{"id":6841,"date":"2014-10-06T21:51:02","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T21:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/laverne.edu\/news\/2014\/10\/06\/professor-michael-oconnor-discusses-californias-yes-means-yes-law-on-national-radio-programs\/"},"modified":"2022-02-01T08:49:46","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T16:49:46","slug":"michael-oconnor-yes-means-yes-npr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laverne.edu\/news\/2014\/10\/06\/michael-oconnor-yes-means-yes-npr\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor Michael O\u2019Connor Discusses California\u2019s \u201cYes Means Yes\u201d Law on National Radio Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Governor Jerry Brown signed California Senate Bill 967 \u2013 the \u201cAffirmative Consent\u201d bill \u2013 into law on September 28, it ignited what became a national dialogue on sexual intimacy involving college students.<\/p>\n

In what is being referred to as the \u201cYes Means Yes\u201d law, Visiting Professor of Law Michael O\u2019Connor has been added to the nationwide conversation, providing his legal expertise during a pair of popular programs airing on National Public Radio (NPR).<\/p>\n

The law, which calls for individuals to provide \u201can affirmative, conscious and voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity,\u201d applies to all California schools receiving state funds and requires them to adopt policies conforming to it.<\/p>\n

On September 29, O\u2019Connor was interviewed by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, education reporter for KPCC in Pasadena. That interview was used in a story that aired on NPR\u2019s afternoon news program \u201cAll Things Considered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is almost like the wish list of a parent who is worried and sending their daughter, quite frankly, off to college,\u201d said O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for a link to an audio file of the interview.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor was invited to be on the October 1 edition of \u201cForum,\u201d a live news interview program on San Francisco NPR station KQED that also aired on SiriusXM Satellite Radio\u2019s NPR channel. The hour-long discussion involved guests from across the country discussing the attempt to legally define consensual sex, the law\u2019s objective to improve how colleges investigate and prevent sexual assaults, and the burden of proof it places on those accused of sexual assault.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis law really is not about consent,\u201d said O\u2019Connor. \u201cThis is about how we communicate in our most intimate and passionate moments. We are going to define how consent is expressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just not how people engage with their most intimate partners. If we are honest with ourselves, despite the very good purposes behind this bill, we are trying to regulate the manner in which people communicate consent in intimate relationships, and that necessarily broaches the most private of interpersonal relationships. And regardless of the best intentions behind the bill, requiring this explicit, non-silent affirmation before sexual activity \u2013 and ongoing throughout the sexual activity – would label the overwhelming number of sexual activity as assaultive. This is just not how people normally behave with their most intimate partners,\u201d said O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for a link to the complete audio file of the program.<\/p>\n

In his second year at La Verne Law, O\u2019Connor has fifteen years teaching experience at various schools in the U.S. and abroad. He has taught a wide range of doctrinal and skills courses, among them Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Constitutional Law, Terrorism Law, Humanitarian Law, Civil Rights Litigation and Legal Writing. Although his scholarship ranges across disciplines, the focus is on the intersection of human rights, civil liberties and efforts to combat terrorism. His comparative scholarship (with co-author and wife, Celia Rumann) on efforts to combat terrorism has been cited in official U.S. and British government documents, in white papers produced by Harvard, Yale and Columbia Universities, and in pleadings filed before the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Visiting Professor of Law Michael O\u2019Connor provided his legal expertise on the \u201cYes Means Yes\u201d law on National Public Radio (NPR).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[237],"tags":[227],"class_list":["post-6841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-regional-campus","tag-col","ulv_author-university-of-la-verne"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nProfessor Michael O\u2019Connor Discusses California\u2019s \u201cYes Means Yes\u201d Law on National Radio Programs | University of La Verne<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Visiting Professor of Law Michael O\u2019Connor provided his legal expertise on the \u201cYes Means Yes\u201d law on National Public Radio (NPR).\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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