Gregoryrolen.com
6.22.15 | Greg Rolen
Is it now guilty until proven innocent? Is any sex involving drugs or alcohol now rape? Will adult students have to receive an express “yes” when moving from second to third base?
And the ultimate question: What role should the government play? Should the government be in the bedroom, or dorm room, telling us how to perform our most personal and private acts?
These are but a few of the questions raised by Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of Senate Bill 967, the much publicized “yes means yes” law, which includes an affirmative consent standard in the investigation of sexual misconduct in California’s colleges and universities. This landmark law has sparked a titillating sociological discourse pitting liberals against conservatives, feminists against traditionalists, and the most fundamental of op-posing viewpoints — women against men. No one should be surprised if Saturday Night Live does a skit involving lawyers, notaries and waivers in a dorm room after a frat party.
However, at its core, SB 967 is only an amendment to the safety policies of public post-secondary institutions. It does not change the law concern-ing rape, sexual assault or consent. It does not alter the standard of proof in criminal, civil or even disciplinary proceedings. Instead, it mandates that to receive state funds, college and uni-versity conduct policies must include “affirmative consent” as one of many factors to be considered when deter-mining whether sex was consensual — not nearly as much fun to talk about, but an important step.
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