The president of Florida A & M University moved Wednesday to dismiss the school 's longtime band director in the wake of last weekend 's hazing-linked death of a drum major in the school 's famed marching band . `` The reason for this intended employment action is based upon your alleged misconduct and/or incompetence involving confirmed reports and allegations of hazing with the Department of Music and the 'Marching 100 , ' '' President James H. Ammons said in a letter to Julian E. White . The letter , which was marked `` confidential , '' notified White that he was being dismissed effective December 22 and placed on administrative leave with pay effective immediately . The letter , which gave White 10 days to respond to Ammons , was provided to CNN by the university . White , who had led the 420-member band since 1998 , did not return a call from CNN . `` Wow , '' said Felicia Fabre , the mother of another band member who , she said , had also been hazed . She said she had mixed emotions about the dismissal . `` I believe that he did the best that he could , '' she told CNN in a telephone interview , adding that White had appeared sincere about trying to stop the hazing . `` I think that it goes further than just him . He had people working under him that need to be held just as responsible . '' But Berlinda Johnson , whose 18-year-old son is a band member whom she did not want to identify by name for fear of retribution , praised White . `` Any time I alerted him to an issue , Dr. White was always responsive , '' she told CNN . She blamed section directors for setting the tone that allowed hazing to occur , despite White 's efforts to halt it . `` I do not think he had the support that he needed , '' she said . Johnson accused a section leader of having hit her son in the back when practices first began last summer , and said that was just the beginning . `` I reported maybe four to five incidents , '' she told CNN . `` They need to interview each member of the band , no matter how long it takes . This is not a witch hunt , this is about getting things under control . '' Her son loves band , she said . `` but this year , freshman year , was not a fun year for him , '' she said . Wednesday 's dismissal comes four days after band members returned to their Orlando hotel following Saturday 's game . There , Robert Champion , 26 , `` reportedly threw up in the parking lot and started complaining of not being able to breathe , '' the sheriff 's office said in a release . Champion was taken to a hospital , where he was pronounced dead . `` The investigation indicates that hazing was involved in the events that occurred prior to the 911 call for assistance , '' Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said Tuesday . His death was not the first incident linked to hazing within the marching band , and school officials were well aware of the abuse , Fabre said . `` Oh my God , I warned them , '' she said , adding that she had met with band officials at the Tallahassee school after her son told her he too had been hazed . `` I went to them and told them , 'God has blessed you with so much prestige and so much honor , and if you do n't do anything , it will take just one incident to bring your world down . ' `` Fabre 's 20-year-old son , Marcus , plays alto saxophone in the band and was among a number of musicians who were being maltreated , she said . `` My son told me he was mentally and verbally hazed ; he was not physically beat , but that 's because he does n't allow that kind of thing . `` My son always stood up for himself -- he would say , last year when he was a freshman , they were picking on another freshman 's sister and he had to stick up for her . These students are very disrespectful towards one another . '' For some , the abuse went beyond verbal and psychological to include paddling , she said . Fabre said she met with and e-mailed band staffers about her concerns over what she saw as pervasive hazing . `` I addressed them to the leadership and they act like they do n't know -- they say if students do n't address it , then there 's nothing they can do . If students are n't willing to stand up and say there 's something going on , there 's no one they can prosecute . '' Marcus Fabre declined to speak to CNN , his mother said . `` He 's just not ready to talk , '' she said . `` He 's just not ready to go to that next level yet . '' She forwarded to CNN a copy of an e-mail she sent in August to Ralph Turner , dean of the College of Arts and Sciences , and band director White , in which she described an incident one of her son 's classmates said he had seen . `` He ... witnessed the same section leader ... choke the same student and held his neck up in this choking manner . This was done in a remote corner where he thought that he could not be seen by others . I could go on with horror stories , but I wo n't . Students do not report these acts because they are in fear of being ostracized . '' `` I have spoken to Dr. White on many occasions -- he listened and said it would be addressed , '' Fabre wrote . Though band members must sign an anti-hazing agreement , the practice continues , Fabre said . `` It 's not the band staff that does it , it 's the section leaders , upperclassmen , the students that they 've chosen to be in leadership , '' she said . Calls to the school 's spokeswoman , Sharon Saunders and to Turner were not immediately returned . On Wednesday , Gov . Rick Scott sent a letter to Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey asking the department to join the investigation `` to assure that the circumstances leading to Mr. Champion 's death become fully known , and that if there are individuals directly or indirectly responsible for this death , they are appropriately brought to justice and held accountable . '' Authorities have not said what happened to Champion . A spokeswoman for the Orange County Medical Examiner 's Office said Wednesday that the autopsy had not been completed and that no cause of death was available . Under Florida law , any death that occurs as the result of hazing is a third-degree felony . After the incident , President Ammons suspended band performances and said he will convoke a task force `` to determine if there are any unauthorized and questionable activities associated with the culture of the Marching 100 . '' `` The purpose of this review is not to establish culpability of individual band members in this particular case , but rather to determine whether there are patterns of behavior by the band -- or members of it -- that should be addressed at the institutional level , '' he said . Ammons acknowledged that at least 30 band members were let go this semester because of possible involvement in hazing . But that was n't enough , according to Fabre . `` My prayer is there will be no cover-up , '' she said . `` They need to get the mess out of their band and start new . '' She likened the hazing incidents to gang initiations and said they were carried out in secret . `` Not like street thugs , but here , if you want to be accepted , then you got to go through it . '' Fabre said the incidents were `` like a generational curse that needs to be broken '' and held out hope that Champion 's death would result in the end of hazing . `` Someone has got to break the cycle , '' she said . The Marching 100 's motto lays out `` qualities to live by , '' including `` highest quality of character '' and `` dedication to service . '' In 2009 , the band represented Florida in the parade for President Barack Obama 's inauguration .
` ` Oh my God , I warned them , '' one of band member says . But school officials ` ` act like they do n't know , '' she says . She says that son 's harassment was mental and verbal , that they were paddled . School officials did not immediately respond to complaints .