Elizabeth Allan, Mary Madden, and David Starnes have all
have resigned from the volunteer Anti-Hazing Committee appointed by the Board
of Trustees. They join former committee chairman Stephen Craig Robinson and Na’im
Akbar, who also submitted letters of resignation.
“Where I believe there is a real need to be a part of such a
committee, I do not feel that the FAMU or the Board of Trustees is ready to take this step, as
evidence of the roadblocks, which have been presented,” Starnes wrote. “As
well, I believe there are members of the committee who are concerned with the
ability to have dialogue in a productive manner to achieve the results that we
were initially charged to undertake.”
Only two of the original seven committee members remain.
The board jumped to reverse its decision on March 30 after Scott
and Rufus bashed the integrity of the committee members. They both suggested
that the committee was trying to operate in secret due to some sort of ulterior
motive.
Robinson warned the trustees that he and four of the other committee
members would resign if the trustees gave legitimacy to the public attacks
against them.
“As Judge Robinson and Dr. Akbar have previously described,
the well-intended purpose of
Florida’s sunshine law presents some major challenges in
this situation,” Allan and Madden wrote in a joint statement. “While we believe
we have much to contribute to the work of this committee, the current
constraints are prohibitive, and regretfully, we must submit this resignation.”
FAMU spokeswoman Sharon Saunders told reporters that Trustee
Belinda Shannon is working to rebuild the committee.