Another Colorado student found dead in a fraternity house... - Page 3

exlurker · #31 10-08-2004, 01:16 PM

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."
. . . .

33girl · #32 10-08-2004, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by exlurker
"Bitch" was written on the fingers of his right hand. Other phrases included an offensive six-letter racial slur.

I'm guessing they're referring to the N-bomb. I just found a picture of this kid and he was white. Am I the only one who doesn't get it??

DeltAlum · #33 10-08-2004, 01:51 PM

Yes, he was white.

One of the local TV stations had side by side shots of he and Sam Spady the other night.

They could have been Homcoming King and Queen pics. Two really good looking kids.

From the story above, it looks like the university may get named in the suit even with their "hands off" attitude.

gogoaphi · #34 10-08-2004, 04:41 PM

Hazing is a crime and it looks like someone will be held accountable in this situation.

DeltAlum · #35 10-08-2004, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gogoaphi
Hazing is a crime and it looks like someone will be held accountable in this situation.

Even if it isn't hazing, service alcohol to people under 21 is a crime.

gogoaphi · #36 10-08-2004, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Even if it isn't hazing, service alcohol to people under 21 is a crime.

No doubt, I definitely concur. The added demeaning activity of writing on a passed out member is unbelievable to me. I can only hope that the members who did it are having a very difficult time right now dealing with their guilt. I will be interested in how the authorities decide to proceed with charges. It sounds as if there will be a lot of accountability to go around.

James · #37 10-09-2004, 11:43 AM

Well. . .. I know you are just being holier than thou for effect and all given the tragic situation. But in boy culture, which i am sure you know, writing on someone's face if they pas out is kind of common.

Writing. Putting make-up on him, putting shaving cream on him . . I have heard of some bizarre stuff.

IF anything, the fact they wrote on him showed how common it may have been for him to drink too much and also that they had no clue he was going to die.

I wonder, if they had put make-up on him would there be allegations of homosexual necrophilia?

I mean everything else they are speculating on is equally farfetched.

Quote:

Originally posted by gogoaphi
No doubt, I definitely concur. The added demeaning activity of writing on a passed out member is unbelievable to me. I can only hope that the members who did it are having a very difficult time right now dealing with their guilt. I will be interested in how the authorities decide to proceed with charges. It sounds as if there will be a lot of accountability to go around.

gogoaphi · #38 10-09-2004, 03:09 PM

James,

You can be SUCH a jerk. If writing on a friends face while they are passed out is some "guy thing", then I feel very sorry for the male species. That "boy culture" sucks. Just how ridiculous it is becomes glaringly apparent in a situation like this. I don't think my attitude is "holier than thou" ... I think it is appropriate. If he would have woken up after passing out ... it would still be wrong. The added affect it has in a situation like this on his family makes it reprehensible. Stop trying to be such a contrarian.

valkyrie · #39 10-09-2004, 03:16 PM

It's common in boy culture where? Seventh grade at a sleepover? I don't know any guys who would even think of doing shit like that.

I have to say I'm wondering about the circumstances surrounding the drinking that night. Although I'm a firm believer in individual responsibility and not blaming others when someone drinks too much, if these guys were the kind of assholes who'd write such things on someone who passed out, it's easy to believe that they're the kind of assholes who would also pressure someone to drink too much.

James · #40 10-09-2004, 03:31 PM

Its a lot more common than you think. Just because groups of girls don't do it to each other doesn't mean boys don't.

It happens especially among tight groups of friends as a kind of joke. It just does. I have no idea how that correlates towards his death.

Does cockblocking behavior correlate towards someone dying?

Does putting a stupid sign on someone's back?

Its all the same stupid adolescent-type behavior.

I remember threads where everyone went ballistic about tradtional high school pranks also.

AGDee · #41 10-09-2004, 04:43 PM

They did it to Anthony, Jr. in the last season of the Sopranos.. shaved his eyebrows and wrote on him while he was passed out. I doubt that the writers came up with that on their own, so they must've been clued in that it was something that young drunk adults do sometimes.

That doesn't mean it's smart or right, but we do have to keep in mind that the men doing this are very likely pretty drunk themselves and you simply don't make smart decisions when you're drunk.

I'm not condoing or excusing, just explaining. I have yet to see people who are drunk act in a mature, thoughtful manner.

Dee

Tom Earp · #42 10-09-2004, 04:47 PM

Well, I guess the question is it Right, Wrong, or Stupidity!

He Died, He is Dead, His Family Grieves, His Brothers Grieve.

Right or Wrong, He is Gone.

Take care of Your own should be the Key Here.

Greeks Feel Good Enough about recruiting a "Pledge or New Associate" so why not take care of Him?

gogoaphi · #43 10-09-2004, 04:52 PM

Well said Tom ... that's what we are about!

Quote:

Originally posted by Tom Earp
Take care of Your own should be the Key Here.

Greeks Feel Good Enough about recruiting a "Pledge or New Associate" so why not take care of Him?

Little E · #44 10-11-2004, 11:36 AM

I hate to say it, but I can see a group of drunk guys, who don't realize how sick someone is, doing stupid stuff like writing on people or other juvenille behavior. The stories I heard the year I was on a fraternity meal plan shocked me. People who were usually the sweetest people, did the sickest stuff to others occasionally. No it is probably not hazing to write on someone, but guys in college (no offense guys I'm not pointing fingers at anyone) can be the dummest creatures. The world around seems to disappear and all sensibilities are gone. This death is tragic and the ones this fall, it is time for people to wake up and realize.

exlurker · #45 10-11-2004, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Little E
. . . . People who were usually the sweetest people, did the sickest stuff to others occasionally. No it is probably not hazing to write on someone, . . . .

Little E, interestingly enough the national executive director of Chi Psi is quoted in an article in the October 10 Denver Post as saying, "It seems to me this was a hazing incident."

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,...458090,00.html

It's not totally clear whether the executive director meant the writing as well as the drinking . . . perhaps the whole set of activities. Other news stories have reported that another pledge tried to get people to stop writing on Bailey, but it took the intervention of one of the members to eventually get it stopped.

In a different story -- October 11 -- a Denver Post columnist makes several lacerating comments about some of the reactions to Gordie Bailey's death:

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,...459714,00.html