Transcript: Hazing is illegal in 44 states, but it's still happening every day to new members of fraternities, sororities, and other social groups.  The term “hazing” generally refers to any ritualistic activity that humiliates, degrades, or inflicts harm on a person before they can be accepted into a social group. The most common forms of hazing include: requiring people to consume excessive amounts of alcohol or to participate in drinking games, forcing someone to sing, wear strange clothing, or perform other embarrassing acts in public, depriving someone of sleep for an extended period of time, abusing someone emotionally or calling them hurtful names, or compelling someone to engage in, or watch, sexual acts with other group members. Even if someone willingly agrees to participate in these hazing activities, the practice is still illegal, and with good reason: in every year since 1970 there has been at least one hazing-related death on a college campus.  Despite this, a whopping 74-percent of athletic team members and 74 -percent of fraternity and sorority members admitted to being hazed this year.  And the habit isn't limited to these “usual” groups - among students who participated in academic clubs, 28% said that they had endured some kind of hazing; in performing arts organizations, 56% reported hazing practices. If you feel pressure to participate in a hazing activity, realize first that it's not OK-or legal-for a group to ask this of you. Ideally, you should report hazing to school authorities or to the head of the organization requiring the activity, but fear of exclusion or resentment may prevent you from doing so. Whether you report the hazing or not, you should still ask yourself whether you really want to join a group that is willing to debase you - and even risk your safety. Remember that there are many social activities on every college campus that welcome new members with open arms-not dangerous games.