{"id":11583,"date":"2011-11-28T16:48:48","date_gmt":"2011-11-28T21:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/?p=11583"},"modified":"2011-11-28T16:51:32","modified_gmt":"2011-11-28T21:51:32","slug":"famu-alumni-upset-over-alleged-hazing-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/?p=11583","title":{"rendered":"FAMU Alumni Upset Over Alleged Hazing Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY LEON B. CREWS<\/strong>
\n Sentinel Staff Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the death of Florida A&M University Drum Major, Robert Champion<\/strong> last Saturday, allegations have been swirling about what happened.<\/p>\n

Family members of the dead student have retained attorneys and announced they will file a lawsuit against the school. Champion<\/strong> allegedly died from injuries he sustained during a hazing incident.<\/p>\n

FAMU Alumni, Freddie Shellman<\/strong>, said when he heard the news, he was shocked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought they had stopped dong that stuff when I was still in school. I definitely don\u2019t think Dr. Julian White<\/strong> (the band director) should have been fired. He had nothing to do with it. He had suspended at least 20 band members just before the Florida Classic for hazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s wrong to punish the entire band for the actions of a few. I think this needs to be thoroughly investigated before any final action is taken. I still find it hard to believe something like this happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andre Walker<\/strong> said he thinks it\u2019s important for people to understand the difference between initiations and hazing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was in school, we called it being initiated, not hazing. Every member of the band at some point has gone through this. When white kids started getting hurt, it became a third-degree felony and given the name hazing instead of initiation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had to experience it as an athlete and band member. When it becomes hazing, that\u2019s taking it too far. In my mind, when I hear hazing, that means to do bodily harm. The act of initiation is a tradition among African Americans and part of our history. When it became hazing, that\u2019s when it had nothing to do with being initiated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker<\/strong> said when he was attending FAMU, you went through one process.<\/p>\n

\u201cChampion<\/strong> was a first-year drum major. He went to do his little ritual where he had to run through a bus with his head covered and was hit. It got out of hand, obviously, and unfortunately a young man died, and we don\u2019t know if what happened on that bus had anything to do with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. White<\/strong> took a stand on this issue a long time ago and has never condoned this act. He\u2019s even gone to school administrators and complained about it, but no action was taken. I really feel bad for him and h is wife. He suffered a massive stroke last year but still continued dong his job. Now that he\u2019s fully recovered, they want to toss him out. I hate to see what\u2019s going on now, but we\u2019re dealing with a new generation now, and they do things with less compassion. This incident has affected a lot of people and this is a sad time for the school and the young man\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker<\/strong> said he also thinks it was wrong to physically escort Dr. White<\/strong> off the campus.<\/p>\n

Dr. Carolyn Collins<\/strong>, a member of the National Alumni Group, said they are waiting for the investigations to be completed, and consider what\u2019s been reported so far as allegations.[private]<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement from FAMU NAA President, Tommy Mitchell, Sr<\/strong>., it was the FAMU NAA is extending their heartfelt sympathy and prayers to the family of beloved Drum Major, Robert Champion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand ready to support Florida A&M University\u2019s president and the appointed task force that is investigating the marching band\u2019s practices and circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Champion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnder state law, the FAMU Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for implementing policies that govern the university and its leadership. No person, organization, or entity, outside the university president or the Board of Trustees, has the authority to dictate the hiring or firing process at this university.<\/p>\n

Therefore, we endorse only legitimate and administrative procedures required to bring deliberate and analytical conclusions to both the university and law enforcement investigations in process, based on accuracy and facts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement further says as official investigations into Champion\u2019s<\/strong> death proceed, the FAMU NAA stands with Champion\u2019s<\/strong> family and the university, prepared to examine the full scope of its findings and to support its recommendations.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe support the mission of FAMU, and in that spirit we support the care, development, and welfare of our most valuable assets \u2013 our students. We support all actions taken for the betterment of Florida A&M University.\u201d<\/p>\n

A statement from FAMU Board of Trustee Chairman, Dr. Solomon L. Badger<\/strong>, said they are deeply saddened by the loss of Robert Champion<\/strong> and each of them will keep his family and the FAMU family in their prayers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the unfortunate incident, I have been in constant discussion with President Ammons<\/strong>. He has responded appropriately to this tragic situation and he has taken measures to get to the root cause of what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Ammons<\/strong> has convened an independent task force to review patterns of behavior b the band and to make recommendations regarding matters that should be addressed at the administrative level. He has suspended performances of all band ensembles, including the Marching 100 and has started appropriate personnel actions to also address the current situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement also said prior to the Florida Classic, there were other measures taken to ensure that students in the band were aware of not only the university policy, but also the penalties under the state\u2019s anti-hazing law. [\/private]<\/strong><\/p>\n

***Look for full story in Tuesday’s Sentinel***<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer Since the death of Florida A&M University Drum Major, Robert Champion last Saturday, allegations have been swirling about what happened. Family members of the dead student have retained attorneys and announced they will file a lawsuit against the school. Champion allegedly died from injuries he sustained during a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11583\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}