Hazing and Prevention
Hazing is a violation of the FIU Student Conduct and Honor Code (Code) as well as Florida State law. In the State of Florida, hazing is a criminal offense. A person commits hazing, a third degree felony, when they intentionally or recklessly commits any act of hazing upon another person who is a member of or an applicant to any type of student organization and the hazing results in serious bodily injury or death of such other person.
A person commits a first degree misdemeanor when they intentionally or recklessly commits any act of hazing upon another person who is a member of or an applicant to any type of student organization and the hazing creates a substantial risk of physical injury or death to such other person.
It is not a defense to a charge of hazing that:
- The consent of the victim had been obtained
- The conduct or activity that resulted in the death or injury of a person was not part of an official organizational event or was not otherwise sanctioned or approved by the organization
- The conduct or activity that resulted in death or injury of the person was not done as a condition of membership to an organization
Hazing activities are not only associated with Greek organizations but have occurred as a part of athletic teams, and other clubs and organizations on campus. FIU holds student organizations and individual students accountable through the FIU Student Conduct process, will face disciplinary sanctions, and can be held criminally liable.