Yale students push for affirmative consent

Article here. Excerpt:

'But others expressed less positive views about the affirmative consent bill. Wilton, Connecticut resident Shelley Dempsey spoke against the bill after being introduced by her representative, Rep. Gail Lavielle GRD ’81, R-Wilton.

Dempsey, an attorney involved with due-process advocacy group Families Advocating for Campus Equality, said a false accusation of sexual assault against her son, then a Bucknell University student, led to his suspension from the university. He was ultimately reinstated after he was cleared of the charge. She said his situation was only one among many and that the affirmative consent legislation would shift the legal balance away from the accused.

For Dempsey, the bill undermines “innocent before proven guilty,” which she said is the fundamental principal of American justice. Dempsey was not, however, opposed to the idea of affirmative consent on principle: she said affirmative consent can be an effective learning tool and should be taught on campuses like it is taught at Yale, but should not become a judicial standard.

“The language of this bill ensures that wrongful accusations will continue and the accused will be specifically deprived of the protections afforded to them under the U.S. Constitution,” Dempsey said. “What the standard sets up is guilt before proving innocence. That I find disgraceful, as an attorney as well. It upends our system of justice.”'