Nation Roundup for May 15

FAMU marching band suspended

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida A&M University’s prestigious marching band, scarred by the hazing death of one of its drum majors, won’t be taking the field for at least another year.

At a school where people attend football games just for the Marching 100 halftime show, where students enroll just for a shot at playing on the field, such a move is like saying the Alabama Crimson Tide won’t play football for a year. The full impact on enrollment and the school community can’t immediately be measured, but students and alumni said it’s a move they support to make sure hazing is rooted out.

“What do we do in that one-year process to make sure these things do not happen again?” asked 25-year-old Travis Roberts, who has played clarinet in the band for four years. “We lack consistency at times, and this is something that needs to change. … No one has taken accountability for what has happened. This thing didn’t start only five years ago. This thing has happened the past 50 years.”

FAMU President James Ammons said Monday that the band, which has performed at Super Bowls and in inauguration parades, should not take the field again until a new band director is hired and new band rules are adopted. Among the rules being considered: Academic standards for band members, more chaperones on out-of-town trips and limits on how long a student can remain in the band.

Ammons also said that it is “critical” that all ongoing investigations into the band be wrapped up before moving forward. He said he will reevaluate his decision next year, but made no promises when the band would return.

Student fighting flesh-eating bug

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — After 10 days in the hospital, a Georgia graduate student fighting a rare flesh-eating infection isn’t letting the breathing tube in her throat stop her from mouthing questions such as “Where am I?” and “How long have I been here?”

The parents of 24-year-old Aimee Copeland said Monday they know many more questions will come as soon as doctors remove the respirator and allow her to breathe on her own.

Doctors have already amputated most of Copeland’s left leg to save her life after the infection spread rapidly from a nasty gash she suffered when she fell from a zip line May 1. Her parents said she’ll likely lose her fingers as well, though doctors hope to save the palms of her hands, which could allow her to one day use prosthetic fingers.

Andy Copeland told NBC’s “Today” show Monday his daughter remains unaware of any of this. It’s not clear exactly when her breathing tube could be taken out.

“Obviously she’s going to have a lot of questions and there will be a lot revealed to her that day, a lot of things that are going to generate some very emotional responses from Amy,” Copeland’s father said.

Copeland contracted the rare infection, called necrotizing fasciitis, within a few days after suffering a deep cut when she fell from a zip line that snapped over rocks in the Little Tallapoosa River. She was on a kayaking trip with friends.

GOP rejects civil unions in Colo.

DENVER (AP) — A last-ditch effort by Colorado’s governor to give gay couples in the state rights similar to married couples failed Monday after Republicans rejected the proposal during a special legislative session.

Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper had said the special session was needed to address a “fundamental question of fairness and civil rights.”

The bill’s demise was expected by Democrats, who have begun using the issue as a rallying cry to topple Republicans in the November elections. Republicans assigned the bill to House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee, which was likely to reject it. The panel voted 5-4 along party lines to kill the measure.

“The gay community is being used as a political pawn,” said Republican Rep. Don Coram, whose son is gay. Coram voted against the measure.