The set has all of the trappings of a serious make-out scene: two college students, a couch, and the suggestion of a keg in the background, props familiar to most college graduates, whether you came of age watching Happy Days<\/em> or Jersey Shore<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n But as the action begins, the woman expresses discomfort as the man\u2019s advances grow more aggressive\u2014the dynamic shifting from mutual consent to possible coercion. That\u2019s when two students observing from the sidelines chime in like a Greek chorus, explaining all of the things that are wrong with this picture. \u201cWhat\u2019s up with him?\u201d the female onlooker demands, pointing to the woman\u2019s obvious distress. \u201cDoes that seem like enthusiastic consent?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Suave here thinks he can change her mind because he\u2019s just that good,\u201d says her male counterpart.<\/p>\n \u201cBut she\u2019s clearly not consenting clearly and actively\u2026\u201d she says, watching with approval as the young woman on the couch suggests her date step into the shower, so she can slip out the door to safety.<\/p>\n There are no celebrities in this clip, or even a funny cat, but this video could well be one of the most watched on college campuses this year. Part of \u201cNot Anymore,\u201d an interactive online training effort taking aim at the high incidence of sexual assault on college campuses, the program has just become part of the curriculum at Princeton University, the University of Iowa, and a host of other institutions. All of them are trying to keep pace with Title IX standards that compel colleges to investigate and resolve student reports of sexual assault, whether or not these incidents are reported to the police.<\/p>\n While these provisions have been in place for years, a rising tide of student activists have complained that many colleges aren\u2019t taking reports of rape seriously enough\u2014in fact, one study found that fewer than a third of sexual assault cases result in expulsion. Findings like these prompted the Education Department\u2019s Office of Civil Rights to issue a \u201cDear Colleague\u201d letter in 2011 to clarify the obligations colleges have when it comes to creating a safe environment for all students. Currently, 86 colleges and universities are under federal investigation for concerns about how they\u2019ve handled reports of sexual assault.<\/p>\n The list includes Ivy Leagues such as Harvard and Dartmouth, small liberal arts colleges including Swarthmore and Sarah Lawrence, and large public universities from the University of Michigan to University of California\u2013Berkeley. Also on the list are 12 schools undergoing a more sweeping \u201ccompliance review,\u201d including the University of Virginia, where a recent controversial\u2014and later questioned\u2014Rolling Stone report about an alleged fraternity gang rape has inspired nationwide soul-searching about why cheating among college students is often investigated more aggressively than is sexual violence.<\/p>\n That\u2019s one reason why Caroline Vellenga-Buban \u201917 (Monmouth, Ill.) says she has no complaints about being required to watch the \u201cNot Anymore\u201d training program before arriving on campus as a freshman last year. Macalester has made the program mandatory for every new student since 2007, part of a campus-wide effort to make students aware of the school\u2019s zero tolerance policy toward sexual assault. The program also promotes the concept of affirmative consent\u2014replacing \u201cno means no\u201d as the slogan of choice with the \u201cyes means yes\u201d definition gaining hold across college campuses. (In September, California became the first state in the nation to adopt the language as the new definition for sexual consent\u2014a move applauded by many victims\u2019 rights advocates.)<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s easy to think that because you\u2019re on a small campus and you recognize most of the people you see everyday, that sexual assault isn\u2019t a problem,\u201d says Vellenga-Buban, a student coordinator of Feminists in Action\/Students Together Against Rape and Sexual Assault. In fact, a study from the White House Council on Women and Girls reports that one in five women are the victims of sexual assault during their time on campus\u2014regardless of the size of the school\u2014and only 12 percent will report the attack. \u201cIt makes me feel reassured that Macalester\u2019s being so proactive about this and reminding people of the risks. It makes me feel safer to know we\u2019re all being educated about it.\u201d<\/p>\n A Proactive Approach<\/strong> While college women are still more likely to be victims of sexual assault, 15 percent of men are also victims of forced sex during their time in college. More than a quarter of college men, and more than 40 percent of college women report experiencing violent and abusive behaviors\u2014 including assault, stalking, and cyber-bullying\u2014from someone they dated.