Previous studies have associated initiation practices, also known as hazing, with conformity, fear, apprehension, anxiety, submission, coercion, desire for group integration, and acceptance. Therefore, students undergo several types of influences or pressures. We argue that the social environment surrounding the hazing in Portuguese universities has all the conditions to raise a spiral of silence. We tested and confirmed Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's Spiral of Silence theory. Our empirical analysis is based on questionnaires to a sample of 350 students from two Portuguese institutions. We addressed several additional relevant variables, namely ones derived from the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and Communication Apprehension. Our results show that students who are against hazing and perceive a majority opinion in favour are less likely to express their opinions. We were also able to identify some identifying features of the avant-gardes: the minority that challenges the status quo. These are students who show a willingness to communicate, pay attention to the media, and come from families with higher educational backgrounds. We argue that top-down public policies about hazing are likely to fail. It will be better, in a bottom-up approach, to identify and support the avant-gardes