Florida Gov. Rick Scott has made his strongest remarks yet about the future of FAMU President James Ammons, advocating that Dr. Ammons be put on leave pending investigations into hazing and possible financial mismanagement within the Marching 100. FAMU’s trustees could take action as early as Monday.
Probably the best thing we can do is open up the comments below and encourage members of the community to share your thoughts. Frankly, we’d much prefer to focus on specific solutions to the hazing problem at the root of FAMU’s woes. But a big personality-driven story like this is obviously going to dominate community discussion for the next few days, so we may as well provide the best forum possible.
A quick reminder about our comment guidelines: We’re big believers in free speech. We welcome comments from all users, regardless of their opinion on an issue. However, we do reserve the right to block or delete anything that’s threatening, profane, or personally abusive.
With that said, let’s open it up!
The FAMU Hazing Blog 
December 16, 2011 at 1:44 am
I’m shocked that Rick Scott would ask Ammons to step down while the investigation is ongoing when he didn’t step down in the investigation of the HCA scandal that he was apart of.
December 16, 2011 at 3:31 am
Zing!
December 16, 2011 at 5:03 pm
I think Rick Scott is disengenuously using this scandal as another opportunisitic cheap shot at FAMU and President Ammons. I seriously doubt if he would go after the Presidents of FSU or UF with the same fervor if a hazing scandal on those campuses were in the current headlines … especially if it involved a white fraternity or sorority whose membership was well-connected and with deep enough pockets to divert media attention away. The truth is the hazing culture that Rick Scott pompously wants to punish FAMU & President Ammons for is deeply embedded in the DNA of a state university in the back yard of the Governor’s mansion … FSU!! Not to mention the criminal levels of alcohol abuse and illegal drinking that is part and parcel of the white fraternity & sorority scenes at both FSU & UF and have been so for years! Yet not one Governor … from Rick Scott on back has dared to go after a white university president, fraternal or sororital organization in the manner in which FAMU and Pres. Ammons is being witch-hunted!!