Columbia University Senior Will Carry A Mattress Around Until Her Rapist Leaves School

Emma Sulkowicz, a Columbia University senior, has promised to carry her mattress with her on campus until her rapist leaves the University.

Emma says she was raped by a classmate in her very own dorm bed during her sophomore year of college.

Emma Sulkowicz and 22 other students are all apart of a federal Title IX complaint against Columbia University this year in April. This complaint was about how Columbia University is mishandling sexual assault cases. Sulkowicz is not the only female student who had been allegedly assaulted by this student. Her and two other students all reported that this student sexually assaulted them, but the school administration just ignored the claims and the reported sexual assaulter received no punishment.

Columbia University has been under a lot of scrutiny for mishandling sexual assault cases. According to another Inquisitr.com report, Columbia University said that it will be dealing with the sexual assault issues. Clearly, the university’s administration hasn’t been trying hard enough.

In May, Emma Sulkowicz wrote in Time Magazine about this issue:

Every day, I am afraid to leave my room. Even seeing people who look remotely like my rapist scares me. Last semester I was working in the dark room in the photography department. Though my rapist wasn’t in my class, he asked permission from his teacher to come and work in the dark room during my class time. I started crying and hyperventilating. As long as he’s on campus with me, he can continue to harass me.

Emma Sulkowicz is a visual arts major at Columbia University, so she’ll be using her performance art abilities to protest. Her senior thesis is centered around protesting her alleged rapists ability to continue to be on campus.

You can view of Emma talking about her experience in “Carry That Weight” below:

While it’s sad that Emma and the other students did not see the justice they deserved, it’s also good to remember that not all rape accusations are guaranteed to be true. There have been false rape accusations in the past and this has resulted in unjustified jail time. According to another report by Inquisitr.com, a false rape accuser Leanne Black, was sentenced to jail for falsely accusing someone of rape.

Hopefully, Columbia University is able to deal with its mismanagement of sexual-assault cases soon. Emma Sulkowicz’s commitment to carry a mattress with her wherever she goes is a great way to bring these sexual-assault cases to light.