All forms of hazing are prohibited on all Campuses.
Definitions:
Hazing: According to Education Code (37.151), “hazing” “means any 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 for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, holding office in, or maintaining membership in an organization if the act:
- is any type of physical brutality, such as whipping, beating, striking, branding, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on the body, or similar activity;
- involves sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, calisthenics, or other similar activity that subjects the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversely affects the mental or physical health or safety of the student;
- involves consumption of a food, liquid, alcoholic beverage, liquor, drug, or other substance, other than as described by Paragraph (E) (Education Code, chapter 37) that subjects the student to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversely affects the mental or physical health or safety of the student;
- is any activity that induces, causes, or requires the student to perform a duty or task that involves a violation of the Penal Code; or
- involves coercing, as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, the student to consume:
- a drug; or
- an alcoholic beverage or liquor in an amount that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the student is intoxicated, as defined by Section 49.01, Penal Code.
Pledge: Any person who has been accepted by, is considering an offer of membership from, or is in the process of qualifying for membership in an organization.
Pledging: Any action or activity related to becoming a member of an organization.
Organization: A fraternity, sorority, association, corporation, order, society, corps, club, or service, social, or similar group, whose members are primarily students.
- Personal Hazing Offense Under State and Federal Laws:
A person commits an offense if the person:- Engages in hazing;
- Solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid another in engaging in hazing;
- Recklessly permits hazing to occur; or
- Has firsthand knowledge of the planning of a specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational institution, or has firsthand knowledge that a specific hazing incident has occurred, and knowingly fails to report that knowledge in writing to the Director of Student Life & Activities or other appropriate official of the institution or law enforcement.
Failure to report firsthand knowledge of a hazing event violates state laws and will be addressed administratively and criminally.
- Clubs/Organization Hazing Offense:
A club/organization commits an offense if the club/organization condones or encourages hazing or if an officer or any combination of members, pledges, or alumni of the organization commits or assists in the commission of hazing. An offense will be addressed administratively and criminally. - Consent Not a Defense:
It is not a defense to prosecution of an offense that the person against whom the assault or hazing was directed consented to or acquiesced in the activity. - Immunity from Prosecution Available:
It is possible that in the prosecution of an offense the court may grant immunity from prosecution for the offense to each person who is subpoenaed to testify for the prosecution and who does testify for the prosecution. Any person reporting a specific hazing incident involving a student in an educational institution to the Director of Student Life & Activities or other appropriate official of the institution may be immune from civil or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed as a result of the report. Immunity could extend to participation in any judicial proceeding resulting from the report. A person reporting that person’s own act of hazing or reporting in bad faith or with malice is not protected by this section.