As many of you may be aware, The Badger Herald printed an ASO Oct. 28 that read “ASO to the girl who not only passed out while we were fooling around, but then woke up and asked ‘Is it gonna hurt?’ then proceeded to pass out again. I’m still wondering, does that count as consent?” Just in case anyone else is still wondering, no, it does NOT. Another helpful tip — when consent is not present, “fooling around” constitutes sexual assault. As Wisconsin law states, consent is a clear and freely given yes, not the absence of a no. Seeing as the woman above was unconscious, she clearly was not capable of giving consent. The fact that this ASO made it into the print edition of the Herald signifies that insufficient attention has been paid to a serious problem on our campus.

While many students on campus responded in strong opposition to this ASO, others failed to see its full implications and dismissed it as merely a “joke about a situation that probably didn’t even happen.” While we can appreciate well-crafted humor as much as the next person, laughing along with a representation that makes light of sexual assault only serves to propagate rape culture. When we say “rape culture,” we are not insinuating that students on campus believe that rape is OK, but rather that certain attitudes and behaviors support and perpetuate the occurrence of sexual assault. Using humor to normalize the presence of alcohol in a clear example of sexual assault only provides further encouragement for this type of behavior.

Contrary to popular belief, alcohol is the leading date rape drug on college campuses and is involved in more than 50 percent of sexual assaults. In our culture, observers often assign blame for sexual assault to the victim, citing her drinking habits as evidence that she was “asking for it.” However, drinking a beer or two (or seven, for that matter) does not constitute consent to sexual activity. Perpetrators often strategically use alcohol to increase vulnerability, diminish resistance and convince themselves that the victim is sexually available. Alcohol is all too often used as an excuse for bypassing responsible sexual behavior, such as respecting boundaries and understanding what does and does not constitute consent. While alcohol can make things fuzzy, this much is clear: Consent isn’t blurry, and you cannot get it if your partner is too intoxicated to give it.

We know one in four women will experience sexual assault during her time in college and these incidents often involve alcohol, which is so prevalent on our campus. Thus, it is vital we all play an active role in preventing sexual assault by asking for consent from our partners and paying attention to cues that indicate they are too intoxicated to give it. We are not claiming that you can never hook up with someone when you and/or your partner have been drinking. However, to ensure that you are respecting one another, talk with your partner about each of your expectations for the evening before either of you start drinking. Finally, you can significantly help to prevent sexual assault by intervening in dangerous situations. If you are out at a party and see someone in a vulnerable position, you have the power to intervene by calling attention to the situation and taking the initiative to make sure that your fellow partier gets home safely or by deterring the aggressive partner from their course of action.

Sexual assault is a community problem. This is our campus community; this is our problem to fix.

So respect each other. Get consent. Create a world without sexual violence.

Tera Meerkins and Kari Mickelson are the chair and outreach coordinator, respectively, for PAVE: Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment. Contact Tera for more information: [email protected].