Road to Redemption for FAMU Marching 100 Creates Speed Bump for Atlanta Football Classic

Written by HBCU Digest, Posted in Florida, Florida A&M University, Sports

[mpoverlay]The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported earlier this week that organizers of the annual Atlanta Football Classic have begun preparing for halftime without the Florida A&M Marching 100 for this year’s game. FAMU will play Southern University on September 29 in the Georgia Dome in the game that is commonly regarded among the nation’s largest black college football classics.

“We have been developing contingency plans relating to the halftime entertainment for this year’s Atlanta Football Classic… and will now actively pursue those options,” said John Grant, CEO of 100 Black Men of Atlanta, which annually puts on the game. “We will announce those plans once they are formalized.” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

FAMU President James Ammons recently announced that the Marching 100 would be suspended until at least the conclusion of the 2012-13 academic year, in which time new rules for intake and oversight under a new band director would be established.[/mpoverlay]

Atlanta Football Classic Florida A&M University Marching 100

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1 Comment

Ced Carter

May 19, 2012 - 19:01:00

Great call President Ammons. FAMU has a graduation rate of 41%, meaning 41 out of every 100 students graduate in six years (how graduation rates are measured). Only 13% of FAMUANS graduate in four years.

FAMU, like her sister HBCUs, will not focus on education for primarily underprepared African-American students, but will put all of its resources into less important entities like band and sports. FAMU is not graduating half of the band.

If the focus was on a scholarly creed where students exhibited the same intensity for the reason they are enrolled, hazing would be minimized or non-existent. The culture is difficult to change because there is no focus on academics – rather, it is more popular to see 500 people run around and dance, many of whom probably could not write a thoughtful essay or make a presentation for a job.

If someone can prove to me that the purpose of college is band, I will recant and say let hazing continue. It seems almost like a “slave mentality” for people to haze. Didn’t we try to put this in the African-American past? President Ammons’s call is courageous and bold,. Anyone espousing anything else makes light of Mr. Champion’s death.

Ced Carter

May 19, 2012 - 19:01:00

Great call President Ammons. FAMU has a graduation rate of 41%, meaning 41 out of every 100 students graduate in six years (how graduation rates are measured). Only 13% of FAMUANS graduate in four years.

FAMU, like her sister HBCUs, will not focus on education for primarily underprepared African-American students, but will put all of its resources into less important entities like band and sports. FAMU is not graduating half of the band.

If the focus was on a scholarly creed where students exhibited the same intensity for the reason they are enrolled, hazing would be minimized or non-existent. The culture is difficult to change because there is no focus on academics – rather, it is more popular to see 500 people run around and dance, many of whom probably could not write a thoughtful essay or make a presentation for a job.

If someone can prove to me that the purpose of college is band, I will recant and say let hazing continue. It seems almost like a “slave mentality” for people to haze. Didn’t we try to put this in the African-American past? President Ammons’s call is courageous and bold,. Anyone espousing anything else makes light of Mr. Champion’s death.

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