Ammons
says in his memo that the university has a zero-tolerance policy on hazing,
then states: "I want to report that four students have been dismissed from
the University in connection to the Robert Champion incident."
The
26-year-old Champion was found unresponsive Nov. 19 on a bus parked outside an
Orlando, Fla., hotel after the school's football team lost to a rival.
In
the 911 recording obtained by The Associated Press, an unidentified caller told
the emergency dispatcher that Champion had stopped breathing and was
unresponsive. Champion had just thrown up, the caller said before handing the
phone to a second man. "We need an ambulance ASAP," the first caller
said. "His eyes are open but he's not responding." The dispatcher
told the second man to place Champion on his back and clean any vomit from his
nose and mouth. But the call was disconnected before the caller could say if he
was successful. Before the call ended, the man told the dispatcher he was going
to attempt to resuscitate Champion. He also is heard ordering another man to
get a defibrillator from inside the hotel.
"He
is cold," the second caller said.
The
owner of the company that transported members of the band known as the Marching
100 told the AP Thursday that the driver did not hear or see any commotion on
the bus before Champion collapsed.
Ray
Land, president of Fabulous Coach Lines, said his company has transported the
band to many games and never had any incidents of hazing or inappropriate
conduct on the buses.
The
driver was helping students unload their instruments outside the hotel when
Champion collapsed, Land said. He said the driver is shaken up over what
occurred and that their experience with the band has always been positive.
FAMU's
band director, Julian White was fired as part of the fallout over Champion's
death. Ammons also suspended the Marching 100.
FAMU
says it will conduct an independent review, but the group that oversees the
public university system in Florida says it also will carry out an
investigation into whether FAMU ignored past warnings about hazing.
Florida
Gov. Rick Scott
asked Thursday that the state university system have all 11 universities review
anti-hazing rules.
White
has documents that he says he sent to university officials over the years
regarding hazing. But Ammons said in his letter to the trustees that he did not
receive two recent letters from White regarding hazing until after the
university had already fired him.
He
also wrote that he met this week with a group of students who were protesting
the decision to suspend the entire band. He said he has promised to meet with
the entire band sometime this week.
Ammons
said he could not talk much about Champion's death because of the
"potential for lawsuits" but he also expressed concern about the
negative publicity surrounding Champion's death. He said that he was trying to
overcome past bad publicity regarding the university's handling of finances and
its academic reputation. "Preserving the image and the FAMU brand is of
paramount importance to me," he wrote.
Copyright 2011
The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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