Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law on Tuesday that will require all college students to verbally consent to sexual acts on all campuses, public and private, across the state.
“I’m not going to let the schools cover it up anymore to protect their reputation,”Cuomo said, speaking at the New York University School of Law. “When New York does something, people notice. And we have always been the progressive capital.” The bill, which thelegislature passed last month,also creates a survivor bill of rights, amnesty against drug and alcohol policies for students who report sexual assaults and increased training for campus police and staff. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul told Metro last month that the bill would be the strictest college sexual assault policy in the country. “The culture right now has gotta change,” Hochul said. “We have to let men know the first day they step on campus that if they cross the line, against a man or a woman, there are going to be consequences, right from orientation on, we have to let the young people know victims that they have rights and the campus will take care of them.” SUNY schools adopted a universal sexual assualt policy last fall, and Hochul said she’s already seen changes in campus culture.
Cuomo signs ‘yes means yes’ law
