Group Person Hazing Perform Part Make Bully Work

In the U.S., if you want to become a member of a group, you may need "to undergo" (to take part in) an activity called "hazing." Hazing is an activity someone must perform so that he/she can either "become a member" (to be part of a group) of a group or "to retain" (to keep, to renew) their current membership with a group. Hazing usually "humiliates" (to lower the pride or self respect of someone) or causes physical or emotional "harm" (pain, danger) to the person being hazed.

Some people confuse the terms bullying and hazing. With bullying, usually a group is trying to keep a person from entering their group. With hazing, a person must pass certain "challenges" (tests of one's abilities) in order to become a part of the group. Hazing happens most often in sports in high school and colleges. The athletes are "initiated" (brought into a group with an activity) to their new teams by "existing" (someone who is already a member of the group) team members. Often times those hazed by a group are hurt physically in some way, but usually they are hurt more emotionally. University social groups called fraternities (for men) and sororities (for women) also use some type of hazing to select its members.

There are a number of different ways a group will initiate a new member. The group may constantly "insult" (make many unkind remarks) the person; the group may cause the person not to be able to sleep for an "extended" (long) period of time; the group may physically "attack" (hit, punch, slap) the person; the group may make the person humiliate or embarrass themselves in "public" (in front of other people); the group may make the person touch or eat a gross "substance" (material); or the group may make the person drink a large amount of alcohol. Many times the person has to perform the acts the group wants him/her to perform even if he/she does not want to perform the activities. Some schools have tried to stop hazing because of the damage it causes, but it is often difficult to control the behavior of these types of "close-knit" (socially close) groups.