Sep 29, 2014 12:06 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

The state of California has passed a new bill aimed at curbing campus sexual assault by framing consent to physical and apparent affirmations.

According to the Associated Press, Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 967, a bill also known as "Yes Means Yes," into law on Sunday. Sen. Kevin de Leon's (D-Los Angeles) bill was unanimously passed in late Aug., the AP previously reported.

The bill will mandate certain policies at California's colleges and universities to follow when investigating sexual assault. Chiefly among them is how to define consent. For example, resistance to unwanted sexual advances is not considered consent, neither can partners consent when unconscious, asleep, or under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

However, the bill also states that consent can be received without a resounding, explicit "Yes." One sexual partner may give consent by reciprocating a nonverbal advance, like a head nod or returning other affectionate actions.

"Every student deserves a learning environment that is safe and healthy," De Leon said in a statement Sunday night. "The State of California will not allow schools to sweep rape cases under the rug. We've shifted the conversation regarding sexual assault to one of prevention, justice, and healing."

Sexual assault investigations can become mired in "gray areas," but the new bill hopes to stabilize the process and provide much-needed consistency by clearly defining consent.

Advocacy groups and surviving sexual assault victims made their support of the bill known with a petition on Sept. 16 with Brown's office, imploring him to sign the bill.

"This is amazing," Savannah Badalich, a UCLA student who founded the group 7000 in Solidarity, told the AP. "It's going to educate an entire new generation of students on what consent is and what consent is not... that the absence of a no is not a yes."

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