We recently reported that Columbia is requiring these workshops. It turns out, not all the students like the idea.

Jake New of Inside Higher Ed reports.

The Wrong Requirement?

Student groups advocating for changes in Columbia University’s approach to preventing sexual assault are again upset with the university’s attempts to address the issue, saying their concerns were largely ignored during the creation of a new “sexual respect” education program that will launch this week.

The new program will ask students to attend at least one hourlong workshop of their choosing focused on topics like bystander intervention, according to students who have been briefed on the program. Students may also have the option to watch and discuss two videos — through TED Talks or on YouTube — instead, or to write reflection papers about a reading or short film. Another option would allow students to create art projects, such as writing a poem.

Whether the program is required would vary depending on each college within the university. It is not expected to be required at Barnard College, a women’s college that is part of the university, but is expected to be required at Columbia’s primary undergraduate college, Columbia College.

Student activists criticized the planned program, saying its focus on watching short videos, writing reflection papers and creating art projects amounted to little more than “eighth-grade level homework assignments.” Columbia officials declined to discuss the program until its official announcement sometime this week, but several members of the student group No Red Tape Columbia organized a demonstration denouncing it during a prospective-student session on campus Tuesday.