DAYTONA BEACH, Florida - Moving her hips from side to side with nine other first-year band trumpet students, Erica Jones yelled out "Let's Go, Wildcats" and then raised her horn to her mouth and began playing.
The 18-year-old freshman from Miami was in her first day of practice Monday for the Bethune-Cookman University marching band with about 100 other freshmen or first-year band students, up about 5 percent from last year.
National attention to hazing and the death last year of a Florida A&M University drum major has put a "negative image" on bands, especially at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), according to B-CU director of bands Donovan Wells. But it didn't deter new students from applying.
"Image wise (hazing and the death at FAMU) has had a huge impact on us and every HBCU band because of the old adage we all have been painted with the same brush," Wells said. "But when you get down to the day-to-day operations and the product on the field -- all of that will be status quo."
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