Haze

I just finished viewing a film called HAZE by Pete Schuermann. It was one of the fastest hour and 20 minutes in recent memory.

The film is about a young man, Lynn Gordon "Gordie" Bailey, a University freshman in Boulder, Colorado, who died of alcohol poisoning in September 2004, during the Chi Psi fraternity initiation week.

The powerful story is told by Gordie's friends, his parents, his sister, officials in higher education, medical experts, and through amazing footage of college students doing the most outrageous and dangerous things under the influence of alcohol.

I found out about the film through a call at the office today from a Dallas PR professional representing the film (Gordie's family lives in Dallas). He called to let me know it is being screened at Salve Regina University on Saturday at 4:45 PM, as part of the Newport Film Festival this weekend. According to Bill, Gordie's grandmother lives in Newport. Also according to Bill, Salve Regina has made watching this film mandatory for all incoming freshmen.

I understand that decision by the University. This gripping documentary packs a powerful punch. While it celebrates Gordie's short life, it also tells a bigger, more universal story that graphically reveals the epidemic of college binge drinking. It's a message that needs to reach parents of children preparing for the unbridled - and unprecedented - freedom of college life.

As parents, we routinely teach our children about the dangers of drinking and driving. Although terrible tragedies still happen - teenagers are convinced they are invincible (just like we all were at 18) - the public education campaign about the consequences of underage drinking and reckless driving has had some effect.

However, warning our high school and college-age kids about the likelihood of death caused by the alarming trend of consuming enormous amounts of alcohol in a short time span is just not on parents' radar screen.

Until you watch this film.

Rhode Island parents may want to consider attending the screening at Salve this weekend. Gordie's mother Leslie Lanahan and filmmaker Pete Schuermann will be there.

If you can't make it on Saturday, or if you live outside the Rhode Island area, then invest some time in your children's health and safety, and watch it on hulu.

I'd love to know what you think of the film.