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Don Juan Moore / AP
Florida A&M Marching 100 Band during the game against Delaware State Hornets at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Oct. 1, 2011 in Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida A&M University’s famed marching band will remain suspended through the 2012-13 academic year as the school continues to wrestle with the aftermath of the hazing death of a drum major last fall.
FAMU President James Ammons made the announcement during a teleconference Monday with the university’s board of trustees. He said time is needed to come up with a new set of guidelines before the Marching 100 can be reinstated.
"I was heavily influenced by the need to be respectful to Robert Champion's family as well as the other victims," Ammons said. "A young man lost his life and others suffered serious injuries."
Eleven of the 13 people charged in the death of drum major Robert Champion are facing third-degree felony charges in what the prosecutor calls a case of 'homicide by hazing.' NBC's Kerry Sanders reports.
Authorities say Champion, 26, was badly beaten during a hazing incident on a band bus following a football game in Orlando. He died within an hour of the attack. His death, which was ruled a homicide, has drawn public scrutiny to what critics say has been a tradition of hazing at the Tallahassee-based university.
Band director Julian White, who had been with the prestigious band for 40 years, resigned under pressure last week. He had been put on paid administrative leave shortly after Champion’s death in November. Two music professors also resigned recently.
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Thirteen people were charged last week in connection with Champion's death -- 11 are facing felony hazing charges and two others are charged with misdemeanor hazing.
"No one would have expected that his college experience would have included being pummeled to death," Lawson Lamar, the state attorney for Orange-Osceola County, said at the news conference announcing the charges. “I have come to believe that hazing is a term for bullying, bullying with a tradition.”
The Marching 100, which incorporates dance moves into traditional marching formations, had been a source of pride for the school. It played in inaugural parades for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and in several Super Bowls. According to its website, many of the Marching 100's techniques have become standard operating procedures for high school and college programs throughout the nation.
The suspension means there will be no marching band for the upcoming college football season. University officials are looking into the impact on football game ticket sales and other contractual obligations.
Ammons said there is no timetable yet for bringing the band back.
"Once I feel that the issues are resolved, then we'll look at the reimplementation of the band," he told trustees.
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Leave a Comment:
Where was all the outrage from Al and Jesse over this...
No money to be made, why would they waste their time.
I agree. I would also like to know how a young man can be beaten to death and the only charges are hazing? And what about charges against others? How could a band director of FORTY YEARS not know this was going on? I am sorry, but there is not NEARLY enough outrage here. Charging those who beat this young man to death with hazing is not nearly punishment enough. I understand this is black on black crime so that doesn't get nearly the media play, but in many ways this is even more senseless than the Trayvon Martin case, since there is no one even disputing the innocence of the victim or no competing stories.
Where are you, race baiters? (Jessie, Al Sharpton?) Do we only care about the senseless deaths of young black people when there is something in it for us?
Er... ah... actually the charge is murder.
This hazing resulted in charges of murder. Hell, even if it didn't, someone lost their life. Can't people be civil enough to respect the innocent dead?
Why would anybody want to even BE part of that band, after what happened? I'd surely keep it off my resume!
Black-on-black crime doesn't warrant their attention.
I thought the charges were hazing to death, which is a maximum of 6 years. It should be outright murder.
Steve R. Why would Al and Jessie protest against the justice being served for the boy who was hazed? Excuse me sir, your ignorance is showing!
I am glad this was done, but there is no reason for Al and Jessie to be there. I am glad this is happening, it should have happened years ago when they were busted for hazing. But know this, when a student at a frat at LSU, which the party happened off campus at a bar, got in trouble because of alcohol poisoning, the chancellor took action and expelled the frat. I guess the university didn't appreciate it the swift action (i.e. not swept under the rug) and the chancellor got a "promotion". A lot of folks questions why they got rid of a chancellor who took action. I do remember other complaints against other frats fell on deaf ears after that.
Seriously, people posting these "Where are Al and Jesse?" comments need to get themselves informed. I know it's hard to understand nuance, but here's the deal: No charges were originally filed against Zimmerman, therefore protests. Charges were filed against the 13 hazers, therefore no protests.
