If you’re preparing to send your child back to college in the upcoming weeks, you’re likely not thinking about what kind of serious trouble they could get into if they get involved in a hazing incident. Too often, however, fraternity, sports team and private club hazing rituals get out of control. Young people – mostly young men – have ended up permanently disabled or dead.
Colleges and universities have strengthened penalties for those determined to be guilty of taking part in hazing. State lawmakers, including those in Georgia, have enacted and strengthened laws. Involvement in a hazing event where someone is injured or killed can result in a criminal record.
What is Georgia’s hazing law?
While college students and others throughout the country can be arrested on a range of charges for participating in hazing, Georgia has a specific law that covers it. It’s named for a young Georgia man who died from alcohol poisoning at an out-of-state school during a fraternity hazing.
Under the law, hazing is “an activity which endangers or is likely to endanger the physical health of a student, or coerces the student…to consume any food, liquid, alcohol, drug, or other substance….through the use of social or physical pressure….that will likely cause them to become intoxicated, pass out and/or throw up….regardless of a student’s willingness to participate in such activity.”
While a hazing offense is a “misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature,” it’s often accompanied by other charges. These may involve drugs and/or underage drinking. Of course, if someone is harmed, the charges can be especially serious.
It’s easy for basically good kids to get caught up in hazing through a combination of peer pressure, alcohol and drugs. It’s important for parents to talk to their college students about the dangers of hazing – both to those who are victims and those participating in it. If your child faces charges – even a hazing charge – it’s critical to take it seriously and seek experienced legal guidance to protect their rights and their future.