NATION/WORLD UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesday, January 11, 1995
7B
Sex policy raises enrollment
Two years later more students say 'yes' to consent rule
The Associated Press
YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio — Two years after Antioch College regulated sex, the "kissing police" aren't patrolling campus.
But a policy that gives students every opportunity to say "no" appears to have had at least one positive effect—on recruiting.
Marian Jensen, Antioch's dean of students, said applications and inquiries from students interested in attending Antioch were up. She thinks the increase is due, in part, to publicity about Antioch's sex rules.
"We've talked to students who have applied and said, 'We've heard about it and think it's neat,' Jensen said.
Under the policy adopted in January 1993, students must obtain affirmative verbal consent from their partner at each level of intimacy — from kissing to intercourse. Violators can be expelled from the Southwestern Ohio liberal arts school, which has about 600 students — 70 percent
of them women.
So far, only two cases have gone before the school's hearing board. In one case, the offender was suspended from school and required to make a public apology. No violation was found in the second case.
Karen Hall, director of Antioch's Sexual-Offense Prevention and Survivors Advocacy Program, said that there had been several dozen other alleged violations handled at lower levels of enforcement. Most ended in mediated agreements between the two parties, she said.
The policy was aimed at date rape. In 1900, the school adopted a strict policy under which students accused of sexual offenses could be removed from campus within 24 hours. The policy was later revised with the addition of the sexual-consent dictum, which was designed to clearly establish what, if any, romantic acts were being agreed to.
The policy states that verbal consent "should be obtained with each new level of physical and/or sexual contact or conduct in any given interaction, regardless of who initiates it."
According to the policy, asking, "Do you want to have sex with me?" is not enough. The request for consent must be specific for each act: "Do you
want to kiss?" "Can I touch you there?" and so on.
New students are required to attend workshops on the policy. But Andy Abrams, a recent graduate who now works for Antioch's housing department, still fields questions on the topic.
Questions range from whether written consent forms must be secured to whether "kissing police" prowl the campus in search of violations.
In both cases, the answer is no.
Extensive media coverage of the policy in the last two years has made it generally well known, he said.
"There is not a student on this campus who can say they don't think about it at one time or another," said Abrams, who supports the policy.
"If you're going to be sexually intimate with someone, it's really important to talk about it before you ever even take any steps toward that intimacy," he said. "And it's really important to check in as you're going along."
Abrams acknowledged that it can be difficult to follow the rules because of the fear of rejection.
"I do it, and I still find myself nervous at times," he said. "People feel vulnerable. People say 'no,' and you have to get used to it."
Gore changes superhighway route
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Having concentrated for the past two years on how telecommunications reform could help American business, the Clinton administration is switching gears and trying to sell it to the American public.
Up to now, consumers have gotten second billing in a legislative debate focused on how reform would affect multimillion-dollar telecommunications companies' ability to get into new businesses.
for consumers and give them more choices."
"We've got to make people know how this will affect their daily lives," said Greg Simon, domestic policy adviser to Vice President Al Gore. "Innovation and competition in the information society will lower prices
The first step in that effort was to come yesterday, when Gore planned to discuss the benefits to the average American in a speech to regulators and local government officials meeting in Washington.
Legislation proposed in the last Congress sought to free telecommunications companies to provide a variety of futuristic services and devices.
It would have let telephone and cable companies get into each others' businesses and let regional phone companies provide long-distance service and manufacture telecommunications equipment.
Under this scenario, a person could buy local phone service from a cable
company, HBO and other video services from a phone company and long-distance service from a regional Bell. The added competition in each business would lower consumer prices, supporters have said.
This year's legislation, which has not yet been introduced, is expected to focus on opening these same businesses to competition. But disputes are likely to arise over how this would be accomplished. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole has favored removing barriers to each of these businesses at the same time.
The administration argues that there should be a transition period. Otherwise, Simon said, monopolies such as the majority of local telephone and cable companies could use their power to stifle competitors.
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