Harley Ellis Devereaux
USC.
The course is Title IX training - the federal law that prohibits gender discrimination - and students are required to take it before signing up for spring courses freshman year.
"With how many different people have you had sex (including oral) in the last 3 months?" one survey question read. The questionnaire, which students submit anonymously, also asks about condom and alcohol usage during sex.
After completing the questionnaire on sexual history, students must attend a two-hour lesson on sexual assault.
USC is not alone in their mandatory Title IX training for students. A number of colleges and universities have similar requirements, though they all have different methods of administering the training.
Most people probably recognize Title IX as the law that helped women gain equal access to programs and scholarships in collegiate athletics. However, it's a comprehensive law, and it targets gender discrimination in any form. Colleges must comply with Title IX in order to receive federal funding.
Schools have begun to face mounting pressure to be more responsive to sexual assault and also to help prevent it.
As of last spring, more than 100 colleges were under federal investigation for allegedly mishandling sexual assault cases. The Department of
But some students at USC feel the survey questions were too personal and that the training was at times confusing or misleading.
After watching a video in the sexual assault training that portrayed two drunk people having sex, one USC student said training blamed the man for sexual assault even though both individuals were intoxicated.
"It kept on saying that drunk people cannot give consent," Jacob Ellenhorn told Campus Reform . "In one scenario both the man and the woman were drunk, but the video still blames the male for the assault. I found that a little confusing," Ellenhorn said.
USC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.