Hazing defined by the Code of Student Conduct

Hazing means doing, participating in, allowing, causing, coercing or forcing an individual to do, any of the acts listed in this paragraph, regardless of the individual’s willingness to participate, for the purpose of admitting, affiliating, or initiating, an individual into or with a student organization or any other recognizable groups, teams, or associations of students, or for the purpose of continuing, enhancing, or reinstating an individual’s affiliation, membership, or status in a student organization or any other recognizable groups, teams, or associations of students:

1. Consume any food, liquid, alcohol, drug of abuse, or other substance;
   
   
2. Endure any act of a physical nature including, but not limited to, whipping, beating, branding, paddling, kicking, pushing, shoving, physical exercise, physical exertion, or exposure to the elements;
   
   
3. Endure any act which may adversely affect the mental health or dignity of the individual including, but not limited to, sleep deprivation, exclusion from social contact, or conduct that could result in embarrassment, harassment, ridicule, or degradation;
   
   
4. Any activity which has the potential to be frightening, degrading, or unduly deceptive, including deception designed to convince the individual of impending pain, injury, or non-admission, non-affiliation, non-initiation, or non-membership, including, but not limited to, promoting servitude, requiring individuals to run personal errands, intentionally creating labor or clean-up work, berating or verbally harassing individuals, referring to individuals by demeaning or embarrassing nicknames, assigning individuals degrading, crude, or humiliating stunts, skits, or acts, throwing items at or on individuals, forcing individuals to carry items, forcing individuals to yell when entering or departing a physical structure or in the presence of designated individuals, forcing individuals to use designated entrances or exits, forcing an individual to be confined to a small space, transportation and/or abandonment of an individual, or requiring individuals to wear embarrassing, humiliating, or scant attire or to be nude;
   
   
5. Any activity that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm to any individual;
   
   
6. Endure or participate in any act of a sexual nature;
   
   
7. Any activity which endangers or has the potential to endanger the academic performance of the individual, such as not allowing adequate time for or interfering with academic commitments;
   
   
8. Any destruction or removal of public or private property; or
   
   
9. Any violation of federal, state, or local law; university policy, rule or regulation; or the Ohio Department of Higher Education anti-hazing policy.

Hazing does not include reasonable and customary athletic, law enforcement or military training, contests, competitions, or events that are explicitly relevant to the mission of the student organization or any other recognizable groups, teams, or associations of students.

Expressed or implied consent of the victim to hazing is not a defense and does not prevent the behavior from being considered a violation of this rule.

It is a violation of this rule for any individual, knowing that hazing has been or is being committed, to fail to report such information to law enforcement authorities or to the department of student conduct and community standards.