FAMU suspended Aisha Sylvain for five years. According to the Associated Press, the university “kicked her out over hazing allegations.” Sylvain, who
was supposed to receive her degree in Spring 2013, is now trying to get her
dismissal lifted by suing the university.
The Sylvain story first made headlines when her father, Reggie Sylvain, spoke before the FAMU Board of Trustees in April. He denied that his daughter was involved in hazing and claimed that FAMU was “hazing” her.
“The worst form of
hazing is what's being done to my daughter right now,” Reggie Sylvain said
before the FAMU Board of Trustees. “She's stressed out. She's seeking medical
attention. She’s certainly being harmed by what's going on with the Office of Judicial Affairs. Please reconsider.”
The parents of deceased FAMU drum major Robert Champion are just as firm in their denial of the evidence that their son supported hazing. The findings of an investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office stated that Champion “willingly participated” in the “Bus C” hazing ritual that took his life on November 19, 2011.
Pamela Champion continued to dismiss the evidence of her son’s
voluntary participation in an interview with Roland Martin.
Martin asked her: “Pamela, how do you respond to critics who
say that your son was culpable in this, in that it takes two to haze? It
takes the individual who chooses to haze. It takes the individual who
receives it. He was a drum major, and critics say, 'Look, he played a
role in this.' How do you respond to that? Because certainly, that
is likely going to come up in the case from the defense as relates to these
charges.”
Champion’s mother responded: “Well, the way that I respond
to that is if anyone is saying those kind[s] of things, then it’s obvious they
didn’t know Robert. Most people that know my son – the only way they know
him is through the people who killed him. So, you have to consider your
source of those [who’re] trying to tell you who he is. So, the main thing
is if people are saying, then it’s obvious they don’t know my son.”
Pamela Champion declined to mention that Keon Hollis,
another Bus C victim who DID NOT haze her son, says that he and
Robert voluntarily submitted to the beating.
FAMUans should expect more of this as the university
continues to crack down on hazing. There are plenty of parents who say that
they want zero tolerance policies against dangerous initiation rituals in student
organizations. But many of these same parents will dispute any and all evidence
that their children worked to keep the dangerous culture of hazing alive.