Hazing on College Campuses: The Case for Enforcement
This paper reviews the literature on hazing practices at American colleges and universities, arguing that existing criminal laws against hazing must be more rigorously enforced. It traces hazing from its historical roots in antiquity through its current near-ubiquitous presence across fraternity, sorority, athletic, and other campus organizations. The paper presents both the commonly cited justifications for hazing — such as tradition, group bonding, and proving commitment — and the substantial arguments against it, including physical danger, criminal liability, and institutional harm. The conclusion calls on college administrators and the public to adopt a zero-tolerance stance and demand consistent enforcement of anti-hazing statutes.
- Introduction: Thesis: enforce criminal anti-hazing laws on campuses
- Background and Current State of College-Based Hazing in the U.S.: Prevalence, scope, and underreporting of campus hazing
- Arguments in Support of Hazing: Tradition, bonding, and commitment as hazing justifications
- Arguments Against Hazing: Hazing as criminal assault and institutional failure
- Conclusion: Call for zero-tolerance and full enforcement of laws
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper uses a clear, balanced structure — presenting pro-hazing arguments before systematically dismantling them — which strengthens its overall persuasive case.
- It grounds claims in peer-reviewed research and named sources (Campo et al., Reid et al., Nuwer), lending academic credibility to a topic often treated anecdotally.
- The historical contextualization — tracing hazing from tribal initiation rites to modern Greek life — effectively frames hazing as a deep-rooted cultural phenomenon rather than a simple disciplinary problem.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates literature-based argumentation: rather than relying on personal opinion or a single case study, it synthesizes multiple sources to build a policy argument. This technique is especially effective in advocacy writing, where the strength of evidence directly supports the strength of the call to action.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a classical five-section argumentative structure: an introduction that states the thesis, a background section establishing scope and prevalence, a section presenting the opposing view fairly, a rebuttal section advancing the paper's core argument, and a conclusion calling for concrete action. This symmetrical structure makes the argument easy to follow and evaluate.
Introduction
Hazing rituals of varying types and severity date to antiquity, but their practice has become institutionalized to the extent that some fraternities continue to risk their charters by forcing applicants to engage in potentially lethal activities — most especially the overconsumption of alcohol. Hazing on college campuses is a longstanding tradition across America, but the practice has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years as young, aspiring fraternity pledges die as a result of extreme initiation rites.1 In fact, 44 states currently have some type of law that makes specifically defined hazing a criminal offense, but these laws frequently go unenforced.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the relevant literature to develop the argument that current criminal laws concerning hazing should be more rigorously enforced at all American colleges and universities. Following this review, the paper provides a summary of the research and an analysis of the implications of criminalizing hazing on American college and university campuses in the conclusion.
Background and Current State of College-Based Hazing in the U.S.
Hazing practices are not limited to educational settings, but they have been historically pronounced in institutions of higher learning. Originally characterized as "practical jokes played by unruly young men that injured and hazed the citizens who got in the way,"2 modern hazing practices are virtually ubiquitous on American college campuses today. While fraternities and sororities are frequently implicated in hazing, other college organizations also report significant hazing practices. For example, a study by Campo, Poulos, and Sipple (2005) found that "Greeks, males, varsity athletes, leaders, and upperclassmen were more likely to engage in hazing. Hazing is occurring on campus, although not always recognized as such by students."3
Notwithstanding the assertion concerning a lack of recognition, it is reasonable to suggest that the countless victims of hazing recognize it for what it is, and only those who never venture into the realms where it is routinely practiced remain unaware of its existence outside of high-profile media accounts.4 Indeed, extracurricular activities that involve some type of hierarchical superiority appear ready-made for hazing. For example, while varsity athletic teams and members of the Greek community are responsible for the largest amount of hazing on college campuses, performing arts organizations, sports clubs, recreation clubs, academic clubs, and even honor society organizations report their fair share of hazing activities.5
Furthermore, about half of American college students report being the target of hazing at some point in their educational career, but as many as 95% of hazing incidents are never reported, suggesting that even these alarming statistics are woefully underestimated. In other words, hazing is currently a harsh reality on most, if not all, American college campuses to some extent. Moreover, every time a fraternity or sorority has its charter revoked or a sports team is suspended for hazing practices, the problem resurfaces in yet another college venue, suggesting that hazing provides some type of benefit for its practitioners — issues that are discussed below.
Arguments in Support of Hazing
Although not everyone makes the cut, survivors of hazing rituals enjoy multiple perceived benefits. Not only have they proven that they can endure a shared ordeal, they also demonstrate their firm commitment to participate in whatever college activity is involved. In addition, hazing survivors are then able to join with their peers who share the same experiences and subject the next group of new members to the hazing ritual as part of an institutional tradition. In this regard, Keller (2005) emphasizes that "despite endless attempts to stamp [hazing] out, it always seems to reappear. Why? Because even though these rituals may be repulsive to outsiders, those who practice them often seem to feel that there's something defensible, and even necessary, about them."6
The defensible and necessary aspects of hazing likely also date to antiquity, where tribes and clans historically used initiation rites to ensure that up-and-coming warriors possessed the requisite attributes to join them in hunts and raids. This legacy manifests in the countless rituals that organizations use to test new members, and not all hazing practices — such as the overconsumption of alcohol — are dangerous or even universally considered hazing, lending credibility to the assertion that not all victims recognize hazing as such. For instance, some common types of hazing practices currently used on American college campuses include requiring pledges to perform servant duties for a period of time or to wear uncomfortable or embarrassing clothing.7 When hazing practices involve physical violence, abuse, harassment, or the ingestion of substances that can kill, hazing assumes a far more dangerous character that requires aggressive intervention by appropriate authorities — including law enforcement and the criminal justice system — as discussed below.
Conclusion
Hazing is a slippery slope. Seemingly innocent and mildly embarrassing practices that were once deemed adequate may no longer satisfy the appetite for extremity that seems to characterize the most dangerous hazing today. There are already sufficient existential threats in the early 21st century, and American educational institutions do not need to add yet another to the toll of preventable deaths by ignoring or underenforcing criminal laws against hazing. The research is consistent in showing that despite such criminal laws in the vast majority of states, hazing is still virtually ubiquitous throughout the American college landscape across a wide array of student organizations, and it will remain so unless and until society gets serious about stopping it once and for all. College and university administrators must emphasize that there is zero tolerance for hazing at their institutions, and the American public must provide full-throated support for eliminating hazing from academic venues.
Bibliography
Campo, Shelly, Gretchen Poulos, and John W. Sipple. "Prevalence and Profiling: Hazing Among College Students and Points of Intervention." American Journal of Health Behavior 29, no. 2 (March 1, 2005): 137–49.
"Dangers and Impacts of College Hazing: Research Roundup." The Journalist's Resource. https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/problems-college-hazing-research/.
"Definition and Examples of Hazing." [University]. Available:
"Hazing Statistics." [University]. 2022. Available:
Keller, Tony. "No Greater Love." Maclean's 118, no. 44 (October 31, 2005): 38–39.
Nuwer, Hank. Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999.
Nuwer, Hank. Hazing: Destroying Young Lives. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2018.
Reid, Gerald M., Melissa K. Holt, Erika D. Felix, and Jennifer Greif Green. "Perceived Consequences of Hazing Exposure during the First Year of College: Associations with Childhood Victimization." Journal of American College Health 67, no. 5 (July 2019): 402–9.
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