( 4UMF NEWS ) FAMU Suspends Dance Team:
Florida A&M University, still reeling from the death of a drum major during a hazing ritual last fall, has suspended an all-female student dance team for alleged off-campus hazing, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson says an anonymous tip from a parent reported alleged hazing within the all-female Torque Dance Team that purportedly included alcohol consumption and running up hills.
“We have zero tolerance for hazing,” Robinson says in a statement. “It’s deplorable and will not be tolerated. It is unconscionable that a student organization would participate in any hazing activity considering what has transpired in the past year.”
Robert Champion, a 26-year-old drum major in FAMU’s famed Marching 100 band, was killed in November during a brutal hazing incident in Orlando.
Twelve people face felony hazing charges, while two others face misdemeanor counts, the Associated Press reports. They have pleaded not guilty.
The Torque Dance Team had been inactive since December because it did not have an adviser, the Democrat reports.
“It does appear that this is a group that is not getting the message,” says Robinson. “I am re-stating the message to those who are coming to these sessions tonight. We want to help bring home the point that we are very serious that there is nothing about this that is necessary to be part of an organization at Florida A&M.”
