Students march to Governor's Mansion, protest Gov. Rick Scott's call for suspension of FAMU president

Dr. James H. Ammons
President, Florida A&M University

Champion's cause of death has not been determined. Investigations by the Orange County Sheriff's Office and FDLE are pending.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M students infuriated by Gov. Rick Scott's call for the suspension of President James Ammons marched from campus to the Governor's Mansion late Thursday by the hundreds (if not thousands), demanding Scott rescind his request amid investigations into drum major Robert Champion's death after suspected hazing.

"I would definitely say that he's overstepped his bounds," said Student Senate President Marissa West, 21, after the most heated parts of the protest had passed. "Our Board of Trustees is more than capable of making this decision."

When asked by a small group of students and prominent alumni inside the mansion why he wanted Ammons suspended, Scott cited Champion's death, the FDLE's announcement of fraud uncovered in its investigation of the incident, and another reason that he could not yet publicly discuss. Scott said it would come out very soon, said former state Sen. Al Lawson, a Florida A&M alumnus who was in the small group.

"We're not privy to this incident that he was talking about," Lawson said.

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FAMU Students Occupy Rick Scott's Mansion; Governor's Reply Is Kinda Racist

Richard Lynn "Rick" Scott (R)
Governor, State of Florida

Thousands of Florida A&M students marched to the governor's mansion last night after Rick Scott demanded the school suspend its president over a band member's hazing death. Scott agreed to meet students out front and, oy, that might have been the wrong decision.

The white guv bizarrely attempted to quell the mostly black crowd by beginning his speech with some version of: "Hey, I grew up in public housing." To which students protested, "We're not poor!" Scott apparently learned no lessons when a similar speech nearly got him booted from a black legislator's lunch in February.

The trouble started yesterday when Scott called FAMU's board chairman and asked the school to suspend James Ammons, the historically black college's president. To be fair to Scott, Ammons has had a horrible month.

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Note: Rick Scott was forced to resign as Chief Executive of Columbia/HCA in 1997 amid a scandal over the company's business and Medicare billing practices; the company ultimately admitted to fourteen felonies and agreed to pay the federal government over $600 million.