Sylvain family’s denials sound just like Champion family’s denials

big rattler
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Members of the Sylvain family and the Champion family are calling FAMU into the civil courtroom. They have something else in common. Both vigorously reject all of the evidence that their FAMU children voluntarily participated in hazing.

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.

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