FAMU's Marching 100 Will Not Take The Field This Year
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — Florida A&M University's Marching 100 band has been suspended until 2013.
During a meeting Monday morning between the school's President James Ammons and the board of trustees, Ammons said he will keep the band off the field for the upcoming school year.
The suspension comes in the wake of the hazing death of drum major Robert Champion last November. Eleven FAMU band members face felony hazing charge. Two others face misdemeanor counts.
Ammons suspended the band soon after Champion's death.
Last week it was revealed that more than 100 of the band's members were not FAMU students at the time of the incident. Last week longtime band director Julian White, who had been fighting to keep his job, abruptly decided to retire.
Top state officials including Gov. Rick Scott and the State University System Chancellor say the Marching 100 should remain sidelined until other ongoing investigations into the band are completed.
Champion's mother Pam has said the band should be disbanded so the university can "clean house". She and the family's attorney believe there is a considerable effort among students and others to cover up who is responsible for her son's death.
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