FAMU must produce hazing-related documents

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Florida's State University System requested Florida A&M University turn over documents related to hazing before and after the death of a marching band member.

The documents, demanded by the university system's inspector general and due Wednesday, include a letter the attorney for Julian White, the marching band director, wrote to university President James Ammons after he tried to fire White following band member Robert Champion's death in November, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

The letter defends White's record in trying to stop hazing. It is accompanied by documents indicating White's efforts to stop hazing in the Marching 100 band, including holding workshops and suspending dozens of students in recent years, the Sun-Sentinel said.

Inspector General Derry Harper also has requested the university's policy against hazing and other documents.

Ammons was publicly reprimanded in December by the university's board of trustees, which said he had done a poor job informing and consulting them on issues related to Champion's death.

Trustees have since pointed to improvements, including Ammons' regular teleconferences to keep trustees updated on FAMU's response to Champion's death and other hazing allegations.

Champion's death has been ruled a homicide but no one has been charged. Authorities have said Champion's death was related to an apparent hazing ritual on the band's parked bus after the Florida Classic football game in Orlando.