University Policy Prohibiting Hazing
Any student shall have the right to be free of all activities which might constitute hazing, while attempting to become a member of, or maintain membership in, a fraternity, sorority, athletic team, student organization, eating club, or other organization. Organizations, their members, and their prospective members are prohibited from engaging in or encouraging others to engage in activities that are defined as hazing.
Hazing encompasses a broad range of behaviors that
- a) may place another person in danger of bodily injury, or
- b) that demonstrates indifference or disregard for another person's dignity or well-being.
Examples of Hazing, Generally
Examples of hazing include but are not limited to the following:
- ingestion of alcohol, food, drugs, or any undesirable substance.
- participation in sexual rituals or assaults.
- emotionally or psychologically abusive or demeaning behavior.
- acts that could result in physical, psychological, or emotional deprivation or harm.
- physical abuse, e.g., whipping, paddling, beating, tattooing, branding, and exposure to the elements, or the threat of such behaviors.
- participation in illegal activities or activities prohibited by University policy.
Where an activity amounts to hazing, a person’s consent to the activity is not a defense. In order to encourage students who may hesitate to report incidents of hazing for fear of revealing other policy violations, the University may offer leniency to a reporting student with respect to the behavior reported, depending on the circumstances involved.
Acceptable Behavior
Any new member initiation process should be conducted in a manner that respects the dignity of new members and protects their mental and physical well-being. Examples of acceptable behavior include the promotion of scholarship or service, the development of leadership or social skills or of career goals, involvement with alumni, building an awareness of organizational history, development of a sense of solidarity with other organization members, or activities that otherwise promote the mission of the organization or of the University.
(Rights, Rules, Responsibilities 2.2.7)
Examples of Behaviors for which Princeton University students have been found responsible for hazing:
- Shaving heads
- Ingestion of undesirable foods, liquids, or other substances
- Threatening to paddle students
- Interruption of classes by screaming or dancing
- Assigning tasks/errands (such as going to CVS, assembling furniture, delivering food and packages)
- Cracking eggs over students’ heads
- Smearing students with shaving cream
- Blindfolding other students
- Tearing the shirts of students
- Putting students in a dark room
- Required nudity
- Instructing students to remain in a particular place for a period of time
- Pouring beer on students
- Instructing students to drink a certain amount of alcohol
- Pushing students
- Collecting students’ phones and telling them that, if they answer questions incorrectly, they would not be given their phones back
- Instructing students to perform calisthenics, outside of a supervised athletics context
- Dropping off students to walk five miles back to campus in the cold
- Instructing students to push cinder blocks across a field using their bare chests and then pouring hot sauce on their open wounds
- Instructing students to consume nicotine mixed with milk
- Instructing students to swallow live goldfish
- Putting cigarettes out on students’ skin
What are the consequences of hazing?
A range of penalties including disciplinary probation and campus service may follow if a student is found responsible for hazing or engagement in hazing practices. The Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline and the Residential College Disciplinary Board adjudicate cases involving hazing.