Sudden death shocks Western PDF Print E-mail
by Andrea Davis-Gonzalez and Anna Atkinson   
Friday, October 16, 2009
Page 1 of 2

Western anthropology professor Michael A. Grimes, 43, will most notably be remembered for his humor and dedication to anthropology. Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Catherine Riordan issued a statement on Thursday announcing Grimes had died of natural causes.


Although sources have speculated a brain aneurysm as a potential cause of death, The Western Front has not yet found confirmation because an autopsy report is not currently available.


At approximately 10 a.m. on Wednesday, University Police responded to a phone call regarding a man who had collapsed in the Environmental Studies building, according to the University Police activity log.


Grimes, who taught at Western for five years and published some of his work in journals, was recognized for his research on nutrition and metabolism, reproductive physiology and postpartum-breast-feeding behavior.


Western junior Sarah Magnuson said Grimes was the type of professor who was ready to make his students laugh.


“He was one of my favorite anthropology teachers, so [his passing] was really hard,” she said.


Magnuson said Grimes’ humor made her anthropology class more interesting, especially during his lectures.


“I feel like he just related to students really well,” Magnuson said.


Western graduate student Jesse Hutchinson said he responded to the scene once he noticed something was wrong. Hutchinson was working in his office and went to hand some paperwork to a colleague.


He noticed Grimes sitting on the hallway floor with his back against the wall outside room 56, where Hutchinson said he was going to meet his colleague. Hutchinson said Grimes had a plastic coffee mug next to him with a folder of papers inside in his hand.


“It didn’t seem he was having any trouble,” Hutchinson said.


After passing Grimes, Hutchinson said he went inside the graduate office and began to talk to his colleague. A few minutes later, Hutchinson said he heard a loud yell from the hallway followed by a clatter of what he assumed to be Grimes’ coffee mug.


Hutchinson said he and his colleague went to see what had happened and saw Grimes lying unconscious on his left side on the floor, slightly bleeding from a wound on his head.


“I don’t know if he was sitting down because he was waiting or feeling bad,” Hutchinson said. “But whatever it was that caused him to lose consciousness, it was sudden.”


A student who was walking by saw Grimes and checked his pulse and head wound, Hutchinson said. He said he had begun to call the police when he noticed an officer had already arrived.


Hutchinson said the student who responded to the scene told him to get tissues to help clean up Grimes’ wound and the surrounding area. Once Hutchinson went to the restroom and returned to the scene with paper towels, he said Grimes had regained consciousness.        


“When I returned, they turned him over on his back so he could breathe,” Hutchinson said. “He was looking around. He seemed really dazed and very pale.”


Although seemingly unaware of what happened, Grimes was able to tell paramedics his name and that he was an anthropology professor, Hutchinson said. He said he went to class after paramedics placed Grimes on a stretcher.


Hutchinson said he could not believe the news when he found out the next day that Grimes had passed away.


“It took me a minute to even believe it,” Hutchinson said. “I wish I would’ve asked him a question to see if he was all right. I might have been able to catch him if he was starting to fall over. I feel like there was something I could’ve done ahead of time.”


Brent Carbajal, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said he extends condolences on behalf of the college to Grimes’ family and those who worked with and knew Grimes.


“He will be very missed by colleagues, students and others in the Western community,” Carbajal said. “He touched many lives in many positive ways.”


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  Comments (17)
Posted by katharinehe, on Oct. 16, 2009 07:20PM

As a former Western student and member of the Anthropology community there, I am very disappointed that you have chosen to enter yourselves into this matter so soon, while everyone is still shocked by Dr. Grimes' passing. I find it highly inappropriate that you are going into the details of his death when his family and friends have barely been given a day to contend with this. I hope that in the future the Western Front is more tasteful in their journalistic endeavors.
Posted by calliemoore, on Oct. 16, 2009 08:32PM

I am appalled by the Western Front writers and staff in their decision to describe in graphic detail the passing of Dr. Michael Grimes. As a former student of his, and WWU Alum I would expect more integrity and professionalism from the staff and student writers. In light of the recentness of this tragedy, I would hope that some consideration would have been made for Michael's family, friends, student and colleagues reading this article, and the reactions that such explicit discussion of his passing would evoke in those for whom this loss is personal. I hope in the future you will be more considerate of those experiencing the personal loss of a person and will avoid publishing articles which are written purely for shock value such as this. Dr. Grimes is a man that deserves the utmost respect, and should be remembered by his family, students and colleagues for the life he lived, not the way in which he died. Shame on you.
Posted by SeanStcherbinine, on Oct. 16, 2009 09:20PM