It is not: Black person killed = protest.
Chris, you are right. There was no way these band members were going to get out of this because the guy died. I don't understand why nothing was done when they beat the other guy about 10 years ago and he has kidney damage. And you are right, charges were filed against these 13 for what they did.
I do not understand why the entire band needs to be disciplined...... The people who beat the young man need to be expelled and have murder/manslaughter charges against them.
The charges that were filed result in a maximum penalty of six years. SIX YEARS for beating a young black man death. THAT'S why Al and Jessie should be involved!
Hazing is by far the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. Hey, want to be in our academic club? We are all very smart, all you have to go through is the ass whooping of your life! And if you don't die, we will welcome you in with open arms and a bunch of ice bags.
Many college students feel the same way about hazing -- until they enter another session of binge drinking, which loosens their mannerisms.
Why is this being sugar coated as hazing, These band cliques are importing gang behavior onto the college campus.
If these butt-holes want to perpetuate this BS they can take their tails back to a stoop somewhere and beat people into thier local gang. There is no place for this on a college campus.
This should be the zero tolerence issue, and if these clowns can't get with the program, then it should be quiet halftimes.
Fraternities should be next.
I anticipate no impact whatsoever on football attendance. Nobody gives a @!$%# about the band at any school athletic event, and there will be 100 more seats available for sale. And mind you, I was in my high school marching band.
Ahhhhhhhhhh, the great cultural divide. Hey, Angry Guy, check out the movie "Drum Line" for greater insight reagrding the stark difference bewteen sthe status of band members at Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs), as opposed to band members at predomiately white institutions. At many HBCUs, the stadium attendance drops significantly following half time, because no matter how good the team may be, the marching band is the reason a good percentage of fans bought a ticket. The 'nerd' image is not synonomous with African-American bands. Band members are among the campus elite in terms of status.
BTW --- Just correcting Angry Guy's misconception regarding the fans' attitude reagrding HBCU bands. I do not, however, condone hazing (whether frats, sororities, athletics, bands or otherwise).
Evidently you are not aware of Black college football and their marching bands - in some intances - people come to see FAMU's marching 100 band and not the footbball game...you can sit down now - know it all
I know being a part of this band is a big deal and that is GREAT. More power to the young men and women who can make the grade. However, taking a beating should NEVER be part of being something like this. Those responsible need to be held accountable, and not just the students who administered the "fatal hazing" (sort of an oxymoron, eh?). There had to be so-called responsible adults aware of this and they should be held accountable. If I were this young man's parents I would want to know (a) who knew about this "ritual" and (b) why didn't they stop it? And I would sue this so-called institution of higher learning for every penny I could get from them, because that's probably the ONLY thing that will make them feel pain (even if I just lit the money on fire after I got it).
This is as senseless as death's come!
Yeah, you must not be from the south then. The Marching Bands do have an impact and some school bands get as much money as the teams they travel with and support. This is a blow to FAMU. But the right call for the death of that poor kid! This needs to stop!
Actually the only reason people come to FAMU games, and the reason many competing teams play them is just FOR their marching band.
The University of Miami plays them every couple of years, the football game? A slaughterfest of completely unreal proportions. The halftime show? Absolute entertainment.
Shame to find out what was going on behind closed doors at that band, because they had some real talent on the field. The school is of course doing the right thing, or actually should probably do more, but it is still a shame.
I suppose that for a student incapable of higher forms of education, such as mathematics, physics, chemistry or engineering, sports team or band scholarship may be a useful tool for obtaining a degree in some lesser educational discipline. Whether these types of degrees are actually useful in some meaningful carreer may be debatable, but they're certainly nothing to be particularly proud of either.
Parents are responsible for encouraging their children to pursuits other than being simple, common entertainers.
Angry Guy you are wrong about the influence of Bands in football. I didn't used to show up until right before half-time, since nothing important happens before the band plays. It will have an impact.
