# Columbia Student and her mattress protest/art exhibit. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 20, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442 "2015-05-20T19:41:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/21 "2015-05-22T12:38:14Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > They did, inasmuch as a university administration can properly “investigate” something, which isn’t much since they are a university administration and not a law enforcement agency. > > Sulkowicz refused to cooperate with the NYPD when they investigated, then complained that the university wouldn’t expel a student based on a he-said, she-said case. > [@Merneith](#): > > … > Bottom line: people who get raped on campus need to treat it exactly like any other rape victim. Get a lawyer and go to the police. That applies to ANY violent crime. Go to the -real- police and let them try to make a proper case of it, have it be on an official record and investigated outside the institution. Colleges are historically bad at this. Just because there is an internal administrative sanction process that does not require the same standards of evidence as criminal court to act against the accused, does not mean that it will automatically be weighted to favor the accuser(\*). People not wanting to get involved in the whole rigor of the actual criminal process is one of the things that offenders count on. (\*and that it may not deliver the result the accuser seeks does NOT mean it’s not serious or that it’s pointless or that it’s a sham) ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/22 "2015-05-22T13:00:53Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > At the very least, he could have given the mattress a high five. :dubious: Who would want to touch an old mattress that had been dragged around a college campus for a few days, let alone a few years. There isn’t enough Purell in the world to make seem like a rational action. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2015, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/23 "2015-05-22T15:02:58Z")
> [@rick kitchen](#): > > i don’t know, but [the new york times reported it](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/20/nyregion/mattress-protest-at-columbia-university-continues-into-graduation-event.html?_r=0), among many other cites. Does that do it for you? > > > [@](#): > > > > President Lee C. Bollinger turned away as she crossed in front of him, failing to shake her hand, as he did with the other graduates. Ack! That comma usage! It makes it seem like he turned away from all of the graduates. I expect better of the Grey Lady. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/24 "2015-05-23T06:37:08Z")
> [@ITR\_champion](#): > > \ > If Nungesser has been repeatedly found innocent of the charges against him, perhaps it’s because he is innocent. > > In any case, Nungesser has now sued Columbia University and others for spreading false accusations against him, and it’s likely they will pay for doing so. For what it’s worth there hasn’t been any trial involving Nungasser, and there have been three administrative “investigations”: \*Complaint 1, that he groped a woman at a party \*Complaint 2, that he repeatedly committed acts of “intimate partner violence” \*Complaint 3, that he raped Sulkowicz. When the university investigated Complaint 1, they found against Nungasser and sentenced him to disciplinary probation. He appealed, but by the time the appeal was dealt with, the accuser had graduated and refused to have anything to do with it. Similarly, the investigation into Complaint 2 was dropped after the accuser refused to participate. When Sulkowicz did eventually go to the NYPD, nearly two years after the alleged assault, she then declined to participate in _that_ investigation because she found it to “draining”. A good, early summary of events can be found [here](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/22/nyregion/accusers-and-the-accused-crossing-paths-at-columbia.html?_r=0). I have very mixed feelings regarding what, if any, obligation people have to report crimes to the police. I bring up the above simply because one of my biggest questions with the Sulkowicz matter has been what she _wants_. She waited just about the full academic year before making a report to the university. After that, she went to the police apparently because she was upset with how long the university’s investigation was taking – then she refused to participate in the police investigation because it was taking too long. Well, things take a long time. You can’t have instant justice, and the more time between a crime and the investigation, the muddier everything gets. I can’t help but feel like she wanted to snap her fingers and have the university jump to do her bidding without any sort of due process, which does make me wonder as to her motives. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/25 "2015-05-23T06:59:53Z")
> [@NinjaChick](#): > > When Sulkowicz did eventually go to the NYPD, nearly two years after the alleged assault, she then declined to participate in _that_ investigation because she found it to “draining”. More draining than lugging a mattress everywhere she went? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/26 "2015-05-23T07:07:54Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > More draining than lugging a mattress everywhere she went? When she gets tired, she can lie down on it. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/27 "2015-05-23T07:15:16Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > When she gets tired, she can lie down on it. 🙂🙂🙂 Thanks for making me laugh out loud. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/28 "2015-05-23T07:39:02Z")
