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 .
Well no actually. In my salad days, admittedly rather a while ago, we handled our own money, ran our own kitchen and dealt with A/R & A/P issues without input from the school.
If, as periodically happened a pledge or brother got out of hand the officers and the brothers squared the issue away internally.
The issue of "binge drinking" was not an issue when I was in school ('65-'69) although in a mens school in So-west Pa. drinking was the norm and some could really pack it away. No body ever died that way though.
To those who know....Perge!
Well, if that's true, then I've found the first thing I have in common with Slick Willy.
Bill Clinton touted to the NAACP about how he wouldn't join a social fraternity because they discriminate against blacks, so he joined a "social" fraternity instead. Bubba just hates those evil, racist social frats.
"Put a sock on it, son."
"service" fraternity for Billy Blisters, not "social" fraternity. He probably wasn't even asked to pledge.
I'm well aware of the history, mission, rules and traditions of Greeks. I heard it every time a pledge died and I'd be sent to the nearest university to get a local react on it. The offenders and university officials were always shocked...SHOCKED...that it happened and determined it wouldn't happen again. But it always did.
Greeks like you who are truely above reproach should raise holy hell to bring your brothers into line. Just like the TROP crowd, preaching your goodness is no longer enough...
you have to take out your trash.
Whitey?
Tell me again how horrible Abu Graib was...
TEK, TKE, CRAP, they're all the same to me. I've never been worried about painting with a broad brush.
Well now, I see the real heavyweight has entered the ring.
The school I went to would not even allow frat/sororities on campus.
I awoke on morning at school tied to the springs of my bed (the mattress was missing) with stereo cables and with my ear pierced. That was a typical weekend.
Quite the fixation with gays you have.
Tell it to Gordie Bailey's family.
Yes indeed. Guilt by association is alive and well on FR. That said, the young man's death was a shame. But the elks, Rugby clubs, the military, bowling league, garden club, bridge club and the local bar all drink too much. The drum beat to suggest the greek system is evil doesn't square with my experience.
It's approaching 20 years since I graduated from there. And I never bothered to associate with the greeks so I can't speak directly to their prowess at overindulgence. But around that time Playboy did rank us as the nations' only professional party school.
I imagine that the undergrads of today are still doing their best to uphold that distinction.
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