[exlurker]

The Denver Post reports on the "slurs" and vulgarities written on Gordie Bailey, and also reports that Bailey's family is considering legal action. Excerpts from the article are below; the entire article is at

http://www.denverpost.com/cda/articl...453690,00.html

Frat brothers scrawled slurs on dying pledge
The family of Gordie Bailey, a CU student who died of alcohol poisoning, is considering legal action.
By Amy Herdy and George Merritt Denver Post Staff Writers

Friday, October 08, 2004 -

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.

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. . . .


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."
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