Hazing Awareness and Prevention

What is Hazing

Hazing is any action taken or any situation created intentionally that causes embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule and risks emotional and/or physical harm to members of a group or team, whether new or not, regardless of the person's willingness to participate. 

Hazing exists on a spectrum, where behaviors range from high to low frequency and experience low to high recognition. 

Hazing behaviors can be categorized into different types of actions:

• Intimidation (deception, possessive, silent periods with implied threats or violence, use of demeaning names, servitude)

• Harassment (verbal abuse, threats or implied threats, sleep deprivation, sexual simulations, degrading skits, asking new members to wear embarrassing attire)

• Violence (Forced consumption, beating, padding, or other forms of physical assault, branding, forced intoxication, abduction/kidnapping, sexual assault)

“Research suggests intimidation hazing behaviors occur with high frequency and are less likely to be recognized as ‘hazing.’ These are the types of behaviors often overlooked or explained away as harmless traditions, initiations, and pranks, jokes, and ‘antics’” (View Source). All hazing behaviors are potentially mentally, emotionally, and physically harmful.  

Hazing Laws and Policies 

The Max Gruver Act/O.C.G.A § 16-5-61

•  “Haze” or “hazing” means to subject a student to an activity which endangers or is likely to endanger the physical health of a student or coerces the student through the use of social or physical pressure to consume any food, liquid, alcohol, drug, or other substance which subjects the student to a likely risk of vomiting, intoxication, or unconsciousness regardless of a student’s willingness to participate in such activity. 

• Prohibits hazing at any school, college, university, or other educational institution in Georgia. 

• Violation is a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and/or up to 12 months’ imprisonment

Additionally, O.C.G.A. § 20-1-30 as well as the Federal Stop Campus Hazing Act (SCHA) requires a mechanism for reporting, investigating, and adjudicating allegations of hazing as well as the public disclosure of incidents of hazing adjudicated on campus. GCSU’s SCHA and Max Gruver disclosures can be found here..

Hazing will be recorded on this website within 15 days of final adjudication in accordance with Ga. Code 20-1-30.  The public disclosure of each incident of hazing adjudicated pursuant to this Code section, criminal convictions for hazing pursuant to this Code Section, and other criminal convictions arising from any incident of hazing shall require the following minimum information be posted prominently on the school's website for a period of not less than five years after final adjudication or conviction: (1) the name of any school organization involved; (2) the date or dates on which the hazing occurred; and (3) a description of the specific hazing-related findings, sanctions, adjudications, and convictions for any person or school organization.