Cuomo Orders SUNY to Adopt ‘Yes Means Yes’ Policy on Campus Sex

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has instructed the State University of New York to overhaul its approach to preventing sexual assault, including by making “affirmative consent” the rule on all 64 of the system’s campuses, The New York Times reports.

Mr. Cuomo announced the change at a news conference in Manhattan and said it would be put into effect within the next 60 days.

The affirmative-consent standard, also referred to as “yes means yes,” will put New York on the same path as California in dealing with sexual assault on college campuses. California’s governor signed into law this week a bill that requires colleges there that receive state funds to adopt that standard.

Previously, SUNY’s campuses have each crafted their own sexual-assault policies without regard for the policies on the other campuses. Many of them already require some form of affirmative consent, but often with varying degrees of specificity.