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 Oklahoma, hazing is addressed under state law, specifically in the Oklahoma Statutes, Title 21, Sections 1190 and 1191. Hazing is defined as an activity which recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization recognized by an educational institution. This includes, but is not limited to, the activities listed in the provided description. Oklahoma law prohibits hazing and considers it a misdemeanor if it does not result in serious bodily injury, and a felony if it results in serious bodily injury. Educational institutions in Oklahoma are required to adopt and enforce anti-hazing policies, and students who have been subjected to hazing, as well as their parents or guardians, have the right to report the incident to law enforcement. Additionally, consent of the victim is not a defense to hazing charges in Oklahoma. Schools and organizations often have their own policies that may impose additional consequences for those found responsible for hazing.