Origin of college hazing?

Question

When did college hazing begin, and what were the aspects of the hazing back then vs. today?

Answer 1

Hazing in the Military goes back to ancient times.  It was felt that you need to break down the individuals in order to build them up again with a group mentality rather than an individual mentality.  This is still a basic tenet of boot camp.

It is likely that college hazing takes its traditions from this.

Answer 2

Hazing in general actually started in Rome, where soldiers were hazed.

Francisco de Quevedo includes a scene of students hazing one another in his picaresque novel El Buscón (1626). In 1684, Joseph Webb was expelled from Harvard for hazing. So it really goes back to the 17th century in schooling.

A lot of hazing activities previously used are now illegal, such as spanking, bondage, forced nudity, wedgies, being shaved or tattooed on, exposure to the elements, and (for guys) being forced to give one another handjobs, and...a LOT more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazing#Meth...

Now, that is illegal, but it still happens. A lot of hazing involves alcohol--being forced to drink a certain amount, and the same thing often happens with food.