The Beat goes on for B-CU Marching Band

Special to the West Orlando News

by Karsceal Turner

Bethune-Cookman University Director of Bands Donovan Wells is extremely busy preparing his band for the coup de grace of the band season, the 33rd Annual Florida Blue Florida Classic in Orlando this weekend. Wells knows this particular Florida Classic is also the tragic anniversary of the death of a young musician who could have been his student.

Robert Champion died after he was beaten last November by other members of the Marching 100, the university’s famed band, during a hazing rite. Champion died after a football game in a charter bus parked outside an Orlando hotel. Champion was 26.

Wells described the incident as a Black eye on HBCUs as a whole, not only for HBCU bands, but his first and foremost thoughts are for Champion’s family.

“It was just a great sadness. I don’t look at it as a band director, I look at it as ‘what are his parents going through even now?’. My first thing was great sadness and how his parents would handle this. Imagine being excited that your son is a drum major for a major well-recognized band in the country. He has just performed his biggest performance of the year which is the Classic, and within three hours of that performance he is gone. That has to be tough,” Wells said.

“Participation in a Black college marching band is supposed to be good, wholesome and without fear of death,” he said with a slightly cracked voice. “After time passed, the incident actually became an embarrassment.”

A Black eye on HBCUs as a whole

“At one time, the regular questions and remarks went from the next big performance, how many Tubas would be featured and an increase in number of Drum Majors, to questions as to whether hazing occurs in our band too,” Wells said in disgust. “It became an embarrassment because I have a great deal of love and respect for this art form called ‘Marching Band.’  Now it’s under this big umbrella. Not just HBCU Marching bands, but HBCUs period.”

Wells made a note of expressing that HBCU’s aren’t able to get away with what major universities are able to, in regard to notoriety of larger institutions. “It was tough to swallow and has put a black eye on HBCUs and a Blacker eye on HBCU Marching Bands. Each time something unfolded, it made the National news on most media outlets. From the president’s resignation to the band director retiring. Those were tough blows for everyone, but the toughest blow was to the Champion family and to the institution of FAMU, not just the band but the school,” he said.

One complaint filed in 17 years

According to Wells, no band director can sit up here and say, they will never have a hazing problem, just as no mayor or police chief can say they will eradicate crime.

In 17 years, the school has faced only one complaint of alleged hazing which was filed with campus security. Other cities have files upon files on incidents with marching bands.

Wells is a former marching band trumpeter and also is a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Perhaps he has some insight about the culture being addressed.

“One thing I stress to the kids is that this is a class. It isn’t a fraternity or sorority. If you are majoring in Music, you need at least one year of marching band in order to complete your degree,” he said.  “Instrumental music educators are called for in the work force. You need the laboratory experience we offer. It is not a game, we are training professionals.”

He adds, “People see playing songs and doing dance routines but our focus is training and education of our musicians. My task is making sure these young people enter the profession after graduation and do well. We want them to make a difference.”

Absolutely no tolerance for hazing

Wells believes students understand how hazing damages the program. Even the talk of crossing sections is outdated. “That was more when I was in school in the 80s. These days the main thing is completing an entire season and playing in the Florida Classic. They use the term “Crossing” but that is just the way kids talk. They understand we follow Florida law and the B-CU student handbook to a tee.”

Wells said he is quick to hand out fines to enforce the non-hazing policy adopted nationwide. “In times when any wrongdoing was even suspected, we levied heavy financial fines and it hits home like nothing else. Students really get the message. Furthermore, I will sacrifice one student to save the entire band if it comes to that. I will not hesitate to put out anyone who disrupts the chemistry of this band.”

Different perceptions of hazing in a new era

Wells said the lack of reported incidents speaks volumes about the students in his program.  He points out that the kids are great and things could have gone the other way, but freshmen students are educated about the negative consequences of hazing and more importantly the law.  According to him,  the perception of hazing varies. It’s based on what a freshman believes as being hazed. Verbally you can haze folks and not touch them. What some folks see as hazing isn’t seen the same by others.

“Based on some folks’ perception, my parents hazed me from my youth all the way to adulthood,” Wells chuckled. “I thank the Lord for them raising me that way because I could have easily been in jail, on drugs, selling dope, or with a million kids out-of-wedlock or even dead if it were not for tough love. I’m not saying that parents don’t love their kids though but times are changed. These kids live in a different time and a different era, so what I have to do is check myself. Even though certain things may have worked out for me, I have to adjust my teaching style to adapt to today’s kids.”

Consortium slated for Classic Week

Dr. Edison Jackson, President of B-CU, has long been in opposition to any form of hazing at B-CU and made it clear upon his arrival. “It simply can’t be tolerated. We are raising the next generation of leaders. We must ensure that they are fully equipped with the tools necessary to be agents of change in the classroom and community,” he said.

The Florida Classic Consortium’s Anti-Bullying and Anti-Hazing Symposium will be held on Friday, Nov.16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Amway Center with proceeds benefiting the Consortium’s fund to raise awareness of bullying and hazing. This free event will consist of two morning workshops focusing on social media etiquette, prevention and legal ramifications. The symposium will also include a moderated Question and Answer session featuring professional panelists including keynote speaker and Georgetown University sociology professor, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson who also serves as a MSNBC Political Analyst.

Registration for the symposium is open to the public, both students and adults. Advanced registration is required as space is limited. Please visit BandTogetherCampaign.com for more information and to register.

Next week Part two: Band! Atten-Hut!