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Wright and Gordie Foundation

NEW OCTOBER 6: view the trailer of the film 

from a submitted press release from the Gordie Foundation

ROBIN WRIGHT PENN NAMED
HONORARY CHAIRPERSON OF
THE GORDIE FOUNDATION

Actress Robin Wright Penn has accepted the position of Honorary Chairperson of
Dallas-based, The Gordie Foundation aimed at stopping alcohol abuse and unnecessary hazing on college and university campuses across the country.

She will assume the position immediately by appearing in a promotional segment for the film HAZE, presented by the foundation to raise awareness and a passion to solve this national issue. The film will be released in the first quarter of 2008.

Although she was born in Dallas and then raised in San Diego, Robin Wright Penn lives in Northern California, with her husband Sean Penn and two children, Dylan Frances and Hopper Jack.

Her acting career gained notoriety when she played Kelly Capwell on the Soap Opera Santa Barbara, Buttercup in the film The Princess Bride and Jenny Curran in Forrest Gump, earning her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

The Gordie Foundation is dedicated to the memory of Gordie Bailey, who passed away in Sept., 2004 from alcohol poisoning as a result of a fraternity hazing at the University of Colorado. He was 18-years-old.

“We are ecstatic to have someone of Robin’s stature accepting this Honorary Chairperson position,” said Michael B. Lanahan, President of The Gordie Foundation Board of Directors. “There are 1,700 student deaths per year and close to 100,000 cases of sexual assault that result from binge drinking and over zealous hazing on our campuses. We are convinced that Robin’s presence and message can help wake up our nation to the crisis at hand.”

“For some time I have followed the story of Gordie Bailey and the work of the Foundation Board and Gordie’s mother, Leslie Lanahan, to promote responsible drinking on campuses,” said Robin Wright Penn.

“The work they have done, and the work that I hope to do as a concerned parent, is extremely important in trying to save a valuable life. Over time, we will be successful in inspiring local and national leaders to find a way to solve these tragedies on campuses.

By Hank Nuwer

Journalist Hank Nuwer is the Alaska author of Hazing: Destroying Young Lives; Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing, High School Hazing, Wrongs of Passage and The Hazing Reader. In April of 2024, the Alaska Press Club awarded him first place in the Best Columnist division and Best Humorist, second place.

He has written articles or columns on hazing for the Sunday Times of India, Toronto Globe & Mail, Harper's Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. His current book is Hazing: Destroying Young Lives from Indiana University Press. He is married to Malgorzata Wroblewska Nuwer of Warsaw, Poland and Fairbanks, Alaska. Nuwer is a former columnist for the Greenville (Ohio)Early Bird and former managing editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Alaska.
Nuwer was named the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists columnist of the year in 2021 for his “After Darke” column in the Early Bird. He also won third place for the column in 2022 from the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He and his wife Gosia, recently of Union City, Ind., have owned 20 acres in Alaska for many years. “The move is a sort-of coming home for us,” said Nuwer. As a journalist, he’s written about the Alaskan Iditarod sled-dog race and other Alaska topics. Read his musings in his blog at Real Alaska Daily--http://realalaskadaily.com and in his weekly column "Far from Randolph" in the Winchester Star-Gazette of Randolph County, Indiana.

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