It’s been two weeks since a drum major, Robert Champion, with Florida A&M University’s (FAMU) marching band died as a result of circumstances in which authorities say hazing played a role. This unfortunate—and, hopefully transformative— calamity has served to remind us of the culture of hazing on college campuses. Not only does it bring up the long and persistent history of hazing incidents among FAMU’s famed Marching 100 band or even address poor choices that were made by school administrators who seemingly turned a blind eye to past hazing allegations, but it also points to yet another occurrence at an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) that is being portrayed negatively in the media.
It was just last year that I wrote an open letter to HBCU presidents imploring them to do a better job of telling their own stories because only a few positive news articles are written about HBCUs. And, most recently, through our work with the Southern Education Foundation, we gathered together a select group of HBCU presidents and journalists to reiterate the collective impact and overall relevancy of these institutions. Feedback was positive. In fact, the HBCU community vowed to do a better job of speaking “on the record” and offering positive and inspiring stories; in response, several members of the media said they would love to hear them out. It was all enough to be excited and hopeful—that is, until Champion’s death
I’ve been disappointed again at how both sides are missing an opportunity to help the public understand and confront the college hazing culture.
There is no disputing that a fatal hazing incident should be reported as a top media story. The public has a right to know all of the facts. Giving a platform to such issues usually spurs positive change—sadly even at the cost of someone’s life. However, I’ve been let down by two developments: (1) Some national media outlets are making it a race/ethnicity issue and (2) FAMU officials seem to be taking a timid communications approach, rather than putting forth a response with lead administrators taking a highly visible role.
Earlier this week, NPR’s Michel Martin shared the incident with her listeners in a story titled, “History of Hazing as ‘Equal Opportunity Disgrace.’” She helped explain, along with a hazing expert, the culture of hazing and described how such incidents extend beyond familiar organizations, such as college athletic teams, fraternities, and sororities. That was a fine framework until Martin felt compelled to ask the expert, “…does your reporting indicate that this is something that tends to happen on HBCUs more than others…?” Other questions mentioning the role of race in hazing were answered appropriately by the expert who said, “Unfortunately, hazing is an equal opportunity disgrace.” Well said.
In other media coverage, HLN‘s Dr. Drew chose to take another approach of digging deeper into hazing through an interview with Champion’s family’s attorney (they are suing). Drew opened the conversation by sharing that his friends, who are African-American (he is White), says that at Black colleges the “beatdowns” are on another level. Beatdowns. Really? I was amazed that Drew not only seemed comfortable using the Ebonics term several times on national television, but that he too connected the incident immediately to be race-related. Needless to say, the lawyer refused to brand Champion’s death as an issue isolated only to HBCUs.
Hazing happens across all races, genders, and institutions, according to data from the National Collaborative for Hazing Research and Prevention (NCHRP). So, why do the media keep focusing on race? Is it because Champion was African-American and the incident took place at an HBCU? Referring back to the NCHRP findings, there was never any mention of race/ethnicity or institutional type as being factors in its survey of more than 11,000 postsecondary students, 53 U.S. college and university campuses, and more than 300 interviews.
