New UK university students forced to take mandatory consent classes: - "you could harass someone even if you had no such intention" - "looking at someone could be rapeing them" - "it was a joke between me and my friend" is no exculpation for victims who are harassed by your words - "harassment is in the eyes of the accuser" - deviations from rigid view are "‘problematic’ view of consent that has to be rectified" Thought police on campus: What’s behind ‘consent classes’ at British universities https://www.rt.com/op-ed/470562-consent-classes-uk-universities/ ... A handful of universities already demand that prospective students take an online consent course before enrolling. Should they fail to comply with this requirement, their application becomes void. ... For years activists have waged a scaremongering campaign to force universities to clamp down on an alleged epidemic of sexual harassment. Through the constant widening of the definition of harassment they have succeeded in creating the impression that universities are an unsafe place for women. Consent classes have been at the forefront of gaining acceptance of the myth of an epidemic of sexual harassment. Throughout the Anglo-American world, campaigners promote the message that “you could harass someone even if you had no such intention.” ... Take the UK’s National Union of Students Consent Workshop Facilitator Guide. It promises to provide a “safer space where people feel comfortable to explore topics, definitions and myths.” But the discussion it advocates, is anything but exploratory. ... it is something of a paradox that in many universities, advocates of consent workshops wish to make them compulsory for all students. Consent classes are about policing the thoughts and behavior of young people. They are also about gaining acceptance for the idea that universities are facing an epidemic of sexual harassment. That students have no choice but to submit to this myth turns the idea of consent on its head. By Professor Frank Furedi, sociologist and author. His book, ‘What Happened To The University’ is published by Routledge Press.