But what about the kids who are there on scholarship? Are they going to lose their scholarship because of this? A good number of kids who were not involved could be impacted by this, let alone graduate late if they can't make up the credit in other performing groups. For the Music Majors, it could be a big, big problem.
mjolnir - you must be soo-ooo special.
Why have the band members not reported the hazing over the years? They are as much to blame for not reporting it.
mjoiner, you are clueless. Who makes more money than anyone in this country? Entertainers.
Mjoiner. You too may go and have a seat while you attempt to use your degree in mathematics or physics to spell check your comment. Excuse me ma'am, your ignorance is showing, literally!
Its not that the band is so good, its that the level of football is so bad that makes people get up and leave after the halftime show. Its a good show the first 3 times you see it, but after that its the same dam show with the same lame unsynchronized dance moves. Take the uniform off the FAMU band and put it on any other HBCU band, and you cant tell any of them apart.
Why does Florida maintain a formerly all black college (FAMU) in the same small town - Tallahassee as a formerly all white college (FSU)? Maybe if they were combined this kind of behavior would be curtailed.
One -- tradition. A good one and a strong one,
Two -- there are eoungh students to fill the classes for both.
MANY smaller cities (Tallahassee is hardly small town) support more than one college or university. It's quite common.
I also doubt that this would stop hazing. I'm sure FSU has its share as well
White college students haze just as much (or probably more than) as black college students do. Have a seat Johnnie, your ignorance is showing.
Remember that a lot of band members didn't even attend Florida A&M University, that needs correcting.
And where do you get your informaton from - they not only are students of FAMU, they must maintain a certain grade point average to stay a member of the band...like in most team sports...
My nephew was to start at this college in the fall. All was settled. Now he has withdrawn to look for another place to be in the band at college.
Actually Bev, it is true that about 101 of the members of the band were not enrolled students at the University, even the school's own campus newspaper has an article about it:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/14/2798104/future-of-famus-marching-band.html
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20120510/NEWS01/205100314/101-band-members-not-FAMU-students
http://www.thefamuanonline.com/news/bot-many-of-the-100-were-not-enrolled-at-famu-when-champion-was-killed-1.2739708
I did see his parents say it was not because he was gay, just hazing gone wild. I myself love marching bands, the dedication and hard work are something to be admired. Our high school football team couldn't beat a retirement home all stars and the band is forced to give up their nights to show support. Add insult to injury they can't practice on the field because they might hurt the grass, so they march on the asphalt parking lot 6-7 hours a day. But they kick ass!
If you want your kid in high tuition college one had better check out what's been banned before you pay all the cash only to learn your kid will suffer because of the actions of others.
Punish the guilty. NOT EVERYONE.
If no one reported it, they are all guilty.
A misguided sense of worth is to blame here and in other cases of hazing, this includes fraternities, sororities, sports teams and many other exculsive institutions. It's only allowed to flourish in an environment lacking institutional oversight and the illogical social pressure of fitting in.
Few individuals in history ever made a positive mark upon humanity by "fitting in", real breakthroughs are made by those willing to think for themselves. All these institutions serve mainly those who deperately need support and validation for their efforts.
The herding instinct is strongest in the weak of spirit, and the weak always derive a sense of power and influence from the group victimization of individuals. Non-conformity is their greatest threat, because non-conformists are at greatest risk of discovering the pitifully small real worth of the group at large. It is this same attitude and culture that leads religious organizations to demonize all conflicting views, to the detriment of humanity.
Didn't I read that the young man in this article was 26 years old. Hardly a child. I believe he would be classified as a grown man by most adults. Not a teenager sent off to school by his doting parents. At that age, I am sure he was aware of the hazing ritual before joining the band. That being said, there is really no excuse for this kind of activity at any school, no matter what the age. However, when we become grown adults, there is a certain amount of responsibility we hold in our participation in activities that put us at risk or danger. When do we hold adults responsible for their own actions. That includes the students participating in the hazing and band directors, and coaches that allow the activity to go one.
WAY overblown. This is a criminal matter and charges have been issued. To punish the entire schools marching curriculum and all associated people is moronic at best. Punish the ones that committed the crime it is that simple.
