Eric Fassin

About the author: Eric Fassin is assistant director of the Institute of French Studies at New York University.

The so-called Antioch rules requiring students at Antioch College to obtain verbal consent before initiating any sexual act have been the subject of much controversy both within and without the academic community. Whether one is for or against the rules per se and their implicit and explicit consequences, one thing can be argued: The Antioch rules help clarify the understanding that sexuality is clearly a part of, not apart from, that human compact philosophers refer to as the social contract.

Agood consensus is hard to find—especially on sexual politics. But the infamous rules instituted in 1992 by Antioch College which require students to obtain explicit verbal consent before so much as a kiss...