This story has been updated here.
A person’s sexual history is no one’s business but his or her own. This is especially the case for sexual assault accusers, say victims’ advocates. But at the University of Southern California, every student is being asked to provide the school with the details of their sexual history.
Students are required to complete a mandatory online course before they are allowed to register for classes, according to a report from Campus Reform.
“This course is mandatory, and you must complete it by February 9, 2016,” university officials told students in an email. “If you do not complete the training by this date you will receive a registration hold until the training is complete.”
One student, Jacob Ellenhorn, sent Campus Reform a screenshot of the questionnaire portion of the course, which asked students intrusive questions such as “how many times have you had sex (including oral) in the last 3 months?” and “With how many different people have you had sex (including oral) in the last 3 months?”
Victims’ advocacy groups constantly bemoan the questioning of an accuser’s sexual history, so it is astonishing that a university would want this information from its students.
Ellenhorn said there is also a section that said drunk students cannot consent to sex. But in a video part of the course, two drunk students engage in sexual activity, but only the man is held responsible for obtaining consent.
“It kept on saying that drunk people cannot give consent,” Ellenhorn said. “In one scenario both the man and the woman were drunk but the video still blames the male for the assault. I found that a little confusing.”
So not only is the course intrusive, it’s also sexist, suggesting that only men can rape and that they alone are responsible for obtaining consent.
Another confusing part of the course teaches students “how to ask for consent,” and suggests only verbal signs can indicate a willingness to participate in sexual activity. Physical signs, however, such as “crossing arms” or a “lack of eye contact” are supposed to be watched for signs of unwillingness.
The questions students are supposed to ask in order to obtain consent prove everything I’ve been saying about new affirmative consent policies — they reduce sex to a question-and-answer session instead of a passionate act.
The questions include “Can I kiss you?” and “Could I hold your hand?” They also include awkward phrases that could potentially end in a sexual harassment accusation such as “How far would you be comfortable going?” and “Have you ever done…?”
The course also “teaches” students accused of sexual assault to just accept that they may be rapists, regardless of whether or not they are. The course offers “tips” on what to do if you’re accused. The first tip suggests students “admit” to themselves that they “may have crossed a boundary” even if they don’t remember the night or know they would never rape.
The second tip tells accused students to, “Recognize that the other person’s feelings about the event are valid.” This one in particular is absurd. Feelings are not facts, and no one should have his life ruined because someone else “feels” bad.
The course was created by Campus Clarity, which provides such online training to schools across the country. No one from Campus Clarity or USC responded to a Washington Examiner inquiry.
Update: USC has apologized for including the questions, and Campus Clarity says that the questions were not mandatory but had a “no comment” option for students who did not wish to answer. More here.
