WARNING Adult Content: The definitive motion picture that addresses the subject of alcohol use and abuse in university settings
On the afternoon of September 16, 2004, a joyous 18-year-old, Lynn Gordon Bailey Jr., pledged Chi Psi Fraternity at the University of Colorado. The next morning he was found dead, a victim of an irresponsible hazing ritual involving alcohol. A sad situation, but made even worse because it was so preventable.
Every year, a staggering 1,700 college students face the same fate. Another 100,000 are victims of sexual assault as a result of heavy drinking. But no one working on a national level to change a culture that puts our young people in peril. Until now.
HAZE is a feature documentary, created with the intent of placing a focus on the issues of binge drinking, alcohol-laden hazing rituals, and rapid-fire drinking games. Simply stated, the film’s goal is to save lives and prevent harm. Harm that would never have happened if a few crucial steps had been followed by friends, by fraternity brothers and sisters, family members or peers. HAZE won’t end irresponsible drinking but it will be the first chapter in an educational process for parents and young adults--teaching us what to do and what to look out for in order to “save a life.”
On the afternoon of September 16, 2004, a joyous 18-year-old, Lynn Gordon Bailey Jr., pledged Chi Psi Fraternity at the University of Colorado. The next morning he was found dead, a victim of an irresponsible hazing ritual involving alcohol. A sad situation, but made even worse because it was so preventable.
Every year, a staggering 1,700 college students face the same fate. Another 100,000 are victims of sexual assault as a result of heavy drinking. But no one working on a national level to change a culture that puts our young people in peril. Until now.
HAZE is a feature documentary, created with the intent of placing a focus on the issues of binge drinking, alcohol-laden hazing rituals, and rapid-fire drinking games. Simply stated, the film’s goal is to save lives and prevent harm. Harm that would never have happened if a few crucial steps had been followed by friends, by fraternity brothers and sisters, family members or peers. HAZE won’t end irresponsible drinking but it will be the first chapter in an educational process for parents and young adults--teaching us what to do and what to look out for in order to “save a life.”
Am I seriously supposed to have sympathy for Gordie after watching this film? The first video they showed of him was at the beach...he was not building a sandcastle or playing in the water, he was peeing in the dunes and then pulling his pants up for half a minute. I do not want to see this.
Then they show him making films about his family in which he depicts horrible things happening to them. Then they show more video of this kid doing extreme things, and they brag about how he always went all out in everything he did like that is a good thing. They didn’t even try to pull the “he was a good, upstanding citizen that everyone loved and he helped cancer patients and worked at the nursing home...” None of that. For christ’s sake his sister said something like, “Yeah he was a great brother...he didn’t even beat me!” WTF. The kid seemed to be, pardon my lack of class, nothing less than a total douche bag, just like a large portion of the kids that participate in this sort of behavior. And some of these people are going to be running our country someday! I am a recent graduate, I’m the same age as them, and I had a lot of fun in college without drinking or drugging myself stupid or committing other illegal acts. It is quite frankly very annoying that anyone would ask me to feel sorry for a group of individuals with no self-respect, no ability to think for themselves, and no dignity whatsover. Pardon me for having common sense, but this is a lesson in natural selection.
I got made fun of in college because I didn’t act like that. Didn’t drink like them. Are you f*cking kidding me? The parents, just as much as the kids, need to grow the f*ck up and stop crying to everyone when their stupid kids drink themselves to death. Parents and administrators: if the kid is an impressionable idiot, they are going to drink themselves half to death, or to death, and there is virtually nothing you can do about it. Sorry.
Posted 07/30/09 by Freedom Jane
This is such an eye-opener and hopefully will educate millions of people.
But, how come no one ever once said, “Teach kids to not drink, to say no to drinks.” It was more about drinking within limits, before blacking out, and calling if someone goes unconscious. Teenagers are obviously not able to responsibly handle that message.
Even on the Gordie Foundation website, I never came across anyone advising young people to choose sobriety altogether. Why is that?
I attended Brigham Young University which has just been rated #1 Stone Cold Sober Campus for the 12th year in a row—that’s something to be proud of! Universities and colleges need to muster up the courage to say no to beer companies’ money and reject them as financial sponsors. There are too many lives at stake. We can’t afford to continue this terrible mixed-message.
You can find me on Facebook as the moderator of the “Say No to Drinks and Yes to Freedom” group.
Thank you.
Posted 05/21/09 by Kayla Keena
This is a great video and I would recommend it to any high school and college student.
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The Gordie Foundation provides today’s young people with the skills to navigate the dangers of alcohol, binge drinking, peer pressure and hazing. Learn more >
