Research Question
Sexual assault and misconduct is a physical, mental, emotional, and legal issue salient among students at college campuses. This issue permeates all areas of higher education communities, from students, faculty, administration, and prospective students. Legal guidelines and University procedures seek to provide definitions for appropriate social behavior in an unobservable sphere of student sexual activity, which is often further confused by the presence of alcohol. Considering that these guidelines have not been entirely reasonable or useful, I sought to research the attitudes and beliefs regarding sexual consent held by college students and how they differ from lawful definitions. In particular, what norms exist for when students believe consent should be sought and what norms exist for what behaviors are viewed as consent? …show more content…
Concurrently, Michigan laws and regulations, as well as the state definition for consent were considered in understanding the legal stance on sexual consent. This research, along with the policies at other universities and legal definitions in other states, provided a framework for the legal and institutional positions regarding consent.
Secondarily, articles and personal accounts of sexual misconduct and sexual activities were studied to gain an idea of existing social norms that are not artificially constructed. Articles such as “Adults hate ‘Yes means Yes’ laws. The college students I meet love them.”, “College Students remain deeply divided over what consent actually means”, and “On the Front Lines of Sexual Misconduct” were examined to represent the public opinion and student language used to describe sexual
Sexual assault and misconduct is a physical, mental, emotional, and legal issue salient among students at college campuses. This issue permeates all areas of higher education communities, from students, faculty, administration, and prospective students. Legal guidelines and University procedures seek to provide definitions for appropriate social behavior in an unobservable sphere of student sexual activity, which is often further confused by the presence of alcohol. Considering that these guidelines have not been entirely reasonable or useful, I sought to research the attitudes and beliefs regarding sexual consent held by college students and how they differ from lawful definitions. In particular, what norms exist for when students believe consent should be sought and what norms exist for what behaviors are viewed as consent? …show more content…
Concurrently, Michigan laws and regulations, as well as the state definition for consent were considered in understanding the legal stance on sexual consent. This research, along with the policies at other universities and legal definitions in other states, provided a framework for the legal and institutional positions regarding consent.
Secondarily, articles and personal accounts of sexual misconduct and sexual activities were studied to gain an idea of existing social norms that are not artificially constructed. Articles such as “Adults hate ‘Yes means Yes’ laws. The college students I meet love them.”, “College Students remain deeply divided over what consent actually means”, and “On the Front Lines of Sexual Misconduct” were examined to represent the public opinion and student language used to describe sexual