FAMU student leaders call for an end to hazing

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida A&M President James Ammons said the university is committed to breaking a conspiracy of silence that has for decades shrouded hazing practices at the school and finally resulted in a band member’s death.

Ammons addressed an estimated 2,000 FAMU students Monday night and then took several questions, many of which were about the media coverage that most in the audience felt portrayed the school in a bad light.

“We are going to eliminate this pattern of destructive behavior from our campus,” Ammons said. “This code of silence hampers our ability to root out these insidious activities.”

Petitions were sent through the audience from student government leaders seeking signatures from students to pledge to stop hazing at the school.

Robert Champion, a drum major in the school’s famed band, the “Marching 100,” died in Orlando. It came hours after performing at the annual Florida Classic football game between the Rattlers and rival Bethune-Cookman.

Champion, 26, was found unresponsive on Nov. 19 on a bus parked outside a hotel after the game after he had been seen vomiting. Police have not been specific, but said they believe hazing played a part in his death.

It also started a criminal investigation into whether FAMU officials have ignored past warnings about hazing.

“It’s just not right, but it probably took this for it to stop,” said Fredrick Mixon, a 21-year-old fourth-year health service major from Avon Park. “It’s an embarrassment to the university, not only to the Marching 100. It’s shameful.”