I completely agree with the comments above. I too am a Western Alum, was a member of the WWU Anthro department, and a former student of Dr. Grimes. Explicit and graphic details about his passing could have been left out, or at the very least reserved for a follow-up article when his family, friends, colleagues, and students had been given time to grieve. This could have been an opportunity to go into more detail about the life of Dr. Grimes, not his tragic death. This article is in poor taste, and I expected more compassion and thoughtfulness from a school like Western.
Posted by makic, on Oct. 16, 2009 11:56PM

I am incredibly angry with the timing and nature of this so-called \'article\' that the Western Front and the authors of this article can expect to hear from me personally. End of story. In fact, I suggest strongly that they take the opportunity to initiate apology and retraction. I have worked with Dr. Michael Grimes for seven years in the anthropology department and he was to be my thesis chair. Even more importantly, he was an amazing mentor and good friend. ANDREA DAVIS-GONZALEZ AND ANNA ATKINSON, I assume that you or someone else at the Western Front have access to the email address under my account name.
Posted by traezer, on Oct. 17, 2009 12:26AM

I am an alumni, and was told about the sad passing of Dr. Grimes by a student of his. I never knew him, but his sudden passing is incredibly sad, and this sorry excuse of an article is incredibly disturbing to me. This article was so graphic in nature I am literally shaking as I type this. How dare someone use "celebrity news" style reporting to give us every excruciating detail of a man's death? Does anyone need to know these details right now? Can we not take some time to process what happened without thinking about his tortured last minutes of life? Can we not celebrate his life instead? I enjoyed this newspaper when I was student, but now I will only think of this newspaper with complete distaste. I cannot believe this got past the editors, let alone someone could write this without feeling a sense of dread in the pit of their stomach.
Posted by felkerfm, on Oct. 17, 2009 01:13PM

I have never in my life read an article in poorer format or taste. It is inappropriate and rude. No article of any kind should have been published this soon after Dr. Grimes’ death; it is incredibly insensitive to his family, colleagues and those to whom he was a mentor. I am a student of the Anthropology department and I see the grief that so many people are going through right now- this article is something that they should never have to see. There is no reason that Dr. Grimes’ death should have been “reported” in such gruesome detail. He was a knowledgeable man of science and a friend to everyone; to have his last explicit and tragic moments made known to the whole campus community is an insult to his memory. I expect an official apology from the authors of this article and editor of Western Front, nothing less.
Posted by hilbyv, on Oct. 17, 2009 11:49PM

I am a student at Western and I read this article and was very disappointed. It was too soon--let the dead rest in peace for a little bit before you drag up their stories and publish them in a paper. The detail is way too gruesome and it was way too soon. It was in very poor taste to write an article this graphic so soon. An apology to his students, colleagues, and the students he mentored would be in order. I never knew the man personally, but this was highly insensitive.
Posted by fraleyg, on Oct. 19, 2009 10:04AM

I cannot believe the bad taste this article is in. Journalistic integrity is what separates newspapers from trashy grocery store tabloids, and this whole article lacked it. This article should be retracted immediately with an apology to his family issued.
Posted by rasclots33, on Oct. 19, 2009 11:21AM

I am a current student and member of Western Washington University. As a student I like to be informed about what happens on this campus and sometimes the Western Front is the only outlet that I have access to for news that occurs on this campus. A tragedy like this one is very emotional and hard to deal with. My condolences go to the family and friends who have been affected by this situation. 
 
I am very concerned about the posts above. Some of them came off as threatening. Many of you seem to have been closely connected to Professor Grimes. I hear that the article may have been too gruesome and printed too soon. What I appreciated about the article is that it highlighted that Professor Grimes made his students laugh and has made a positive impact on many students’ lives. In addition as to why I appreciated the article is that it brought clarity to this incident for me and possibly many other students who may have witnessed it. 
 
I’d like to end my post by saying that both journalism and anthropology are intrusive in nature and may lead to controversial career decisions. They both play a major role in contributing to society. Nobody is right or wrong in this situation. I hope that people can be more compassionate towards each other. I can’t imagine what it feels like right now as the reporters of this article whose work has been criticized to this extent.  
 
Thanks to the Western Front and the individuals who have expressed their concern over the printing of the article.
Posted by wwualum09, on Oct. 19, 2009 01:15PM

I agree with the majority of the comments above. As an alumnus I no longer read the Western Front, but the level of outrage I have heard from current students demanded my attention. This article is both inappropriate and unfortunate. I understand that the campus community is dealing with two deaths. The other article is a compassionate piece about the life of a beloved student and how he will be missed. This article is about shock value and revealing unnecessary details rather than describing the life of a world-class scholar, superb teacher, and a wonderful person. I'm assuming that the Western Front will be issuing an apology shortly. My thoughts and prayers go out to Dr. Grimes' family and loved ones.

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