Robert Champion hazing death and FAMU Marching 100: Decision day for Florida A&M University marching band

7:05 AM, May 14, 2012   |    comments
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Tallahassee, Florida -- The fate of Florida A&M University's marching band may be decided Monday.

The band was suspended after the beating death of drum major Robert Champion during a hazing ritual.

FAMU president James Ammons and the school's Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting Monday to discuss the famed band, known as the Marching 100.

The Board of Trustees of Florida A&M is the panel of leaders from across the state who make the school's biggest decisions.

And it looks like there are some trustees who may want to bring the marching band back from its suspension soon.

The Marching 100 is a huge deal at FAMU in Tallahassee; it's more prominent there than the football team.

The band's been suspended since Champion's death in Orlando last year.

And Chancellor Frank Brogan, the head of the whole state university system, has warned the trustees against bringing the band back too soon.

10 News talked with the band's director, who just announced he's stepping down. Even he says The Marching 100 needs to take a year off.

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"I would recommend that the band not be reinstated at this point and I say that with a great deal of respect and appreciation for the Marching 100 fans," now-retired FAMU band director Julian White said.

"I've always said the band does not belong to us. It belongs to the city of Tallahassee, the state of Florida and the nation."

Several investigations and major questions are still looming over the band.

Eleven people face felony charges in the hazing death of Champion.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is looking into allegations of financial fraud within the band.

A university-wide anti-hazing task force has started falling apart as members have resigned.

And new revelations last week showed more than 100 people on the band's roster were not FAMU students -- and not eligible to be part of the group.

The band's outgoing director admits those ineligible members did -- in his words -- "slip past" him.

But he argues the ultimate responsibility lies with the school's administration to check on whether people in its programs are eligible to be there.

After all, one university department was apparently handing out per diem checks for travel expenses to band members without checking to make sure they were students.

White also made the case that he was trying to stop hazing in the band -- not support it.

He said he has documentation of several cases where he reported hazing incidents to the university's administration.

We'll let you know what comes of the trustees' meeting today, starting on 10 News at 5 o'clock.

Grayson Kamm, 10 News