This may be a sensitive topic for some people, so please keep that in mind when posting.
You are in charge of the police force at a large college. Recently you have had multiple sexual assault incidents and you need help figuring out what to do with some of them. Here are two cases that you are currently handling:
#1: A male and female student, both over 18, were drinking at a frat party. They ended up in the female student’s room, where they had sex. Neither one completely remembers the night, but they agree that they did have sex and that neither one wanted to have sex with the other. #2: A male and female student, both over 18, met at the same frat party, where the male student was completely intoxicated and had consumed alcohol and cocaine. They had a class together and she had previously asked him on a date, and he had indicated that he was not interested. The male student does not remember anything about the evening, but woke up with the female student in his bed and it was clear they had engaged in various kinds of sexual activity. The male student is adamant that he would never have done this if he was sober. The female student was completely sober and admits that she knows he was not interested in her sexually.
Questions for discussion: How do you handle each of these situations (both real scenarios)? Are there laws that could cover them both? What are schools currently doing with these kinds of scenarios? Are these kinds of scenarios treated differently by school officials than they are by police? What societal interests should be considered when drafting rules that cover these scenarios? Does anyone think that no crimes have been committed here? Does using the word “scenario” instead of “crime” make you think there might not be a crime? What if the male student in the second scenario was your friend/brother/son? What would you advise him to do? Would it matter if the genders were reversed? SHOULD it?