US: Preventing hazing on National Gordie Day

Thousands of US students will take part in a National Gordie day next month in conjunction with National Hazing Prevention Week which is sponsored by HazingPrevention.Org. The aim is to spread awareness about the dangers of alcohol and hazing, and commemorate the lives of the 5,000 under-age students who die every year from alcohol related incidents.

Findings of an ongoing study prepared by professors Elizabeth Allan and Mary Madden of the University of Maine's college of education and human development reveal that 47% of college freshmen arrive on campus having already been hazed in high school.

National GORDIE day is presented by the Gordie Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by parents Leslie and Michael Lanahan in memory of their son, Lynn Gordon Bailey, a freshman who died of an alcohol overdose following a Chi Psi fraternity hazing incident at the University of Colorado in 2004.

The Gordie Foundation has established the Circle of Trust, a student-driven, peer-to-peer education programme, with chapters on nearly 150 college and high school campuses worldwide. These groups help promote change by spreading Gordie's story, establishing dialogue about responsible alcohol use, educating about the dangers of peer pressure, hazing, and alcohol poisoning, and empowering youth to call for help and potentially save the life of a friend. The primary activities of each chapter include promoting awareness by holding two events each academic year at every participating campus.