Local

FAMU student talks to WFTV about hazing

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.,None — Only WFTV reporter Daralene Jones spoke with a student at Florida A&M University who said she was rushed to the emergency room after being hazed.

Bria Hunter said the incident happened just days before band member Robert Champion died in Orlando earlier this month.

Hunter said some band members felt as if they had to join one of the underground groups known as the "Clones," "Red Dogs" and "Gustapos," so they can be accepted by veteran band members.

Champion, 26, mentored several members of the famed FAMU band, before he was hazed to death, including Hunter.

"He would always tell me, like, don't let people do it to you," Hunter said.

It appeared that Champion didn’t take his own advice and neither did Hunter.

Afraid of retaliation, Hunter said she didn't want to give a lot of details about what she said high-ranking band members allegedly did to her.

But according to a police report, Hunter's initiation period started in September and didn't end until she was rushed to the emergency room in November.  That was 11 days before Champion's death.

Also, around the same time, 26 members of the band were suspended by Dr. Julian White for hazing.

"That morning when I woke up, my leg was numb," Hunter said.

"What were you afraid of at that time?" Jones asked.

"I was just scared because, like, that never happened before," Hunter replied.

At 112 pounds, and measuring at 5-foot 1-inch, Hunter said she was beaten at least three times this semester.

The two suspects named in her case were blacked out of the report because Tallahassee police are still investigating.

"Why do you guys still participate in this, this hazing process?" Jones asked.

"So we can be accepted. If you don't do anything, then it's like, you're lame," Hunter said.

Hunter said there were 10 or 11 other band members being hazed with her.

Dr. White told underclassmen after each practice, not to go to upperclassmen's homes at night because of problems with hazing, WFTV learned.