, Columnist
California Sends in the Sex Police
California's new sexual-assault law changes the burden of proof and the nature of consent.
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No means no, silence means no and the absence of a continuing yes means no, too: That's the upshot of a controversial new California law governing disciplinary proceedings at colleges that receive state funding.
Under the law, a student who has been accused of sexual assault can't defend himself by saying he thought the accuser was a willing partner. There has to have been "affirmative, conscious, and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity." Consent, so defined, must be "ongoing throughout sexual activity."