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stranger myth is reassuring in a way, because it means you just have to avoid that guy,\u201d says Keith Edwards, director of Campus Life. \u201cIt\u2019s harder to think I have to be thoughtful about the person I\u2019m interested in, or my lab partner, or the friend who offers to walk me back to my residence hall at night.\u201d That\u2019s why, over the last decade, Macalester has created a multi-tiered approach to sexual violence prevention designed to convey everything from what consent really means in an intimate relationship, to what a healthy relationship should look like, to what bystanders can do to stop sexual violence before it happens.<\/p>\n For transfer and first-year students, the training starts with the \u201cNot Anymore\u201d module that every student views before they can register for classes, and continues with \u201cThis Matters @ Mac,\u201d a freshman orientation session that covers the college\u2019s academic and community values. The concept of affirmative consent is addressed early on, with orientation leaders taking turns demonstrating sexy ways to ask for consent from an enthusiastic partner. The message, often repeated, is that sexual consent calls for an active and ongoing yes\u2014affirmation that\u2019s not possible if your partner is incapacitated by alcohol or drugs. (Alcohol plays a role in 75 percent of campus assaults.)<\/p>\n \u201cWe really overplay it and it can be kind of silly, but the idea is to help remove some of the stigma and taboo of talking about sex,\u201d says Maya Agata \u201916 (La Crosse, Wis.), an orientation leader and a volunteer with SEXY (Students Educating X\u2019s and Y\u2019s), a peer-run program of the Health and Wellness Center. \u201cIt tells everyone that this is a conversation we\u2019re going to have at Macalester. It\u2019s not something we\u2019re going to mention once and never talk about again.\u201d<\/p>\n The potent mixture of alcohol, new faces, and unfamiliar surroundings combine to make the first 15 weeks of freshman year a particularly high-risk time for students, studies have found, which is one reason SEXY volunteers fan out to dormitory floors every fall with a program about sexual health and safety. SEXY educator Hannah Lair \u201916 (Chicago) often breaks the ice by asking audience members to share their perceptions of what\u2019s normal in the world of college sex. \u201cI\u2019ll ask, \u2018What do you think is an average number of sexual partners?\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cOne\u2026two\u2026 three?\u201d As the numbers go up, hands start to rise\u2014the same trend Macalester\u2019s health and wellness center sees when they ask students to share their perceptions of marijuana and alcohol consumption on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big myth is that college is some bacchanalian orgy, but that\u2019s not reality at all,\u201d says Edwards. In spite of a sexually super-charged music and media culture, the boundaries haven\u2019t been pushed back nearly as much as some students may think. \u201cPeople who are not having sex or having sex in a monogamous relationship are sometimes thinking \u2018I must be weird,\u2019 when in fact, they\u2019re normal,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Another program that gives students a better roadmap for navigating relationships is \u201cConsent is Mac,\u201d a student-led campaign that encourages classmates to sign a pledge (see facing page) committing to their rights and responsibilities in intimate encounters. Among the tenets: I have the right to trust my own instincts and experiences; I have the responsibility to check my actions and decisions to make sure they are good for me and others; I have the right to change my mind whenever I want. Launched nearly a decade ago, Consent is Mac is a consistently popular program\u2014not just because of the free T-shirt that comes with each promise.<\/p>\n \u201cI think consent has become part of our culture at large,\u201d says Alejandra Marin \u201915 (Santa Ana, Calif.), who coordinates the program. Consent is Mac sponsors a popular sex trivia event every year, and posts to a tumblr blog that keeps the concept of consent at the top of students\u2019 minds. \u201cJust making consent part of the conversation is so important. We\u2019ve definitely had people thank us for doing this, especially transfer students. It\u2019s something that defines Macalester and who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"http:\/\/www.probonopress.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Screenshot-2015-03-16-15.05.52.png\")
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\nA generation ago, many campus sexual violence prevention programs offered little more than tips for keeping track of your drink, or how to call a campus escort when leaving the library late at night. \u201cI would say 25 years ago it was more about promoting personal safety, maybe calling in a martial arts instructor,\u201d says Lisa Broek, associate director of health services. That model was based largely on the myth that the risks students face come from outside the campus community; more recent studies have found that nearly 90 percent of college sexual assault victims know their assailant.<\/p>\n