[john1082]

Laws are passed in response to real or percieved wishes of voters. There was a well publicized hazing incident in the midwest last spring and the Michigan law is a direct response to that. It provides a tailored set of criteria to charge somebody with; rather than trying to twist the statute on assault into something to address hazing, now there is a specific statute that can be used.

Individual organizations may have policies, but this law criminalizes the undesireable conduct. It may an additional tool for school administrations to use in combatting hazing. And that is a good thing. Hazing shouldn't happen, but it does. Charges are rare, but can be filed. As a practical matter, the law will likely only be used in egregious cases, and that is good too.