YES! An Enthusiastic Analysis of the Creation of a Consent Culture at The University of Texas at Austin

This thesis seeks to ascertain what the culture surrounding consent looks like at the University of Texas at Austin. To get an understanding, I designed a quantitative and qualitative study that measured the degree to which consent culture exists on campus through the lenses of campus climate, the level of students’ consent awareness, and their behaviors regarding consent. The metric, the “Campus Consent Culture Scale,” measured students’ beliefs, attitudes, perceptions, and actions with regards to consent and sexual assault, using Likert agreement and frequency scales. Background knowledge and empirical evidence was collected through interviews with relevant subjects. Furthermore, this thesis analyzes the work that has already been done by campus programming, initiatives, and student organizations that are working to end interpersonal violence towards and create a culture that values consent. This thesis found evidence of a consent culture’s infancy and offers recommendations for strategies that will continue to foster its growth and improve the campus climate at the University of Texas at Austin.