Once again we don't blame the people that did the crime, we blame and punish everyone else in the band and the suspects are 'victims' of some hazing ritual that's been around for years. Hold the people that committed the crime accountable, not the entire system.
I'm curious how this could be viewed as anything other than a systemic problem when 13 individuals are being charged and when the school is going to be held INCREDIBLY liable for this behavior. A jury is going to be hard pressed to consider this anything other than pack mentality.
As a wise man once saideth unto me: Pontifex this is why they call'em ni @@ ers. Now you liberals will think that a racist comment. Then again when was the last time you read a story where a white drum major was brutalized to death by white band members while on a school event? Now I leave yoy to listen to RAP on my satellite radio ... XM station #45 where if I may add the Gangsta Rappa's use the word ni @@ ers in every other phrase which for some reason is acceptable vocabulary. This is known as the WHITE MAN'S BURDEN ...
You know what I have not heard of a story where a white drum major was brutalized, but I did hear about the white pledge that had to f**k a sheep! I would think the wise man would call that pledge a ni@@er too. And it's so funny that you feel comfortable enough to say the N word behind your computer screen, but would NEVER do so in public! Have a seat Pontifex your ignorance is hanging all the way out!
What do you think would happen if all theFA&MU band members were armed with 9mm Glocks?
Hey this is Fla, why didn't he stand his ground?
Hazing activities happen at colleges across the country. Rarely do the hazing activities result in serious physical injury or death to participates. But unfortunately in this case the events and activities did. To equate that this only happens at black colleges or universities is assinine.
Well, I care deeply about the so-called hazing that goes on in the college fraternities today---and I get just as angry about it--whether the victim is black or white or Hispanic or Asian. Every time one of hazing incidents hits the news, the fraternity or club will say it's tradition. Whose traditions are they referring to? My ex-husband was in a prominent fraternity in the late 50's and the early 60's. I was going to say old-school hazing wasn't as brutal as it is now, but then I remembered what we recently found out about how Romney and his jock friends ganged up on a kid and tortured him, and Romney is only a few years younger than me. I'd like to know if victim was presumed gay, too.
He instructed the band that they should strike-up "beat me daddy eight to the bar" so they did.
What could possible be gained by beating up another person, to prove what? How Frinking stupid you really are.
If this kid had been attacked on the street these guys would be up for murder one. What's the difference? It was not a bunch of other race of kids. WHERE IS JESSIE AND AL?
This was not a kid......26 years old is a grown MAN.
Doesn't really matter, he is still dead.
Jesse and Al are sitting on the sidelines because, with a 90% black enrollment, chances are extremely high that 13 black students beat another black student to death. Jesse and Al's devotees only care if someone of another color kills a black person... or if the victim lives in a predominantly white town... or a predominantly white state... or works for a prodominantly white company... Well, pretty much if there is even the vaguest reason they could blame whitey.
The band is called the marching 100 but there is over 300 members. I do not condone hazing. Every member of the band does not participate in hazing but the media portrays it as so. It is a shame that the young man died but don't punish those who are innocent. They should remove those who are a part of these groups within the band and they know who they are one in particular (red dogs-established in a high school in Georgia). Students who attend school and work hard are being punished for something they had nothing to do with. I know the Champion's sent their child there for an education not to be killed but he had to join the group in order to be hazed. That issue should be addressed
Sorry - all 300 members hold some responsibility for not speaking up, not objecting, not thinking this practice through.Ditto the faculty and administration. Same thing happened in Nazi Germany - good people failed to speak up.
A very good point Anniejaye.....a MAN of 26 years, (again a Man not a child) has some responsibility in his own fate when he joins or participates in activities that lead to his injuries or death. I am sad for his family and the students not involved in the incident. The participants should be held accountable, and the administration that knew of the activities and did nothing to address them. But as you say, he has a large amount of responsibility for joining in on the hazing activity to begin with. And he was not a child, but a grown man that should have been able to make a more mature decision about his participation.
Oh yeah, he's responsible for joining a band, and expecting the hazing would NOT end his life. Good call.
