He loved Taco Bell, The Shawshank Redemption and sports. Once a week, he volunteered with the St. Louis Society, where he spent time with disabled children. He danced with Raas, the Indian dance team, and was a member of the Indian Student Association. Though no longer rushing across Grand Boulevard to Organic Chemistry class or eating pizza at California Pizza Kitchen, one of his favorite restaurants, sophomore Nirmam Vasanwala is all but gone from the minds of those who knew him, said one of his close friends, sophomore Rhythm Gandhi.
“Being at [Saint Louis University] will never be the same without him,” she said.
Originally from a suburb of Chicago, Vasanwala was just 19 years old when he died after falling from a 12th-story balcony of Marchetti Towers East in the early hours of Sept. 10. Hundreds of students attended a vigil held in his honor later that day.
Vasanwala may have been hesitant to attend SLU at first, but all that changed once he arrived, according to friend and fellow sophomore Anshul Sathyan.
“Once he came, he loved it. He said he wouldn’t change anything,” Sathyan said.
Since then, the scholastically-gifted biology major had laid down roots at SLU as a member of the Medical Scholars Program and as a Presidential Scholar finalist, and was working toward a medical degree.
“He put school work above everything else; he was very dedicated,” said his roommate, sophomore Pratik Shah, who attended the same high school and temple as Vasanwala. Shah indicated some dissatisfaction about how Vasanwala had been portrayed in the press in the aftermath of his death.
“All the media [are] twisting the events; that isn’t the real Nirmam the way they write it,” he said. “He was a great person to talk to; he always put others before himself. Everything about him was great.”
“He always had a smile on his face; he was one of the happiest people I knew,” Sathyan said. “He radiated energy.”
SLU sent out a message notifying the student body of the tragedy at 11:44 a.m. the day of.
“It [was] a hard day for all of us,” said Kent Porterfield, vice president for Student Development. “It’s devastating to lose a member of the University family, especially a student . with such a bright future in front of [him].”
Porterfield said that based on what students who were with him said in investigations, it did seem “likely” that Vasanwala had been drinking the night he died, and that this may have been a contributing factor to the fall. However, he called that possibility “speculative” at this point in time.
Confirmation of this won’t be available until the results of the toxicology test come back, which can take six to eight weeks. According to St. Louis’ Office of the Medical Examiner, alcohol will only be considered as part of the cause of death if results show he was over the legal limit of .08.
As noted in a Department of Public Safety report, at 3:15 a.m., two RAs responded to a noise complaint in Vasanwala’s room; Vasanwala willingly let them into the apartment. There, they found alcohol, which was subsequently bagged up to be disposed of, per University policy for underage residents. At that point, the RAs went to a room next door to check on another student. Vasanwala reportedly went back into his room, which then locked behind him. When the RAs returned to his room, they regained entrance from Vasanwala’s roommate. At that point, around 3:30 a.m., they were unable to locate him in the room.
Friends of Vasanwala reportedly saw him on the ground on the south side of Marchetti East from a balcony above, at which point they went downstairs and told the security guard, who then notified DPS at 3:52 a.m. Vasanwala was pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived.
Vasanwala’s family members were notified by a student in the early morning that there had been a serious incident and that they needed to come to campus. After arriving at SLU in the late morning, much of their day was spent in the company of numerous SLU administrators and staff, including Porterfield, Dean of Students Scott Smith, Campus Ministry Director Lisa Reiter, SLU President Lawrence Biondi, Director of Emergency Preparedness Sam Simon and Director of Public Safety Mike Lauer, whom Porterfield said were there to assist with pastoral care or talking with investigators, but were “mostly just being there for [the family] and being supportive and available to them.”
SLU has owned Marchetti Towers since the early 1990s; up until last week, Porterfield said he was unaware of any past problems or incidents involving balconies. At this time, he said that no changes to balcony design have been discussed.
“This accident was tragic, and I’m concerned all the time about students’ safety and well-being,” he said.
Investigations into the incident are still ongoing by the Medical Examiner’s Office and law enforcement bureaus. It has been ruled an accidental death with no indications of foul play, according to the police report.
“People naturally want answers, but the investigation in a situation like this always takes time,” he said. “There wasn’t really a witness [to the fall]; I don’t know if we’ll ever know for sure what happened.”
Regardless, friends still say that Vasanwala leaves behind a legacy.
“He shaped me into what I am,” Sathyan said. “He impacted my life in so many ways I can’t even describe it.”
“He always made it his duty to make everyone laugh,” Gandhi said. “He had a tremendous impact on those around him, we will never forget him.”
Vasanwala’s funeral was held in Bartlett, Ill., on Sept. 11. A Facebook group started in his honor had already surpassed 1,600 members at press time.
Students in need of grief counseling in response to this are encouraged to call (314) 977-7326. For pastoral counseling, they are also welcome to speak to someone at Campus Ministry.
Additional reporting done by Matt Wilhelm and Jonathan Ernst.
