Family and friends described Lynn "Gordie" Bailey
as a talented athlete but not a big drinker.
Posted on 10/08/2004 2:46:06 PM PDT by O.C. - Old Cracker
As the whiskey and wine he drank during a fraternity initiation began to kill Gordie Bailey, some of his fraternity brothers wrote racial, misogynist and sexual vulgarities all over his body as he lay passed out in the Chi Psi library.
Family and friends described Lynn "Gordie" Bailey
as a talented athlete but not a big drinker.
On the morning of Sept. 17, when it became apparent that the 18-year-old was not breathing, someone tried to wipe off the slurs written on his face. The University of Colorado at Boulder freshman was soon pronounced dead, and at the coroner's office, more markings were found on his arms, legs and body.
The phrases, which Bailey's father said he learned from the coroner, included "It sucks to be you," "Penis ankle" (written on his ankle) and "(Expletive) me." There were also drawings of male genitalia.
"Bitch" was written on the fingers of his right hand. Other phrases included an offensive six-letter racial slur.
"This reinforces the nearly unbearable pain of the whole thing," said Lynn Gordon Bailey Sr., 68, Bailey's father. "Was he dying while they were writing that?"
Local fraternity members declined to comment. Boulder police said the case remains under investigation.
Gordie Bailey's parents, who are divorced and each remarried, shared the responsibility of raising him and now are united in their desire to see reforms instituted after his death.
"This is not about binge drinking; it's about hazing at fraternities," said Michael Lanahan, 58, Gordie Bailey's stepfather. "How lucky is Chi Psi that 26 pledges survived?"
Donald Beeson, risk-management administrator for Chi Psi national, said Thursday that he had heard only that there were drawings on Bailey's face, not elsewhere on his body.
"No parent should have to deal with losing a son to a senseless accident like this," he said, adding that he understood why Lanahan would be upset over the "degrading and demeaning" comments.
On the evening of Sept. 16, Gordie Bailey and 26 other Chi Psi pledges were blindfolded and left in the woods near Gold Hill. They were told to drink vast amounts of Ten High whiskey and Carlo Rossi wine, according to police.
By the time the pledges were driven back to the Boulder fraternity house, police said, Bailey was "sick and visibly intoxicated."
By 11 p.m., fraternity members carried him to a couch and gave him a metal bucket.
Since he was passed out with his shoes on, tradition called for other fraternity members to draw on Bailey with a felt-tipped marker.
About 1 a.m., a pledge saw two fraternity members writing all over his body, according to the search warrant. Bailey never woke up during the process. The pledge "repeatedly told the members to stop writing on (Bailey). The members got angry with (the pledge) for telling them to stop."
Finally, the pledge asked another fraternity member for help, and the writing ceased.
Shortly before 9 a.m., Bailey was found face down on the floor next to the couch and could not be revived. An autopsy shows that he died from alcohol poisoning with a blood-alcohol level of 0.328 percent.
Lynn Bailey, his father, said the coroner told him that there was no sign of asphyxiation and that the alcohol had created a massive depressant that shut down his son's central nervous system.
Since that night, several fraternity members have refused to talk to police, and many have hired lawyers.
So has Gordie Bailey's family, who called the writing on the teenager "appalling" and says it depicts the fraternity members' irresponsible mind-set.
"To do something like that exposes those young men for what they are - thoughtless and perverse," said attorney David Berg of Berg & Androphy, a Houston-based firm.
The family has not yet decided whom to name in their suit, Berg said, but are considering the fraternity, the individuals involved and the university.
"We still don't see leadership from the university," said Lanahan, Bailey's stepfather. "They have not proposed any change in the system - but the system is killing our kids."
Officials at CU have been meeting with Greek officials since Bailey's death, and they have pledged to combat a culture of drinking. Meanwhile, Chi Psi's charter at CU has been revoked, although officials haven't ruled out its return.
"We ... are continuing to work with the fraternity and sorority leaders to assess all aspects of Greek life, including the role of alcohol in social activities," CU spokeswoman Pauline Hale said in a release Wednesday.