Well JAN....this was NOT a child....this was NOT a young teenager that just left home with no clue in this world. This was a grown MAN. Someone that the rest of adult society would expect to make mature decisions about activities he was going to participate in. Anniejaye made a valid point. This hazing activity is widely known in the band and on campus. Not all of the students on campus participate in the hazing or even condone it. When do we as adults become responsible for our own actions and decisions? I agree with you that he probably did not ever think that his participation in this hazing activity would result in his death. But you know what....grown adults participate in dangerous behaviour everyday and never stop to think about the negative consequences of those decisions. After something bad happens to them, of course it is everyone elses fault because we didn't save them from themselves. You are correct, the faculty does have a large responsibility if they were aware of the continued hazing activities and did nothing to discourage and disrupt it. But the truth is this 26 year old man has a certain amount of responsibility for participating in it to start with.
As an FSU grad, I know that both FSU and FAMU have strong traditions and neither want to merge. Also, both are strong band/music schools and, especially when the opponent is mediocre, the most exciting thing about the game is the halftime show. Obviously many on here have not gone to a Division 1 college with a strong band program if they think the game will be the same without it...it won't. That being said, the death penalty for FAMU's band is appropriate. The hazing issue there has been addressed again and again without success. It took a tragedy for someone to get serious about stopping this crazy ritual.
Suspensions and stern words are not enough.
These are crimes that have been committed and the perpetrators should be punished in a manner befitting the crime.
Send the kids to jail, send them to the electric chair, kill them thru lethal injection or hanging…..It is after all what they have done to others.
They should NOT get a ‘get out of jail free card’ and continue living their lives after taking the life of another.
If they know they will face murder charges, jail time, and possibly even the death penalty…….Trust me Hazing Will STOP.
And I do not think the administrators should be held accountable. The students should face murder charges one by one.
There is some sort of stronghold or mindset in traditions, good or bad, which persuades people to go along and that it is all in fun and a rite of passage. That is the only answer that I can come up with to explain why a 26 year old adult would override better judgment and tolerate being beaten, or that group of people who are supposed to be a team turn into a mob, or that people in authority would fail to recognize or ignore a loss of control of the situation. It only takes one person to go too far in certain circumstances to turn a comedy into a tragedy.
Don't even go there with the "blame the victim" argument. I am not sure that punishing the entire band is the best answer. Are they going to suspend every fraternity and every other team on the campus who has practiced hazing? Just because they haven't killed anyone yet, it could come to that every time one of these events takes place.
All people in a group or on a team must learn to function as a unit. Team building activities are a must in order to teach this. But, how? Even the Military hasn't exactly got a firm grip on that one. An answer must somehow be found. People who are determined to have these types of activities will find a way. Apparently there is a fine line between a team and a mob. A way must be found to keep the individuals from crossing it.
I think perhaps making them find their own transportation or keeping them in smaller groups on smaller busses might help. Everyone is keyed up after activities and a few always manage to sneak alcohol on the bus, and there is no supervision. The bus driver cannot be expected to babysit a group of rowdy students. If the students cannot control themselves, someone else will have to do it until somebody comes up with a better plan.
I don't know why white folk are even trying to act as if hazing is stupid, they invented it...does the name THE SKULLS, ring a bell. Hell even in the gangs of NY yuo had to kill a rivall to prove you were ALL IN...
@gena of fla....hazing goes on at FSU as well stop acting as if your school is exempt...
I think the suspension is appropriate, however, the school needs to honor the scholarships of the band members who are not implicated in all of this. and if they are or were then they need to pay that money back to the school....
Really the school should honor scholarships? No, sorry but if the football team was suspended we don't have the players still go to school on a scholarship-same thing with the band. Every member of the band was aware of some form of hazing-they are all guilty to some extent. We can question why this 26 year old man went along with it--he should have known better?? So did all the members of the band! I wish somebody--just one person had the guts and character to report this situation before it came to this.
And I am sorry what are you talking about "I don't know why white folk are even trying to act as if hazing is stupid..." really I haven't seen one post that states I am a 25 year old white man...so who is the racist? What post sounded "white" to you?