At orientation, college students are learning about sexual consent, assault and how to intervene

As students start college over the next few weeks, they'll be learning something new at orientation — just exactly what constitutes sexual consent and assault.

Community colleges and four-year universities nationwide have started requiring incoming students to learn about consent, assault and intervention, usually online, before they even show up for orientation. They are also offering ongoing workshops and events designed to reinforce that initial training.

The requirements come as several high-profile assault cases, including at Stanford University and the University of Virginia, have drawn national attention to a pervasive problem that, up to now, has often not been openly discussed, college administrators said.

'What used to be OK and tolerated years ago isn't now,' said Jim McHugh, associate vice president for athletic affairs and Title IX coordinator at California Lutheran University. 'When I was in college, all this was going on, and we never heard about it.'

Changing laws

That's one of the reasons California passed its so-called 'yes means yes' law two years ago, requiring that couples actively consent when deciding to have sex. Other states have passed similar laws.

It's also why, starting this year, California high schools are required to teach students about sexual consent, assault and harassment in health classes.

Title IX, which passed in 1972, essentially prohibits sexual discrimination in education. Most people connect it with sports, but the law also applies to academics, specifically math, science and technology, and to sexual harassment.

Brittany Grice, Title IX and inclusion officer at CSU Channel Islands, hopes that educating students well before they get to college will change attitudes and reduce assaults in the coming years.

Indeed, Grice has already seen a shift in attitudes when she talks about 'yes means yes,' she said.

'I'm seeing fewer snickers, fewer outbursts,' she said.

But for now, the training is still needed, so that students clearly understand what is consent, what is not, and whether someone is able to consent, said Anna Berg, a senior at CLU who worked as a resident adviser last year.

'Especially in college culture, and especially if alcohol is involved, it's important that both people are 100 percent on board,' Berg said. 'Each person needs to make that decision themselves, and if they're not able to make that decision, they shouldn't move forward.'

It's also important that the training is reinforced, college officials said.

That's why, as an RA, Berg handed out lollipops with strips of paper taped to them, displaying one-liners about consent.

'Consent is hot; assault is not,' one said. And: 'There are no blurred lines when it comes to consent.'

The one-liners resonated with students, who hung some of them on their doors, Berg said.

'They were simple, kind of funny, a little edgy,' she said.

More than a PowerPoint

At many universities, including CLU and Channel Islands, students get some training before they even show up for school.

Channel Islands requires incoming freshmen and transfer students to take an online course that covers consent, assault and bystander intervention before joining orientation.

Then, once they get to campus, they attend an in-person, more interactive session led by Grice. Students often have questions about exactly how 'yes means yes' works, she said.

'I get the impression that most people think it's awkward,' Grice said. 'We address that squarely.'

Grice tells students they can't assume that, if they've started a sexual encounter, the next step is OK. And if they're not comfortable asking, she says, 'my advice would be to not engage.'

In the training, students also learn ways they can intervene if they witness a situation that could escalate. The intervention can be as simple as disrupting by asking to borrow a phone charger, she said.

'There are so many ways to intervene that you're not imagining,' Grice said. 'It doesn't need to be a confrontation.'

The training is not just a one-time requirement. CSU students also will be required to take shorter, 25-minute refresher courses each year. If they don't, their registration will be put on hold.

Getting students involved

At CLU, students also are expected take an online course before arriving on campus for orientation.

Then, during orientation, a theater group will do an interactive presentation on sexual consent, assault and bystander intervention. At the performance, students might be invited to the stage and asked how they would intervene in a situation, McHugh said.

'For me, standing up, showing a PowerPoint presentation, isn't getting the job done,' he said. 'Do they want to hear the old guy showing slides when they can see someone their own age in an interactive performance?'

In addition, McHugh plans to meet with coaches and ask them to have every athlete read a letter that the survivor of an assault at Stanford University wrote to her assailant.

Once classes start, students will hear about the topic at least once again in their freshman seminar, and RA's will be doing presentations in dorms.

'When it comes from another student, it has more impact,' said Andrea Treptow, CLU's associate director of student life.

Students starting at Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges also will get training during orientation, either online or in person.

At Oxnard, for example, students must take an online course or attend a presentation at orientation to get priority registration. The college also is offering presentations for particular groups, including athletes and student club members. In addition, student handbooks provide information.

Ultimately, the goal is to stop assaults from happening, Grice said.

'We want to be as proactive and preventive as possible,' she said. 'Through training, we want to eliminate the number of incidents occurring on campus, in addition to providing resources available to students should something occur.'

For more information on Title IX: http://www.titleix.info.

More information:

• Not sure you understand the “yes means yes” law? Watch this video, which compares “yes means yes” to asking someone if they’d like a cup of tea: 

• A letter the survivor of an assault at Stanford University read to her assailant.