FAMU band suspended

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/22/justice/florida-possible-hazing-death/index.html

The whole band, all 375 of them, activities ceased pending investigation.

I interviewed a former FAMU football coach once. Said he never worked his team as hard as the band worked its members.

Scuttlebutt on social media is that the kid dropped his baton during a practice or game or some function, and was forced to undergo some hazing ritual. Jeez, in the Marines if you drop your rifle you just have to sleep with it.

The shocking aspect of this story: 30 band members were kicked out already this year for hazing, even before this.

 

Maybe they should stop hazing? :

 

I think one band director was already canned about 10 years ago when the state supposedly got tough with this. Apparently not good enough.

 

"A music major from Atlanta, Champion was one of six drum majors for the 375-member Marching 100 band, the school said."

Why are there 375 people in the Marching 100? Shouldn't there be 100 people in the Marching 100? If not, shouldn't they rename it the Marching 375?

Also this guy was 26? What is a 26 year old doing in a college marching band? This isn't BYU.

Final question -- If 30 people get tossed from the band this year for hazing, why are they STILL hazing?

 

1. The original name was the Marching 100, when there were 100. They've added instrument groups over the years and retained the name. Guess it's the same as the Big Ten (or 11 ...err., 12).
2. Maybe the guy served in the military before going to college. It happens. Florida State's basketball team has a 26-year-old senior (Bernard James) who was in the Air Force. What about the Oklahoma State QB?
3. No good answer for that. Sounds like a massive failure on a Penn State scale to hide eyes to a blatant problem. Think a football coach would survive if 30 of his players were thrown off the team in the same semester?

 

The Million Dollar Band -- did it ever adjust for inflation?

 

Outstanding band. It's a shame this has occurred.

 

Band director fired, after 40 years:

http://www.11alive.com/news/article/213816/40/FAMU-band-director-to-be-fired-following-drum-majors-death

 

Something had to give and the price never went up.

 

Wow, Gov. Rick Scott really steps in it today, by assuming all FAMU students are from poor backgrounds. D'oh!:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/rick-scott-florida-am-public-housing-drum-major-death_n_1154200.html?ref=politics

 

He did his research by watching Drumline.

 

He didn't mean they were all poor.

He just meant he lived with black people before. Because obviously that's who lives in public housing.

Duh.