This week California lawmakers (and other states already) are deliberating the adoption of a legal standard they call "Affirmative Consent," which if I understand correctly, will require public colleges to clearly establish rules that define what and what is not consensual relations between students.
We all know what legislators and others seek to do...to prevent campus assaults on women and to provide explicit rules. But still, I can't help but think that the proposed standard is another sign in our society that words have no meaning anymore, leaving the rest of us dumbstruck. When did "No" cease to mean "No?" When did assault and battery become decriminalized? It seems to me that it's not necessarily a problem determining whether a crime has occurred, but with regard to college campuses, what are administrators doing to properly investigate alleged crimes, adjudicate and punish if warranted? Should campuses just report all allegations to the police and simply not get involved in an investigation? Isn't that how Vanderbilt handled the recent incidents on their campus? I recall that Vanderbilt was praised for its actions, wasn't it?
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