It’s about time! Brown to become a campus of consent
We have a lot of work ahead of us
The new semester at Brown kicked off with new plans to tackle rape culture at the institution.
In an email sent to the undergraduate community just moments after the Undergraduate Council of Students (UCS) adjourned their meeting Wednesday night, UCS president Viet Nguyen announced:
“Minutes ago, UCS unanimously passed the Campus of Consent bill, which requires that all category 3 student groups have a liaison annually trained by the Sexual Assault Peer Education Program (SAPE) in order to be recognized as a UCS group.”
The bill, which was endorsed by 100 student groups, is cited to be one of the many initiatives UCS plans to make this year in an effort to change the culture of campus.
Rather than turn to past reactionary measures, which have received a great deal of attention over the past year after it was reported in August that a student found responsible for sexual misconduct was allowed back on campus, which was then followed by news in October of a former Brown student who sued the school in for allegedly mishandling her sexual assault case, the bill aims to change cultural norms within communities at Brown.
This bill is certainly not the first initiative of its kind. Among the states, several have adopted “Affirmative Consent” bills, which establish standards to define sexual consent and sexual assault. These states include California, New Hampshire, New York, and Connecticut.
Even with such legislation in these states, much has to be changed. According to federal data, The University of Connecticut had 43 counts of reported rape in 2014, which tied with Brown University for the highest number of reported rape cases on campuses that year. As a result, while the Campus of Consent bill will begin a pilot this spring and go into full effect Spring 2018, it is undeniable that much work lies ahead in the campaign to change campus culture.