A bill that would require Maryland institutions of higher education to revamp their sexual assault policies will not receive a vote this year, setting up a debate between university officials and activists about how to address the problem on college campuses.
HB1142, the Affirmative Consent Standard bill, requires state colleges and universities, both public and private, to adopt a sexual assault policy that includes an affirmative consent standard. Affirmative consent — or “yes means yes” — requires clear and voluntary consent between all parties before engaging in sexual activity, no matter their current relationship or state of intoxication.
A majority of public universities and some private ones in Maryland already have an affirmative consent standard in their sexual assault policies.
But many of those schools — including the University System of Maryland, which oversees 12 institutions of higher education — are opposed to the bill, saying that the “reasonable person” standard in the legislation could conflict with a current standard the schools use — “preponderance of the evidence.”
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Josh Magness over at the Delmarva Now