Opinions

Sexual assaults on college campuses show need for new laws

It never seems to end.

The amount of sexual assault on college campuses should show clearly to lawmakers the extreme importance for updated, clear laws that fight against these inexcusable crimes.

In the midst of an epidemic of sexual assaults on college campuses across the country, Owen Labrie, a 19-year-old student from St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, was in the throws of a controversial acquittal of three felony counts of sexual assault.

This prompts the need to bring clarity within the grey area of sexual consent.

Labrie’s felony acquittal has struck a chord with many sexual assault advocates, and it comes with warrant due to the indecisiveness of the jury within the trial. According to CNN’s legal analyst Sunny Hostin, during litigations, the jury appeared to not believe Labrie’s statement of not having intercourse but also dismissed the accuser’s claim that sexual intercourse did take place.

If this trial took place in the state of California, Labrie, with no question, would have been convicted of felony sexual assault.

In 2014, California set the standard of what sexual consent really means after passing the “yes means yes” law, providing the guidelines for what is known as an “affirmative consent.” The law, which only applies to colleges and universities, clearly states that “a lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent,” so Labrie’s scape goat line of “I thought she was having a great time,” would not hold any water in a California courthouse.

Although all the details of the trial have not been disclosed, if Labrie and the accuser engaged in consumption of alcohol or drugs, the verdict would certainly be a no-brainer. California law states that sexual consent cannot be given if an individual is “asleep or incapacitated by drugs or alcohol,” which is usually a significant factor in cases involving sexual assaults on college campuses.

Aside from setting the standard for the general public, the law also puts college campuses across the state on notice. It is quite comforting knowing California State University, Long Beach has taken leaps and bounds to assure its students that this is a safe place where they can go to class, as well as enjoy the off-campus activities that the university offers.

The Beach has taken heed to this law by utilizing its Gender, Equity and Diversity center to educate and give awareness to women who could potentially be at risk of sexual assault, especially incoming freshman. Outside of California, colleges are giving a lack luster effort towards resolving issues of sexual assault.

As of May 2014, the Department of Education was investigating 55 colleges and universities that have displayed negligence toward sexual assaults that have taken place within these institutions. What is most notable about these investigations is that many of these institutions include some of the top schools in the country like Harvard, Harvard’s school of Law, Princeton and Darthmouth.

Unfortunately, prestige and money go a long way in the court of law, which was a significant factor in swaying the jury into believing that Labrie had sexual consent from his accuser.

If New Hampshire, and the rest of the United States, should learn anything form this trial, it should be that judgements based on he said/she said arguments do no justice for the victims and their families.

It is unacceptable that these schools neglect victims, who are usually young women, for the sake of maintaining their image.

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