Talking Stick - January/February 2015 - 47

Yes Means Yes
In the midst of the recent debate
about campus sexual violence, an idea
originally raised in the early 1990s,
and often passed off as a joke, is being
reconsidered. Several educational
campaigns as well as campus policies
today are organized around the policy
of affirmative consent or, as it is often
referred to in shorthand, "yes means
yes." This policy is now the law for
campuses in California that receive
financial support from the state. In
the official language of the University
of California's policy on sexual
harassment and sexual violence, it
states that consent is "an affirmative,
unambiguous, and conscious decision
by each participant to engage
in mutually agreed-upon sexual
activity." In its simplest form, it means
that simply not saying "no" is not the
same as saying "yes" and that this
consent should occur at the beginning
of and throughout a sexual encounter.
Similar bills are being discussed in
other states as well.
Clark University in Worcester,
Massachusetts, was spotlighted in a
Chronicle of Higher Education article
by Jared Misner about the variety of
ways these policies are expressed
on different campuses. One of their
anti-violence education programs
is called "Consent 101 or: Doing It
with the Lights On," and the website
for this program states that "Sexual
assault is any sexual contact or activity
with a person that occurs without
that person's consent. In order for
individuals to engage in sexual activity
of any type with each other, there must
be clear consent. Effective consent is
defined as a freely and affirmatively
communicated willingness to
participate in sexual activity, expressed
either by words or clear, unambiguous
actions. Clark University strongly
encourages students who choose to
engage in sexual behavior to verbally
communicate their intentions and
consent as clearly as possible."
In a separate Chronicle article
by Robin Wilson, Grinnell College
in Iowa is highlighted as a campus

where affirmative consent programming
has proven successful. The article quotes
Tyler Anderson, a student member of a
campus task force created to address
sexual misconduct who has presented
on this topic at orientation sessions, as
saying, "The common misconception
of affirmative consent is that you are
stopping before you do something and
looking at your partner, and they will
have a placard saying, 'Yes, keep going,'
or 'No, don't.' But that's really not
how it works." He adds, "The general
consensus is enthusiasm for the policy."
Grinnell president Raynard S. Kington is

also quoted, saying of these educational
sessions, "This is no different from
a lot of ways we try to generate an
environment that allows change to occur,
so students become more responsible,
critical thinkers. It's one of the things a
residential, liberal-arts college can do."
He adds, "There is no rigorous data that's
going to tell you whether changing the
policy had a demonstrable effect. There
remains a huge amount of uncertainty.
But that didn't stop us from doing the
right thing."
-James Baumann

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Talking Stick - January/February 2015

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