{"id":775,"date":"2022-08-16T22:04:08","date_gmt":"2022-08-16T22:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.tarleton.edu\/deanofstudents\/?page_id=775"},"modified":"2026-06-30T15:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T15:05:35","slug":"hazing-resources","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/dean-of-students\/resources\/hazing-resources\/","title":{"rendered":"Hazing Resources"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hazing Prevention and Response<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tarleton State University Hazing Policy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students or employees who have knowledge of hazing activity can report it by completing the Report Hazing form.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Report Hazing<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Tarleton State University and the Division of Student Engagement & Success are committed to working diligently with individuals and organizations to eliminate hazing and create positive change on our campuses. Tarleton State University students, faculty, and staff are expected to be partners in enacting the University\u2019s Core Values by creating and maintaining standards that are conducive to personal growth and development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hazing Prevention Programming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tarleton State offers year-round hazing prevention programming designed to educate and engage our campus community. These initiatives include in-person tabling events, educational meetings with student organizations, online hazing prevention modules, Risk Management Training for Student Organizations, and a dedicated Hazing Prevention Week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to participate in these efforts. For more information or to get involved, please contact the Dean of Students Administrative Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hazing Myths vs. Facts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Myth<\/strong><\/td>Fact<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
If someone agrees to participate in an activity, it can’t be considered hazing.<\/td>Under state law and Tarleton State University policy, the fact that a person consented to a hazing activity is not a defense. The peer pressure and desire to belong in a student organization can create a coercive environment where true consent cannot be given.<\/td><\/tr>
Myth<\/strong><\/td>Fact<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
A little hazing should be okay, as long as there’s no mean-spirited or harmful intent.<\/td>Hazing is illegal under Texas state law and violates University policy. It does not become okay, legal or permissible if no harm is intended.<\/td><\/tr>
Myth<\/strong><\/td>Fact<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Hazing is okay as long as it is not physically dangerous.<\/td>Mental hazing can be brutal and leave lasting psychological scars. Some hazing victims report that the mental hazing they endured was worse than being physically abused.<\/td><\/tr>
Myth<\/strong><\/td>Fact<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Hazing builds unity among new members.<\/td>Engaging in unlawful behavior is not the way to build unity. Hazing may create unity among new members, but often there are costs as well. The effect of hazing on a group can be like the effect of a natural disaster on a community: residents feel closer to each other afterward but many are suffering. Would anyone suggest that it is good for a community to be hit by a natural disaster?<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
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What is Hazing?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

State law<\/strong> <\/a>defines hazing as \u201cany intentional, knowing or reckless act, occurring on or off the campus of an educational institution, by one person alone or acting with others, directed against a student, that endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in an organization whose members are or include students at an educational institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hazing is a criminal violation under Texas law. A person may be found guilty of criminal conduct for hazing, encouraging hazing, permitting hazing, or having knowledge of the planning of hazing incidents and failure to report his\/her knowledge to the appropriate authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stop Campus Hazing Act<\/a> defines as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a person (whether individually or in concert with others) against another person or persons, regardless of the willingness of such person(s) to participate, that is committed in the course of an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in a student organization, and, causes or creates a risk, above the reasonable risk encountered in the course of participation in the IHE or the organization (such as the physical preparation necessary for participation in an athletics team) of physical or psychological injury, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n