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Florida A & M University President James Ammons defended himself to governor Rick Scott in person today. The meeting came one day after Scott called for Ammons to step aside temporarily while authorities investigate hazing and other issues on campus. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the Governor’s request drew fire from students and Alumni.

Just hours after Governor Rick Scott called for FAMU President James Ammons to step aside temporarily, hundreds of students marched on the Governor mansion to make their displeasure known.

“We want to governor to stay out of it, until the investigation is over,” Breyon Love, FAMU Student body president said.

Student Senate President Marissa West is one of the organizers of the protest. She and others say Scott is improperly pressuring university trustees to suspend Ammons.

“It was a pressureful statement,” West said. “For him to say such a thing, it places pressure on the board of trustees without even that  being his intention, it’s automatically a pressure situation.”

The controversy was escalating as parents began arriving for graduation.

Students are expected to continue their show of support for the university president at Friday night’s graduation ceremony.

The graduation ceremony is being held in a building named for former state senator Al Lawson. He is a strong Ammons supporter.

“Support for Ammons is pretty deep, especially among the students, and the alumni, and the community in general,” Lawson said.

Prior to meeting with the embattled university President, Scott said again he thought the Ammons suspension is in best interests of the university.

“And if he has had no involvement, if there’s nothing that he could have done a better job with, he ought to be back there,” Scott said.

FAMU’s trustees have scheduled a meeting Monday. Two weeks ago they voted to reprimand Ammons but not suspend him.