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 Nebraska, hazing is addressed under Nebraska Revised Statute 28-311.06, which defines hazing as any activity by which a person intentionally or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health or safety of an individual for the purpose of initiation, admission into, affiliation with, or as a condition for continued membership in a group or organization. The statute includes acts that could result in physical injury, mental distress, or personal degradation. Hazing is considered a criminal offense in Nebraska, and depending on the severity of the act, it can be classified as either a Class II misdemeanor or a Class I misdemeanor if the hazing results in serious bodily injury. Educational institutions in Nebraska also have policies prohibiting hazing, and students involved in hazing activities may face disciplinary actions from their schools in addition to any criminal charges.