff members gathered Wednesday night in Lorimer Chapel on the college campus to honor the memory of Dawn Rossignol of Medway. A dean’s list senior at the prestigious college, Rossignol’s body was found earlier in the afternoon just off campus in Oakland. She was reported missing Tuesday by her parents.

Professor Russell Johnson, Rossignol’s adviser and her biology professor, praised the young woman for her wide interests, according to Stephen Collins, Colby’s spokesman. Johnson said that although Rossignol took “all the hard biology courses,” she was also interested in the arts, taking such courses as film, Greek myths and the history of New England.

Father Philip Tracey, Colby’s Catholic priest, said that he knew Rossignol through her work with a student Catholic organization and praised her as a “woman of great faith, quiet but with great presence.”

Addressing the Colby community, President William D. Adams stressed the value of the community and asked the students to try to come together to get through this difficult time.

The public was barred from the gathering, leaving the Colby community to mourn privately, said Collins.

After the gathering, students sat in groups on the lawn, talking quietly, said Collins. “I can’t remember a more somber event in my time here at Colby,” he said.

Earlier in the evening, joggers in pairs briskly ran by the road where Rossignol’s body was found and a police blockade stood. Students in groups quietly walked across campus to the dining hall and gathered in clusters in doorways.

Allison Kolkhorst, a 21-year-old senior from York, knew Rossignol. “She was a very, very nice girl,” said Kolkhorst. “This is such a bizarre thing.”

Kolkhorst said most students were greeting the news of a fellow student’s suspicious death with disbelief. “I have never once felt unsafe on this campus in four years,” she said. “I walk alone at night. I rarely ever lock my car. No one even locks their dorm rooms. It’s not the real world here.”

Other students, who hurried by quickly without giving their names, said they had just learned of the death through the school’s e-mail system. “I don’t even know what to think,” said one man.

The e-mail message students received was brief and came directly from the college president.

“Our prayers and our hearts go out to Dawn’s family and to those who knew her best. Colby too has suffered a profound loss in Dawn,” the e-mail said.

It went on to notify students of Wednesday night’s gathering, saying counselors were available at the school’s health center and chaplains were available at the chapel.

“Some students certainly availed themselves of those services,” said Collins.

Security personnel were present everywhere, stopping visitors to ask who they were and removing anyone from campus who was not a student or staff member. Collins said a local reporter had entered one of the student residence halls earlier in the day, upsetting some students and frustrating security staff.

Security Director Peter S. Chenevert had released general safety tips, also through the school’s e-mail system.

“The tips advised students to be aware and use common sense,” said Collins.