Overnight, The Marching “100,” went from incomparable to infamous in the eyes of people across this nation.
Because of activities that were said to be linked to hazing, a member of the program lost his life, and the marching band was placed on suspension. The marching band’s suspension may have lasted for one year, but many changes came with the short time.
Because of the changes and new requirements, hazing in this band will not have much space or time left, if at all. The program is asking for much more than just enrolling in their 3:35 p.m. band class to become a participating member.
The type of musicians the band is now looking for are students who are focused purely on their education and music.
Prerequisites for marching band membership include credit requirements according to the student’s classification, and the absence of an “I” on their transcripts, showing students behind schedule do not have a place in the program.
An assumption can be made that with these membership requirements in place, the old hazing habits of this band are going to be broken. This is because students are being forced to focus on what is needed for matriculation and membership in the program.
With the new objectives, trying to add unnecessary goals, especially ones made by other students, will seem useless and harmful to those standing with the marching band program and the university. Hazing in the reshaped The Marching “100” will not, and most likely, cannot, exist in the band alongside its new regulations and focuses.
Social media, students, parents and many others had a part in what could be said was an attempt to “destroy” The Marching “100’s” image.
Because of such backslash, the members of this program have seen and felt the severity of the situation involving the life of the young Robert Champion.
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This band is known for making great accomplishments and receiving glorious accolades, so recalling the feeling of having those golden moments casted into the darkness because of some students’ poor decisions will help with the removal of hazing in the program.
Remembering the slander that the band sadly continues to face should be enough to make students think twice about hazing, and overall, turn the program away from its deviant past.
Students won’t be selfish enough to continue doing what caused the malicious attacks from those pens and voices of people with high enough stages to add more dirt to their name.
This situation is not comparable to that of a child having to be punished for an incident more than once before realizing the deed is wrong and should not be continued.
In a horrible series of events a student lost his life, a great marching band had to, and continues to face waves of defamation. And even some of the program’s staff members had to be removed because of hazing and activities associated with it.
With the new mindset the program has, hazing will not be an activity that The Marching “100” will continue in the days to come. FAMU and The Marching “100” are in a new day, past their days of hazing and tolerance of it.