The Legacy of Lynn Gordan (Gordie) Bailey’04

COURTESY OF THE GORDIE CENTER

In the spring of 2024, Deerfield’s Class of 2004 started a memorial fund in memory of their classmate Lynn Gordon (Gordie) Bailey, who was hazed to death by his college fraternity on September 17th, 2004. Gordie’s Bench and Overlook memorialize the victims of hazing incidents on campuses across the United States.

According to Hazing Info, a database made through a partnership between the University of Maine and the University of Washington Information School, there have been at least five reported college hazing deaths since 2000. Gordie’s death was one of them. At Deerfield, Bailey was active on the varsity football and lacrosse teams and a regular actor in theatre productions; he received the “Class of 2004 Award for Excellence in Drama” and won the New England Championship with the football team. In a Scroll Article from 2020, Bailey’s former advisor said of him, “I don’t believe I have ever known a student in my thirty-six years of teaching that had a sunnier disposition.”

However, three weeks into college at University of Colorado Boulder, Bailey passed away from alcohol poisoning while pledging a fraternity. According to the Gordie Center’s website, Bailey and his fellow pledges, following a fraternity tradition of initiation, were forced to drink four handles of whiskey and six bottles of wine. After spending the night passed out on a couch, his fraternity brothers found him dead at 9 a.m. the next morning. Student Life Office Senior Associate Mr. Kelly described how “there was a moment there where he had died while everybody was still around, and they wouldn’t know it.”

Dean of Ethical and Spiritual Life Jan Flaska remembered first hearing about Gordie’s death when he taught at King’s Academy, the Deerfield’s partner school in Jordan. “My very good friend at college died at age 20, and I remember his mother saying to me, ‘parents are never supposed to outlive their kids.’ That was the first thing I thought about,” he said. Gordie’s Bench sits on an overlook that faces towards the Lower Fields, near a plaque that lists his date of birth and death along with lyrics from the Deerfield Evensong: “Deerfield Days are Days of Glory.” The sun radiating on the bench is a reminder of “his sunny personality,” Dean of Student Life Sam Bicknell said. “When you look over the fields, it’s a wonderful spot where students can soak in that sun and enjoy a peaceful setting.”

Vivian Monopoli ’26 noted Gordie’s Overlook has personal significance. She calls it a “special space on campus that is very reflective... I have good memories there.” She also said that the bench “exemplifies what we value as a community.”

In an address during the reunion of the class of 2004, Bailey’s best friend at Deerfield remarked upon his death. “In his short 18 years, Gordie lived a full lifetime.” Alex Kleiner ’04, said.

Deerfield follows Massachusetts state law guidelines regarding how to approach teaching about hazing, and the Academy also uses Bailey’s story to personalize its approach to teaching. In tenth grade health class, students watch Haze, a documentary made by Bailey’s family that explores his story. In May, the seniors rewatch this documentary. As Dr. Melvion put it, “One student said it hits differently when you know where the story is going.”

After the seniors rewatch the documentary, Dr. Melvion and Mr. Kelly speak with the graduating class about the takeaway from the documentary. “The message we want to deliver to the senior class when they go to college is to have some lines in the sand that you will not cross,” Mr. Kelly said, adding, “We want our students to graduate with a sense of pride and self-esteem and be able to be independent men and women.”

The class of 2004’s memorial fund is in memory of Bailey and three other classmates that passed away: Charles Denihan ’04, Christopher Diggs ’04, and Micheal Walsh ’04. Their goal is to raise $1.8m by their next reunion in 2029 to establish a permanent endowed fund, which would pay for the tuition for one Deerfield student.

As Mr. Kelly said, “The highest honor we could give him is knowing that his death is not in vain.”