MSU student died of methanol poisoning

thanks for being sympathetic to the situation. next time you wanna make your comments about a tragedy like this try and take into account that friends and family see them

“but were unable to determine whether he meant to harm himself or drank the substance to become intoxicated.”
this was unnecessary to publish…lets idiots post things who didn’t know him or his “buddies”

I knew kevin and am very upset about how this was written…State News will for sure be getting a “nice” letter from me

I just don’t understand what another possible explanation could be. I didn’t say the situation wasn’t sad or that I don’t have sympathy.

Brittany- Please revise your article.
If the police & medical examiners were unavailable to comment on the reason for the ingestion, then it’s irresponsible as a reporter, especially in a sensitive case like this, for you to suggest reasons without any facts to support them.

Gord, to suggest that his friends would bet him to do something like that and claim that you’re sympathetic is ignorant

I understand as Kevin’s friends you are upset, but chill out on the commenters. Medical autopsy reports usually do indicate motivation for drinking in the case like this.

This doesn’t sound like a case of accidental ingestion or exposure, so it was probably intentionally taken. To what end, who knows?
Suicide or attempt to get some sort of buzz are important public health concerns. Either way, making a poor decision to ingest methanol does tend to make you an example to others of what not to do.

Jon, by your rationale the medical examiners were unsympathetic. Trying to search for answers to a tragic death is a common human trait. We have to try to make sense of things.

The death of a college student (especially the odd streak we seem to be having at MSU as of late) is rarely a natural event and it’s normal to ponder the motivations for it, especially what sounds like a self induced poisoning. Friends of the deceased shouldn’t have monopoly over such considerations or pondering. The shock of someone our age dying is bound to raise questions and anxieties in us all.

i understand that it’s easier to be unsympathetic when you aren’t emotionally connected to the situation, but in articles such as this its easier for everyone if you leave your logic behind instead of putting your own conclusions as comments. comments such as “I would think it was suicide or that he drank it on a bet with his buddies or something.” are fine to think to yourself, but bring enormous amounts of grief to already grieving friends. maybe inquiry isn’t necessarily unsympathetic, but this is not the time or place for it.
i agree with jon completely and think that if you didn’t know him, you can leave your opinions to yourselves.

“inquiry is not unsympathetic”, are you just looking to stir up the waters? try losing a friend and then reading others suggest that it could have been your fault as a bet could have been the cause. I’m done posting back and forth like this, its not going to help anything. “Shocked”, thanks for the post, i appreciate your backing

Everyone who has posted comments questioning the cause of death is a disgraceful human being. This is not the place to get the answers. Show some freakin respect. I am also disappointed with this journalist and the editor for writing and allowing this to be published. Now I know why I only read the sports section, if that at all.
P.S. Advice for next time with a story like this, do not allow for comments to be posted.

To all concerned: Should we not reflect on what this individual meant to us? Having had to attend funerals of suicide victims along with persons involved in trajic accidents it only prolongs the suffering the people that knew and loved this person.

Reach out to comfort his family and friends. If you did not know him then reflect on what you would do if you knew that someone was possibly considering a drastic action.

Did this article make you think? Was it done in the most professional manner? Will you recognize the need to reach out to someone the next time a roomate wants to do something out of the ordinary and you have questions about the safety?

This is yet another extremely bizzare death of an MSU student.

Also, I believe the State News had every right to publish this article and state the simple fact that the Methanol was ingested intentionally.

This is the responsibility of newspapers, report the facts.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Kevin and his loved ones.

This isn’t a puzzle for you to figure out—if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything.

RIP Kev

Gosh, I feel sorry for the writers at the State News. Here they are doing what reporters are supposed to do and a bunch of freakin’ college students give them hell for it.

To the friends of Kevin: Obviously it’s a tragedy no matter what happened but if you are looking for comfort, the comment section of a news article is not the place to look. It’s human nature to be curious about what happened. Just because it’s someone that YOU know doesn’t mean that you should get special treatment and that the State News should not report the facts or suspected facts that they found out. I’m sure that the reporter here did not randomly come up with the possible intentions. They were probably suspected by the medical examiner.

Lisa-you are a moron. The freakin’ college students you’re talking about are friends of Kevin’s. Do you have any friends? If you did, you would understand their comments. Why does everyone have to know the details of a person’s autopsy? There is no reason except curiosity. If this was your family member-would you be defending the reporter for a great job she did in getting out the “facts” to all those who were curious? I think not.

Well I do appreciate the comments that understand the pain that Kevin’s friends and family feel by seeing what they have written. On the other hand, people like Lisa and others, tend to believe everything they have read on these articles posted. Thankfully, the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, allows for all of us to find out what actually occurred in the medical examiners report.
It turns out, the medical examiner did not actually include anything about there being proof of any intentional ingestion of methanol. It was an idea of what could have occurred, but the words they used were nothing more than a suggestion of one of the possible ways that Methanol could have been introduced into his system. So unless anyone would like to read into the word “possible” as a guarantee, I would appreciate some people commenting to rethink what they are about to say.

Despite the obvious tragedy and emotions that surround this article I see an excellent opportunity for Journalism Professors to incorporate a real life situation into a lesson plan on how to deal with backlash from controversial articles and situation sensitive reporting. I understand the natural reaction that all who knew this young man will have to this article and I sympathize. I also feel for a young person learning firsthand the unavoidable difficulties of a career in journalism. Best Wishes to all.

These are assumptions that are stated…“but were unable to determine whether he meant to harm himself or drank the substance to become intoxicated.”…Unless the Police have powers to look back in the past and know for sure why exactly it was ingested there is no reason this should be stated. How can you say that that above statement is a “FACT”.

Lisa sorry to say you sound very self centered my dear! It is time for you to wake up and realize that there are other people in this world besides you, my dear! Think before you speak, or close your mouth. Thank you.

No one knows what happened, sadly no one knows the full story here. But what if this occured when he was sleeping, I mean it could very well be a possibilty that he accicdently drank it, if it was by his bed. I know it sounds wierd, but people do do things in their sleep. He sounded like a happy well adjusted young man. I really don’t think he did anything deliberately. Let the family and friends mourn. Keep your opions to yourself, unless you have something good to say. This is where you can show your compassion.

God Bless You at your time of mourning. I am praying for you.

Strange how all the comments from Kevin’s ‘friends’ are about people other than Kevin…

Get a life, you and Lisa sound like you could be twins!