Sometimes, students behave in ways that, on the surface, defy logic and reason. In many circumstances these behaviors can be attributed to immaturity and require little response from college counselors and administrators. In other circumstances, such as the events surrounding fraternity hazing, these behaviors are not so easily dismissed. The insights of symbolic interactionist theory can be used to make sense of student life, using fraternity hazing as a means of illustration. The insights of symbolic interactionism reveal that fraternity hazing is not illogical, beyond reason, or the product of immaturity.
Hazing is the result of group – interaction processes that are linked with students’ need for belonging, their isolation from other social relations on campus, and sub – cultural definitions that legitimate hazing events as a necessary component of fraternity rites.