FAMU pledges reforms after report on hazing

Florida A&M University is undertaking reforms to address hazing on and off campus, according to a written response the school put out after a scathing report that alleged it had done too little.

It will develop a centralized database to better track complaints and conduct violations, while increasing collaboration with local police, according to the 27-page response submitted Wednesday.

The Florida Board of Governors, which manages the state's universities, put out the report after drum major Robert Champion died following a beating he took in November 2011 aboard a school bus after a football game in Orlando, Florida.

The hazing was part of a ritual known as "Crossing Bus C," in which pledges attempt to run down the bus aisle while being punched, kicked and assaulted by more senior members of the school's famed marching band.

The university has since created staff positions charged with implementing and monitoring FAMU's anti-hazing policy and is expected to provide additional training to school employees.

But FAMU also disputed parts of the report that suggested it had not processed certain hazing allegations, and the school said that its judicial affairs office had acted properly.

Last month, the school was put on probation for one year over its handling of the November incident.