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 Missouri, hazing is considered a criminal offense under state law. Missouri's anti-hazing statute, found in Section 578.360 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, defines hazing as any act that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization operating under the sanction of an institution of higher education. The law covers a range of hazing activities, including those mentioned such as forced servitude, binge drinking, engaging in embarrassing acts, sleep deprivation, and isolation from social contacts. The statute makes it clear that consent of the victim is not a defense. Depending on the severity of the act and whether it resulted in injury, hazing can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony. Educational institutions in Missouri also typically have their own policies prohibiting hazing, which can lead to disciplinary action independent of any criminal charges.