<p>I think this is really misguided. The kid in question was guilty of wanting to be in a famous marching band. That’s it. Unfortunately, the hazing was something they packaged with it. And the school is responsible for the fact that hazing was part of one of their extracurricular activities. </p>
<p>it’s not the same thing as deciding, on your own, to go drink yourself to death. </p>
<p>I think people don’t understand the difference between getting hazed and making bad choices on your own. There is always (usually) free will involved, but it’s not a black and white issue.</p>
<p>^Let me clarify. I think regular peer pressure is less dangerous than pressure to be hazed to gain or maintain membership in a university-sanctioned group such as a marching band or fraternity. In the latter case, the people hazing you typically have a superior position in the social group.</p>
This was not exactly the case with Champion, which is perhaps why some of us (including me) think that he bore more of the responsibility for what happened to him than would a freshman trying to get into the band. Because he was in a position of leadership, he should have been taking steps to prevent this from happening to others. But peer pressure is awfully strong. In cases like this, I think strong action from the outside is the only thing that will break the “tradition.” It would probably take disbanding the band for some period of time.</p>
<p>I think it’s crass for A&M to wave around a signed piece of paper and say, “See? We did OUR part.” Sounds to me like they knew hazing was a problem and decided to cover their butts legally (“Sign this paper saying you won’t haze, wink wink!”) instead of trying to change the band culture.</p>
<p>Do we know that the “I won’t haze” pledge is the extent of what FAMU had done to combat the problem prior to Champion’s death? I wouldn’t be surprised, but I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion without more information. Anyone have the scoop? (I’d Google, but there’s this little thing called a job.)</p>
<p>Please forgive my ignorance, but can someone explain to me exactly what the position of drum major does in a marching band? Is a person in such a position a musician also? Are they a lesser musician than those who continue to play in the band, who uses this as a way to continue to participate, or is it an honor? And why was a 26-yr-old still there?</p>
<p>It seems to me that all of these things play into his mindset and his vulnerability, and I really would like to understand.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s sufficient appreciation of the psychological pressure on people who are in hazing situations. Yes, they are adults and should be responsible for their own behavior. But there’s much more to it than that.</p>
<p>In my opinion, this is just another case of the strong exploiting the weak and sadly, ordinary and responsible people didn’t step forward to help Champion. Like in the bad fraternities, the perps find the weak-willed kid and give him hell. The FAMU administration is acting like any corporate organization that is being sued. They hope that the Champion family is weak and will not have the resources to maintain the litigation.</p>