Florida A&M University will study methods to help students resist hazing and decide how to supervise the school's beleaguered Marching 100 band, according to the Associated Press.
The board of trustees recently approved plans to create a five-member committee after police determined that Robert Champion, a drum major, died in November after he was punched and paddled during as hazing ritual. Board members also voted to create a scholarship in Champion's name.
The scholarship was little solace to Champion's family, they said in a statement presented by their attorney. "Memorials, scholarships and committees will not bring Robert Champion back, nor will they prevent another student from dying as a result of the culture of hazing in the FAMU marching band," the family's attorney, Christopher Chestnut, said in an email. "We hope that the FAMU administration focuses its time and resources on developing substantive strategies that protect its band members from hazing, that is the legacy Robert would have wanted."
The AP says that trustees and university officials are being asked to make recommendations for a list of potential committee members. The committee's makeup and a timeline for its work will be decided over the next 30 days.
The board of trustees is right to consider ways to uproot hazing. We hope that members will select students to become part of the committee. Reform measures from students themselves are often more palatable than edicts from the administration.
Read more at the Washington Post.