Too better clarify the meaning of sexual consent, the university recently redefined its definition of consent before the start of the fall semester.
The Student Conduct Code now defines consent as a “clear, voluntary, positive verbal or nonverbal communication that all participants have agreed to the sexual activity.” 
Kristen Harrell, associate director of the offices of the Dean of Student Life said the new definition came from the Sexual Assault Survivors Services Committee, which is made up of faculty, staff, students and community members.
Harrell said one member of the committee created an original draft of the new student rule after reviewing other definitions of consent within the law and at other educational institutions. Faculty Senate reviewed and approved the rule after it was cleared by the committee, and A&M President Michael Young’s signature made it official in July. 
Psychology senior and Aggies for Reproductive Justice President Laura Reid said the new Student Conduct Code’s definition is much more holistic than expected from such a conservative campus.
Reid said while the state of Texas fails to provide a concrete definition of consent, university rules maintain it be ongoing throughout the sexual activity, and that a lack of an explicit “no” does not constitute a “yes.”
“People often react to the victims by saying, ‘You didn’t say, ‘no,’ so it was okay,’” Reid said. “The problem is that while the assault was taking place these victims might have been incapacitated, drunk or feeling threatened and unable to say, ‘no.’”
Marian Eide, interim director of the women and gender studies program, said a clearer definition of consent helps to protect those participating in sexual activity from miscommunication.
“It seems to me that the idea of an affirmative consent increasing instances of false reporting is a red herring,” Eide said. “An affirmative consent amongst two able partners is positive, and if partners are in agreement and communicative, they are actually guarding themselves from misunderstandings.”