The sexual assault epidemic occurring on college campuses across the nation is becoming a symbol of moral decline. As a response, many college campuses are adopting their own unique campaigns in order to prevent further spreading of the violence.
One notable example would be UW-Madison’s “Tonight” program, a mandatory online course about sexual assault for every freshman here on campus. This concern, however, is no longer an issue limited to college campuses alone. The state of California recently passed a law obligating that every college have a consent policy or else lose state financial aid. It seems the declining morality among college students expressed in the abuse of sexual desires is now a flaming issue thrown into legal jeopardy.
It is not a surprise to see a state actually passing a law to require “affirmative consent” instead of just passive agreements before any sexual contact. Many universities and legal fields are increasingly putting more weight on handling this particular social issue. Many colleges already have their own affirmative consent policies and quite a number of others are following California in adopting similar policies. Unfortunately, even if the efforts are strong and actions are taken quickly, many campus safety experts argue that this concept is too new and too little studied to be seen as truly effective.
The law requires students to have sexual consent through verbal communication or action before engaging in sexual activity. But the question is then raised about the methods of obtaining sexual consent because their variation. One form of consent that worked for one individual may not be accepted as valid consent for another. Although the intention of this law is undoubtedly good, it may not be able to escape from future conflicts in defining what exactly sexual consent is.
Despite the potential confusion in framing the definition of sexual consent, I personally believe that this approach will prove effective. This law now jeopardizes the granting of federal financial aid to colleges based on their ability to adopt this new law, which is an essential need for colleges to maintain their academic legacies. However, this policy may not seem as effective as it appears to be.
Unfortunately, it is somewhat similar to alcohol abuse policies in colleges across the country. Even if colleges or states set strict laws for underage drinking, there are plenty of drunken students and plenty of drunken mistakes. The sexual assault law could unfortunately follow a similar pattern. Therefore, we may have to be aware of the fact that the legalization of sexual consent laws will not eradicate the attacks and horror completely.
Based on a nationwide trend, there is little to no emphasis on male sexual harassment or incidents of abuse. Our campus’s “Tonight” program, based on my memory, contained little information about sexually abusive situations for men. The anecdotes or people who were seen as preventive sources or others were all portrayed by females.
I am well aware of the fact that sexual assault victims are overwhelmingly female, and this law includes the consent from both male and female parties. However, men are generally left significantly behind in awareness. Additionally, what about same sex relationships?
As many states within the U.S. are now embracing same -sex marriage through legalization processes, sexual consent laws or campaigns that prevent abuse in sexual relationships in colleges should follow the same path toward legitimacy.
College campuses, including ours, advocate for safe, fair and peacefully diverse communities for their students, but in reality, there seems to be little effort in actually carrying out these standards.
As the preventive campaigns for sexual abuse on college campuses across the nation are increasingly becoming a legal fight, more investigations and studies must be carried out in specific areas in order to establish effectiveness beyond written statements or fines. This is a social problem that cannot be easily solved with mere legalization or individualized campus policy making.
The current trend for this issue remains quite limited to one gender or to one stereotype. This is a contradiction to many college campus’s promises for providing a peaceful and safe community for diverse groups of people. We not only need to solve these horrific offenses for one perspective but need to also seek for how best to provide more effective and innovative solutions for diverse campuses as a whole.
Hae Rin is a freshman columnist at The Daily Cardinal. Do you think the University of Wisconsin system has taken proper steps and actions in order to prevent future sexual assault and abuse from happening on their campuses? Will legal actions be enough to halt this epidemic from continuing? Tell us how you feel and please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
