EAST LANSING - Are we preparing students with the tools they need to leave for college?

That's the question everyone was asking last Monday, Nov. 23rd at Michigan State University during a town hall meeting and roundtable discussion.

The discussion was hosted by State Senator Curtis Hertel, Jr. (D-Meridian Twp.) and State Representative Tom Cochran (D-Mason). Among them joined expert panelists who talked about the "Yes Means Yes" bill, which was introduced back in September and focuses on how to amend sexual assault education policies, as well as teaching students affirmative consent.

"What our bill does is requires that high schools teach affirmative consent. 'No Means No' is often being taught in our high schools and that's fine, but we also know that someone who's incapacitated can't say 'no', someone who's scared can't say 'no', and someone being forced often times can't say 'no'. We need to do better, and we need to make sure that we're teaching kids about affirmative consent and try to end the epidemic of sexual assault that's happening on our college campuses," explained Senator Hertel, Jr.

According to Associated Students of Michigan State University, or ASMSU, last year there were nearly 10,000 reports of sexual assault or relationship violence at MSU. Based on national polling, 46 percent of college students don't understand what determines sexual assault or consent.