Beeson said Wednesday that the fraternity's investigation determined that the drinking trip to the woods was not an initiation ritual, as police have called it. Beeson said it was an "initial function" for the pledges.
Lanahan said he hopes the fraternity will release the results of its investigation into his son's death. So far, Chi Psi has said it will not release the records.
"If these things remain secret," Lanahan said, "then Gordie's death meant nothing at all."
Amy Herdy can be reached at 303-820-1752 or aherdy@denverpost.com . George Merritt can be reached at 303-820-1367 or gmerritt@denverpost.com .
That being said, if a main point is the writing on the kid, thats absurd, that isnt hazing, that is a penalty for drinking to the point of passing out. In the navy or on my rugby team, you dont get away with anything less than pictures or maybe a tatoo. we dropped one buddy off at his fiancee's mother's house once.
These stories are always sad, but what ever happen to personal responsibility. The parents need to stop blaming everyone else and start looking at their own kid.
And don't anyone write me back and say I am being insensitive, or heartless. The kid drank to much and died, but I am quite sure he had the choice to get up and leave anytime he wanted.
PS. I was not in a fraternity while at school.
he's not in it now either is he??? it's still called personal responsibility
I was in a heavy drinking, hard hazing fraternity in the late 60s.
The really bad side of the system is things like this.
My fraternity had local alumni at parties, and might have been able to influence others, to steer clear of this sort of stupid behavior.
A huge insurance settlement, followed by premium costs which put fraternities out of business may result.
How about a kid who asks his folks for social membership dues, from his folks. Dad asks: "How come it costs $500 per semester, just to belong to this group?"
Son replies: "Remember that kid who was forced to drink himself to death, at CU? His parents sued and won big. Hope you don't mind paying for me to be in a fraternity, Dad."
If your kids are bent on joining a fraternity, you had better warn them of the potential hazing. My oldest children are 18 months, so they're only bent on driving me nuts. But if some dimwit twit told me to do something, I'd instruct him to sexually penetrate himself. Personally, thanks to that very ability, I've never had a drink of alcohol in my life, and I'm not going to accept the 'peer pressure' defense from my children, either.
Methinks we will be seeing a non-optimal solution to this Prisoner's Dilemma.
Hmm, I'm pushing 30, I am a Sigmi Chi alumnus from Montana State University, and not a single brother of mine died in college. Many graduated with honors, and most I keep in touch with lead successful lives (keep reading).
Last month 10 of us rented a house on the Oregon coast (on Devil's Lake in Lincoln City). We flew in from all over the country, rehashed old times, talked about our kids, had some beers, wakeboarded, golfed, and made plans to do it next year.
Yeah, these evil fraternities should be banned.
What? Mine was not like that at all. It was ten weeks of hell.
At the end, let's just say that your feet literally burned as you crossed "the burning sands."
Never tried, son. I was busy working to support a family and didn't have time for college.
There seems to be one or two of these "fraternity" deaths every year with extreme cruelty perpetrated by the "fraternity" brothers. What a price to pay for acceptance into these snobby little cliques! With "friends" like these in life, who ever needs look for an enemy? Dying to belong - - - girls starving themselves to death so they'll fit into the sorority where only thin is in - - boys drinking themselves to death so they'll fit into the fraternity where only drunks can be successful in life - - - how sad.
Those pictures are nothing compared to drinking with Aussie Rugby players.
You really really dont want to see what sort of photos occur if you fall asleep with your mouth open.
The best one of course - SAE!
I note for the record that the supply of idiots far exceeds demand. Gospel truth. It's too bad they don't burn well, we could heat our homes in the winter with the endless supply.
""This is not about binge drinking; it's about hazing at fraternities,"
Another example of symbolism over substance...sure, the guy died of alcohol poisoning, but...the things they WROTE were INEXCUSEABLE!
Sheesh...
Ronald Reagan was a TKE. I guess you hate him now for being a frat boy.
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