I'm getting as much of a chuckle over these grammar wars, as some got from the title.
To say 'has died' puts the subject in the past tense. To say 'dies' casts it as an event of indeterminate time, possibly happening as you watch. In which case to add the 'more or less' is more interesting, since it implies you can't actually tell precisely even if watching.
Also commas (I think) can be used both to sort out sentence elements, and also just to indicate a pause. Which is how I meant it.
Now the real question: Is the university picking up the joke?
Edit: Removed a comma. Lest this go round the circle again.