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 New Jersey, hazing is considered a criminal offense under the state's anti-hazing law, codified at N.J.S.A. 2C:40-3. The law defines hazing as any action or situation which recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for purposes including, but not limited to, initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization. This includes a range of activities such as those mentioned in the description, from forced servitude and substance abuse to sleep deprivation and social isolation. Penalties for hazing can vary depending on whether the act resulted in serious bodily injury or not. If the hazing results in serious bodily injury, it is considered a crime of the fourth degree. Otherwise, it is treated as a disorderly persons offense. Additionally, New Jersey law requires educational institutions to adopt anti-hazing policies and to provide enforcement mechanisms. These institutions must also inform students of the state's anti-hazing law and their own policies against hazing.