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 .
Death by alcohol poisoning don't require fraternities. They require idiots, and the abundant supply of these on any campus accounts for the regular reports of such deaths, whether a frat is involved or not. And was these idiots requiring 18-year-olds to drink? (What's the drinking age in Colorado?) Hopefully, by the time my children are this age, I'll have raised them right enough to tell anyone who tells them such a thing to #*&@*#&% off.
Agreed, but you won't convince the libertines of that. They love their partying, no matter the cost. Fraternities are for the punks, and the military is better off without them.
He's old enough to serve in the Army, he should be old enough to resist the suicidal suggestions of others.
Cool. Which frat?
Wouldn't it be simpler to criminalize stupidity?
True, but what happened to Alpha Phi Alpha at SMU a year or so ago where they forced a pledge to nearly drink himself to death?
Did I mention that the drink was water?
No adult seemed to be in charge of mu Fraternity. We drank. We drank too much. So did non greeks... And we pushed the envelope of drinking. A crime? Perhaps, but I think it was youth.
What a cop out. I guess they're trying to avoid criminal penalities for hazing.
Exactly. This pledge was expected to find creative ways to pour out most of the liquor and to ACT drunk, not to drink himself to death.
If your kids are bent on joining a fraternity, you had better warn them of the potential hazing. These little boys clubs are run by upper classmen who are, for the most part, losers with no true leadership ability and no backbone. Kerry and Clinton types.
His supposed 'brothers' are also at fault. They set up the peer pressure and since everyone has done it the pledge feels the hazing is safe. Those overseeing this should be responsible enough to stop the pledge from drinking to the level of alcohol poisoning. (Especially since once the pledge has consumed enough alcohol he is in no condition to know he has had enough). They set up the ritual, they set up the rules and THEY are equally responsible. Even a bartender knows when to cut someone off and if he doesn't he could be held responsible.
I note for the record that the supply of idiots far exceeds demand.
Didn't get in did ya?
What's with the 'no,' as though your statement is in disagreement with me. Of course there should be charges (at least manslaughter).
Texas criminalized certain kinds of hazing (all kinds involving alcohol), and, voila, we've had none of these deaths in the last two years.
So I guess there's no need to ban fraternities.
BTW, the 'hazing' in my fraternity's hell week consisted of thoroughly cleaning, rehabilitating and painting the common areas of the fraternity house, including carpet steaming and light finish carpentry. We drank, but no one forced anyone to drink anything. Most fraternities I know are like that.
LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
