DeKALB — Tracy Maxwell, founder of HazingPrevention.org, was working at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, when she received a call from the local hospital and was told one of her students was in the psychiatric ward after a hazing incident had left him incoherent; Maxwell was shocked and upset.

Incidents like this inspired Maxwell to give talks across the country to promote awareness of the mental harm that results from hazing, and NIU students made up her most recent audience. The Convocation Center was filled with members of NIU’s athletic and Greek life who gathered to hear what Maxwell had to say Thursday. Maxwell said fraternities and sports teams are the organizations in which hazing occurs the most.

Research has found “71 percent of the students subjected to hazing reported negative consequences, such as getting into fights, being injured, fighting with parents, doing poorly in school, hurting other people, having difficulty eating, sleeping, or concentrating or feeling angry, confused, embarrassed or guilty,” according to HazingPrevention.org.

After watching others go through hazing rituals during her time at college, Maxwell began to speak out against the practice.

“I was very concerned for the people involved, that somebody was going to get hurt,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell emphasized physical harm is something that can be seen, but mental harm is internal. The effects on mental health can only be understood through the stories of those who have experienced hazing. She told the audience a story about the college student who wound up in the psychiatric wing.

“That was the first time that I ever realized and considered that hazing could actually have psychological ramifications,” Maxwell said.

During the talk, Maxwell displayed a statistic on screen: 55 percent of college students have been hazed at some point in their lives.

Junior history major Andrew Alessia said he doesn’t have any personal experience with hazing, but he does see it as a problem.

“I think it’s a good thing that the school makes an effort for some sort of outreach, as far as [hazing] goes,” Alessia said.

Maxwell also told the story of Tyler Phillips, an officer in training at a military college in South Carolina, who experienced extreme hazing at the school in 2009. Maxwell read from a Dec. 15, 2011, interview Phillips had with ABC News.

“I got kicked in the back, spit on, just different instances like that, and then it started ramping up from there,” Phillips said in the interview. “Bodily harm was threatened; death was threatened.”

Things got so bad that he gave up his career goal and left the institution, Phillips said in the interview.

Maxwell used to always wonder why people would submit themselves to hazing and, amid her research, thinks she has found an answer.

“[As people,] our need to belong is so strong that we will do almost anything to join a group,” Maxwell said. “The need to belong is so strong that you don’t have to force people.”

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Clarification: This report has been updated to reflect that Tracy Maxwell was employed at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. 

Correction: This report has been updated to reflect that fraternities and sports teams are the organizations in which hazing occurs most and that Tyler Phillips attended a military academy in South Carolina.