We’ve reported on the civil war that’s torn up part of the Middle Eastern nation of Syria. That war reached a grim superlative last week. The United Nations says it was the deadliest week so far in the war, with 1,600 people killed in the past seven days. Syria’s government says it has been targeting terrorists, but the international community including the U.S. and other countries, says civilians and children are getting caught in the crossfire between the government and the opposition fighters who want a new president. This crisis has been going on for 18 months now. We will bring you more from Syria in the weeks ahead.

　　I’ve come to believe that hazing is a term of bullying. It’s bullying with the tradition, the tradition that we cannot bear at America. FAMU is a fine university. It has a lot of fine traditions. But there is some that we would rather not acknowledge. The tradition of hazing in our nation’s colleges and universities is something that will continue to happen out of sight, until a student like Robert Champion pays the ultimate price.

　　Ok, that’s earlier this year. A Florida state attorney is discussing the death of Robert Champion. He was a Florida A&M University drum major, who died in 2011 after an apparent hazing incident on a bus. Officials say it involved multiple traumatic hits to his body, criminal charges were filed against those accused of hazing Robert Champion. The school’s band director retired and its president resigned after the incident. That’s part of reason why Clark Atlanta University shut down its marching bands Saturday night. Officials said there were accusations of hazing there, they called even the possibility unacceptable and started an investigation. It’s one example of how the fallout from the Florida A&M incident has affected students. George Howell found some other example in this report from the end of last school year.

　　One, two three.

　　There is much more to band than just the music for many high school programs. The director of the Tri-cities High marching band in Atlanta says keeping a competitive edge also translates to big college scholarships for its students.

　　“It can mean the parent don’t have to fork out, you know, thousands of dollars for a school year. It could mean money for four years.”

　　Where did you want to go first?

　　“I want to go to FAMU.”

　　And why is that?

　　“Because they have, they put on a great show.”

　　“They are just a great band, they show a lot of pride when they perform. Everybody loves them”

　　The famed Marching 100 had its last performance November 19th, 2011. The school suspended band activity following the hazing death of 26-year-old Robert Champion and with more than a dozen former band members now facing criminal charges in connection to Champion’s death, Florida A&M suspended the band through the 2013 school year, leaving students like Danny Oliver out of luck.

　　“I have lots of scholarships to other colleges, but FAMU never came and auditioned anyone because of the suspension.”

　　Were you disappointed about that?

　　“A little, yes.”

　　Every year there is great competition among colleges to recruit from high schools like the Tri-cities High School Bulldog Marching Band, and with FAMU now out of the picture, we’ve learned that several other colleges are seeing a 10 to 20 percent increase in auditions, giving them opportunity to be even more selective.

　　Some school wouldn’t seek after the most musically achieving students, because they didn’t have a chance. FAMU is known as the school to pool the most dedicated, the best outstanding musicianship in the band program.

　　Some students worry how the prolonged suspension will affect FAMU, missing out on top talent.

　　FAMU receives a lot of talented students which makes it such a great band.

　　And in the world of marching bands and everywhere else, it’s all about the talent. And the question, will FAMU be able to get the talent back? George Howell, CNN, Atlanta.

　　Some were asking that same question about the NFL’s referees. You don’t know their names, but anyone who’s watched pro-football has seen their work, except you won’t be seeing it when the season opens on Wednesday. The refs are involved in the labor dispute with the NFL, which means the two sides can agree on what refs get paid among other things. The league has been using replacement refs during the pre-season. They are catching some criticism for too many or too few penalty calls. We don’t know yet how long this will last or when or if the professional refs will come back. The NFL had a similar dispute with players last year, and a pre-season game had to be cancelled as a result.