FAMU hazing

Trial for FAMU hazing defendants set for October

Mike Schneider — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 15:35:24 +0000

ORLANDO — The Orlando trial of the four remaining defendants charged in the hazing death of a Florida A&M University drum major was postponed until October on Tuesday.

Defense attorneys and State Attorney Jeff Ashton agreed to reschedule the start of the trial to Oct. 27, and they expect it to last less than two weeks.

The trial had originally been set for later this month, but attorneys had scheduling conflicts, and Circuit Judge Renee Roche had been under the impression that trial was supposed to start in early October.

Ex-FAMU band member sentenced in hazing death of drum major

Kyle Hightower — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 01:53:54 +0000

Associated Press

ORLANDO — A former Florida A&M band member on Friday became the first person to be sentenced to jail time for his role in the hazing death of a drum major.

Jessie Baskin was sentenced to 51 weeks in the county jail, five years of probation and 300 hours of community service for participating in the beating death of 26-year-old Robert Champion in November 2011.

2 more plead in FAMU hazing; 1 could go to prison

Staff — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 13:16:16 +0000

By KYLE HIGHTOWER, Associated Press

ORLANDO | A former band member charged in the hazing death of a Florida A&M drum major pleaded no contest to manslaughter Wednesday and could become the first person to go to prison for his involvement in the beating.

FAMU lifts suspension of famed marching band

The Associated Press — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 15:51:53 +0000

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida A&M University's interim president said Thursday he was lifting the suspension of its famous Marching 100 band about a year and a half after a drum major's death that led to the departure of school leaders and reforms trying to crack down on brutal hazing in the band.

Interim President Larry Robinson announced the end of the suspension Thursday. The hazing scandal led to the retirement of band director Julian White and contributed to the resignation of former President James Ammons.

FAMU lays out changes made to combat hazing

Associated Press — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 12:28:47 +0000

TALLAHASSEE — Florida A&M University is making sweeping changes to battle hazing at the school, the university contends in a 27-page document released this week.

The university laid out the changes in response to a blistering report issued late last year that concluded university officials had failed to follow state laws and regulations regarding hazing before the death of 26-year-old drum major Robert Champion.

FAMU accreditation threatened

The Associated Press — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 23:08:19 +0000

TALLAHASSEE — A series of scandals in the last year — including the hazing death of a drum major — is now threatening to cost Florida A&M University its academic reputation.

FAMU officials were told Tuesday that the regional accrediting organization was placing the school on probation for the next 12 months. The university has one year to prove it is turning itself around or it could have its accreditation revoked by the Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges.

1st FAMU defendant in drum major's hazing death avoids jail time

Associated Press — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:29:57 +0000

ORLANDO — The first of a dozen defendants to be sentenced in last year’s hazing death of a Florida A&M drum major avoided jail time when he received his punishment Monday, but he will spend more than two years under close supervision.

FDLE report: FAMU failed to track Marching 100 band money

Associated Press — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 03:06:39 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A scathing new report from state investigators contends that Florida A&M University didn't keep track of expenses and finances for its famed Marching 100 band.

FAMU says drum major responsible for his hazing death, not the university

The Associated Press — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 12:31:09 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida A&M University, which has been rocked by a hazing scandal for nearly a year, insists in legal papers filed Monday that it is not to blame for the tragic death last year of drum major Robert Champion.

The university maintained that it was Champion, not the school, who bears the ultimate responsibility for his death. Champion died last November after he was beaten by fellow members of the famed Marching 100 band aboard a charter bus parked outside an Orlando hotel.

FAMU dance team suspended after accusations of hazing incident

Associated Press — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 11:12:56 +0000

TALLAHASSEE — Florida A&M University, still reeling from the hazing-related death of a marching band drum major 10 months ago, on Tuesday suspended its Torque Dance Team following allegations of an off-campus hazing incident.

Interim President Larry Robinson said the university received an anonymous report from a parent Tuesday afternoon about an alleged incident that occurred over the Labor Day weekend.

FAMU bus 'president' faces felony charges in drum major's hazing death

The Associated Press — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:49:06 +0000

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The so-called “president” of the band bus on which a Florida A&M University band member was fatally beaten now faces a felony hazing charge.

The Orlando Sentinel cites recently revised court documents that now list 25-year-old Dante Martin as one of 12 felony defendants in the death of 26-year-old drum major Robert Champion last November.

FAMU wants to settle hazing death lawsuit

Associated Press — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 04:15:00 +0000

TALLAHASSEE — Florida A&M University wants to try to settle a lawsuit against the school over the hazing death of a band member.

FAMU trustees voted Thursday to enter a voluntary mediation session with attorneys for the parents of Robert Champion, who authorities said died last November after Marching 100 members beat him during a hazing ritual.

Driver in FAMU hazing responds to allegation

The Orlando Sentinel — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 04:06:04 +0000

ORLANDO - The driver of the bus on which Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion was hazed to death, says FAMU officials — not her — were responsible for stopping the initiation rite that killed him.

In an answer to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed this month, Jade Gummer, attorney for Fabulous Coach Lines driver Wendy Mellette, does not directly address other allegations that Champion’s parents made in their lawsuit.

FAMU president resigns immediately

Associated Press — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 11:39:20 +0000

TALLAHASSEE — Florida A&M University's president reached an agreement with school officials to immediately resign from his post Monday, after facing months of criticism in the wake of the hazing death of a marching band member.

Civil rights leaders urge FAMU to consider candidates of all races for new president

Orlando Sentinel — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 04:06:29 +0000

ORLANDO — The Florida Civil Rights Association urged Florida A&M trustees Thursday to consider candidates of all races and ethnicities — not just African-Americans — in choosing a new president to lead Florida's only public historically black university.