Students

Columbia University Students Stand With Rape Survivors, Help Carry Their Weight

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Students at Columbia University organized a demonstration Friday to support a senior who said she was raped in her own bed as a sophomore.

Emma Sulkowicz, 21, is carrying her mattress around campus until Columbia punishes her assailant, who other women have accused of raping them. Entitled "Carry That Weight," her demonstration is the visual artist's senior thesis.

On Friday, the student demonstrators brought their mattresses to Columbia's Low Steps, where the iconic Alma Mater statue is located, to show solidarity with rape survivors. According to the Facebook event page, "Stand with Survivors" lasted from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. and was open to anyone in the Columbia community.

There were about a dozen mattress present at the demonstration, the Huffington Post reported, and several had messages on them such as "Carry That Weight," "Stand with Survivors" and "CU Has a Rape Problem."

The event organizers also plan to put together a photo project and encouraged attendees to have their portrait taken and to say why they decided to stand with Columbia's survivors. There were also "trained peers" on site to talk with anyone who felt "triggered or upset."

Sulkowicz addressed the attendees, who were also there to help her carry her mattress, according to the Columbia Spectator. As part of her self-imposed rules for her thesis, she cannot ask for help carrying the mattress, but may accept help if it is offered.

"I believe a survivor's greatest asset is their support, and to see you all here is a beautiful sight," she said.

Just before the start of the fall semester, Columbia released a new policy on sexual assault, though the administration had not consulted a group of students that had been long advocating for such a change. The group met with Columbia President Lee Bollinger on Sept. 9 to request more changes to the sexual assault policy, the Spectator reported.

The Ivy League school has been under heavy scrutiny for how it handles reports of sexual assault since 23 students filed a federal complaint in April. According to BuzzFeed, the complainants said school was not prepared to handle an investigation, has not been transparent and also tried to sway students to let the matter go.

For Sulkowicz's part, she told the HP she rarely has to carry her mattress alone and that there never seems to be a short supply of students willing to stand with her.

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