Hazing generally includes mistreatment of students or other persons (pledges or plebes) in a ritualistic or tradition-based way that must be endured by the prospective members to gain admission to a group, club, or organization. The members doing the hazing often attempt to justify these hazing practices by referring to them as a rite of passage or rationalizing that all current members had to endure it and new prospective members should as well.

Hazing can take many forms, including:

• Requiring victims to act as a personal servant to senior (older) group members

• Forcing victims to binge drink or consume large amounts of alcohol or drugs

• Requiring victims to engage in embarrassing acts, such as wearing a costume or sign around their neck in public

• Depriving victims of sleep, food, or the ability to use the restroom

• Prohibiting victims from associating with family, friends, or other persons

• Swearing or yelling insults at victims.

Most schools have policies against hazing and in many states hazing may be prosecuted as a criminal offense if it results in bodily injury.

In Arkansas, hazing is considered a criminal offense under Arkansas Code Annotated § 6-5-201 to § 6-5-204. The state defines hazing as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act directed against a student for the purpose of being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization whose members are primarily students. The acts of hazing can range from endangering the physical health of a student, such as forced consumption of food, alcohol, drugs, or any other substance, to brutal behavior such as whipping, beating, branding, or any other action that subjects the student to mental or physical harm. Penalties for hazing in Arkansas can vary depending on whether the hazing resulted in serious bodily injury or death, with more severe penalties for cases resulting in death. Educational institutions in Arkansas are also required to adopt anti-hazing policies and to inform students and staff about these policies. Victims of hazing, or their families, may also have the right to pursue civil remedies against the perpetrators and potentially the organizations involved.