Full article: http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=7155
Edited thread title to (hopefully) be more accurate
ED
Mod
Wow. I’d encourage students to lie! Thankfully it is a private school. At least none of the students are giving that information to the government, as they would be if it were a public school.
I would not lie. It is a mandatory course, and they track the respondents. If you ever accuse someone, or were to be accused of sexual harassment or a crime, this information might very well be discoverable and could be used to impeach one’s testimony.
I can’t believe they ask that. WAY too intrusive and I doubt most people tell the truth anyway.
Sounds like while the class is mandatory, the survey is NOT (from the horse’s mouth above). Typically, the media goes wild, and then everybody copies the initial, incorrect, account, and gnashing of teeth begins.
"I did not have sex with that woman… Monica Lewinsky… "
Hmm which do I believe… An email from the school or a conservative publication which has a history of making much out of nothing?
Choices, choices…
The Department of Education is strongly “encouraging” schools to conduct climate surveys (the White House Task Force, many senators, and many victim advocates also support this). To collect better data about what happens during the college years, many schools are surveying before first year and then at the end of every year. They’re trying to see how behavior changes over time. The sexual misconduct course is almost certainly mandatory, but they can complete that requirement without completing the survey. Of course you’re not lying, the actual requirements were not made clear to you. Most everyone has a mandatory course; the majority of schools are encouraging, but not requiring participation in similar surveys. Two different components of a sexual assault prevention and education program.
What should really be made clear is that the survey is anonymous; the only information tracked is who did the training and (probably) who took the survey. In order to get data that is remotely reliable, they have to make very sure that information can not be tracked back to the individual. [To provide context – My institution just started with sexual assault climate surveys last spring (we’ve surveyed on drugs and alcohol for decades) and we have a similar course that we require our first years (undergrad, grad and professional) to complete. I think our survey just asked students separate questions regarding behavior and experiences prior to college and what has happened on campus. I have no idea if we’re considering an entry survey, but it is a well established and valid practice.]
I think the survey will reveal a lot of students are virgins that have never used alcohol or drugs.
Not saying it will be accurate, just what it will reveal.
I can’t speak to USC specifically, but college students (and people in general) tend to be pretty honest on anonymous surveys.
I have a CS major, he will tell you there is no such thing as anonymous when it is online. 
Ok, well I can tell you that as someone who collects, uses, and analyzes that data that the odds of it being traced back to any one person is just about zero. People think it’s anonymous, we analyze it as anonymous, and therefore they’re pretty honest.
Could it be hacked or something? Sure, but I think people have better things to hack than a college survey.
@cadreamin ^^^Nothing is ever really deleted, everything is discoverable.
And the government would never just take private data without asking.
Romani is right. People are unnecessarily paranoid.
We’ll, lots of folks thought that it was a good idea to have the government and colleges and universities police kids sexual lives or at a minimum people seem to want universities to provide some sort of sex education in the aftermath of Rollingstonegate and this is the kind of crap you get sometimes out of governmental mandates and knee jerk reactions. And most people probably think college kids drink plenty and as adults in college during sex, drugs and rock 'n roll… we all know how alcohol and sex goes. I’m guessing the university wants some sort of benchmark and to check the box on the government requirement for climate surveys…but not to worry things change with the political season in my opinion. The kids are going to do whatever with this survey - take it seriously, not take it seriously, not take it at all…which is probably exactly what I’d tell my kids if they were heading off to this uni and asked to take this survey.
High school and college students have been taking surveys like this for years and years. It’s nothing new and for many, many reasons I encourage people to take these. It is incredibly helpful for people like me who work to improve health and safety on campuses.
Yes, colleges want to know about health and crime on their campuses. The horror! 8-|
There are many questions employers are forbidden to ask of prospective employees.
This questionnaire goes way over any reasonable boundaries. The university has no right to the information, and no right to extract it by means of withholding registration.
It cannot be “anonymous,” as its completion is tied to registration.
USC has withdrawn the controversial portions of the training.
http://www.foxla.com/news/local-news/73820140-story
Had my kids faced such a questionnaire, I would have told them to lie. No matter what, for such questionnaires you are tea-totaling virgins. You never know what data will show up at a later point.
It is none of the university’s business.
I would have told my kids to make their own best decision.
And fwiw, my girls and I discussed sexual activity “best decisions” well in advance of college.
The survey was managed by a group called Campus Clarity. Typically, the end user (here, USC) would only get a digest of the overall results (and maybe some analysis.)
“While the course may be mandatory in some schools, the questions are not. Every question includes a “no comment” answer option that students can select if they do not wish to respond to the question. Individual students are not connected to their answers — the data are de-identified.”
https://home.campusclarity.com/a-response-to-the-campus-reform-article-from-campusclarity/
But oh, those conservative media sources, always something to wring their hands over. We can learn to do a little vetting before jumping to conclusions, no?
“The course begins with a detailed questionnaire that asks students to reveal how often they are having sex and using drugs or alcohol”
Imagine Bill Cosby taking that course.