It’s the fact that she’s willing to do her art project but not willing to allow the investigations that gets me. If it’s really rape, let them prove it, then that would actually maybe cause something to happen. She’s a college graduate. Surely she can figure that out. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/29 "2015-05-23T07:41:58Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Ack! That comma usage! It makes it seem like he turned away from all of the graduates. I expect better of the Grey Lady. Who do they think they are, the New Yorker? ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/30 "2015-05-23T11:05:00Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > More draining than lugging a mattress everywhere she went? > [@running\_coach](#): > > When she gets tired, she can lie down on it. Hah. Nicely done. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/31 "2015-05-23T11:30:03Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > That’s interesting. > > So why didn’t they pursue the case against her alleged attacker? > > The defamation claim is certainly salacious. same reason Penn State did nothing about Jerry Sandusky. And why some archdioceses of the Catholic Church kept a lid on some priests’ shenanigans. And why Jim Bob Duggar did nothing. And why high schools cover up their football players’ misbehavior. It’s all about _keeping up appearances._ ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/32 "2015-05-23T12:48:50Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > same reason Penn State did nothing about Jerry Sandusky. And why some archdioceses of the Catholic Church kept a lid on some priests’ shenanigans. And why Jim Bob Duggar did nothing. And why high schools cover up their football players’ misbehavior. > > It’s all about _keeping up appearances._ Well, hang on. They were asked to pursue the case involving Sulkowicz, and they DID pursue the case. Yes, it took a long time; seeking justice often does. I kind of suspect that many of the victims of the Catholic Church pedophilia scandals would have been delighted if it had taken a whole year for their complaints to be heard. And they DID allow the mattress, even giving her credit for it, and of course that was a constant reminder to everyone on campus that sexual assault is an issue at Columbia. We might try to imagine someone carrying a…I don’t know, a shower head…around State College back before that story broke, explaining to everyone he met that it represents the time that Joe Paterno’s good buddy Jerry raped him…I don’t think that would’ve gone over well with school authorities. There’s a lot you can complain about wrt Columbia’s actions, but unlike in these other examples, they clearly did not ignore the whole thing. As someone stated above, the fact that the investigation did not turn out the way Sulkowicz wanted it to does not imply that the deck was stacked against her or that administration was never going to rule in her favor no matter what. Fundamentally, she was heard…in ways that the victims of some HS football players, for example, can only dream about. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/33 "2015-05-23T13:10:14Z")
> [@doorhinge](#): > > I couldn’t help but notice that the NYT reported that there was little crowd response when the ALLEDGED rapist appeared on stage. I wonder if that was because the crowd doesn’t believe Sulkowicz, or because the crowd found the mattress stunt to be annoying? This story reminds me of the Sign Lady who roamed the campus of East Carolina University around the turn of the century. We’d see her stalking from class to class, dragging a rolling suitcase and carrying a sign with weird sayings. (I wish I could remember them, but it’s been a long fifteen years.) One of my male friends got on an elevator with her once and immediately got a face full of sign. Rumor had it she did it because she had been raped, but you know how much rumor is worth. It wasn’t an art project or anything like that. It was just annoying. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/34 "2015-05-26T07:57:47Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > She and friends of hers carried the mattress to the graduation ceremony, and the administrator shaking students’ hands refused to shake her hand. That’s her claim, but some watching the video said it looked like she didn’t give him time to do so and more snubbed them. Anyone have a link to the video so we can see for ourselves? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/35 "2015-05-26T10:23:02Z")
Dont forget, college students do all kinds of weird stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/36 "2015-05-26T21:06:59Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > It’s all about _keeping up appearances._ I really love me some Patricia Routledge, but I think what was really needed here was a little Hetty Wainthropp, not so much Hyacinth Bucket… eh Bouquet. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/37 "2015-05-27T04:32:49Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Well, hang on. They were asked to pursue the case involving Sulkowicz, and they DID pursue the case. Yes, it took a long time; seeking justice often does… > > And they DID allow the mattress, even giving her credit for it, and of course that was a constant reminder to everyone on campus that sexual assault is an issue at Columbia. Exactly. The media is determined to pursue the threat of uncaring administrators who try to silence rape victims. The actual facts don’t show it. In this case it looks like the accusation is false, but even if it were true, it doesn’t support the idea that the administration is silencing accusers. Quite the opposite, in fact: they trumpeted her claim from the rooftop. There’s a reason Nungasser is suing Columbia, while Sulkowitz isn’t. One writer crusading against campus rape [wrote](http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/why-we-believed-jackies-story-113365.html#ixzz3bJHKZt6p), “to let fact checking define the narrative would be a huge mistake.” Looks like others have taken that advice to heart. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/38 "2015-06-05T07:16:47Z")
In the latest bizarre development, Emma has just released a hardcore porno “art film” in which she enacts something similar to her alleged rape, but “not a reenactment.” The title is “Ceci N’est Pas Un Viol”, I’m not gonna link to it. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/39 "2015-06-05T08:11:10Z")
Well [I am](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hm66a) Not… ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442/40 "2015-06-05T14:09:44Z")
Any chance her real mission is to support the traditional Muslim view of women? (That problems will inevitably result if they are allowed to make decisions for themselves, and thus they should always be under the close control of either a father or a husband.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/columbia-student-and-her-mattress-protest-art-exhibit/720442.md?page=3)