Minneapolis Star Tribune
8.13.15 | Robert Shibley

With lower standards, it’ll be easier to accuse the innocent of rape.

By now, few Americans have not heard about the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. From Rolling Stone’s discredited story of a gang rape at the University of Virginia to President Obama’s establishment of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault to Senate hearings this summer on a bill intended to address the problem, the issue is getting much-deserved attention.

In an attempt to address the problem, the University of Minnesota recently proposed an “affirmative consent” (sometimes called “yes means yes”) policy for sexual activity among students. Colleges and legislatures in other states have rushed such policies into effect. But the University of Minnesota is taking a more deliberate look at what those policies actually mean when applied to students’ sex lives — and Minnesotans may not like what they see.

As the Star Tribune reported, in a July meeting, regent Michael Hsu called for university lawyers to review the policy before it was implemented, noting that he had received e-mails and phone calls from those concerned about the proposed policy.

That review is now finished. But late last month, university spokeswoman Lacey Nygard said the public won’t get to see it, citing attorney-client privilege.

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