Sexual Assault

‘Carry That Weight’ National Day Of Action At Columbia And Beyond

October 31, 2014 Caroline Andrews and Emma Jones , www.columbiaspectator.com Resist! Protests, Rape, Sexual Assault, Student Activism

More than 150 Columbia students, faculty, and community members gathered on Low Steps on Wednesday holding mattresses, pillows, and signs to rally against the University’s handling of sexual assault on campus. Billed as a National Day of Action to “Help Carry the Weight,” the event was inspired by the senior art thesis project of Emma Sulkowicz, CC ’15. For her thesis, titled “Mattress Performance: Carry That Weight,” Sulkowicz will carry a mattress with her as long as her alleged rapist still attends Columbia, as a protest against the University’s systemic mishandling of sexual assault cases. The rally, organized by student activist groups No Red Tape Columbia and Carrying the Weight Together, also drew support from 28 other student organizations—representing the 28 students who have filed federal complaints against Columbia since April.

U. Of Chicago Students Protest Handling Of Sexual Assaults

September 26, 2014 Staff, www.abc7chicago.com Resist! Sexual Assault, Student Protests, Women's Rights

he University of Chicago is now a school divided as an online feud erupts over the issue of sexual assaults on campus. "Everyone's worried about the safety of the victims, and now it seems they have to worry about the privacy of everyone accused," said Sophie Holtzmann, a University of Chicago student. Over the weekend, the names of six individuals accused of sex crimes against women, both current and former students, were posted on Tumblr. The post also classified the danger of their alleged assaults as code red and code orange. Students say copies of the list were also seen in women's bathrooms around campus. More than hundreds of students, alumni and community members participated in a peace march Wednesday night in the Hyde Park neighborhood. University of Chicago alumna and rape survivor Christina Pillsbury also attended the march. The U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation of the university's handling of several sexual assault cases in February.

Carrying Mattress Protest Grows

September 13, 2014 Tyler Kingcade, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Education, Protest, Sexual Assault

Columbia University students staged a demonstration Friday, dragging several mattresses in front of the Ivy League school's iconic Alma Mater statue to protest the university's handling of sexual violence on campus. The student demonstration was in support of Emma Sulkowicz, a Columbia senior who says she plans to carry a mattress, like the one on which she was sexually assaulted, around campus until her alleged rapist is no longer at the school. Sulkowicz, along with two other women, accused the same male student of assaulting them, but the university did not find him responsible when it investigated. Sulkowicz and the other reported victims claim there were numerous problems in the investigation, and she was one of 23 students who filed two federal complaints against the New York university in April.

Endurance Performance Art To Protest Rape: Carry That Weight

September 11, 2014 Casandra Guerrier www.creativeresistance.org Resist! Art, Feminism, Sexual Assault

No one should ever have to be afraid of speaking up. “There’s a reason survivors choose not to go to the police, and that’s because they’re treated as the criminals … The rapists are innocent until proven guilty but survivors are guilty until proven innocent, at least in the eyes of the police.” — Emma Sulkowicz In a day and age where respect for women is still lacking, hearing about the shaming and silencing of Columbia University student Emma Sulkowicz is enraging. It says a lot about our society that with every step forward we take in the fight for gender equality and the right to be heard, we immediately take 15 steps back. Sulkowicz’s interview with the Columbia Spectator on the lack of action taken by the University — especially in having the plain decency of making her feel safe at her own school by not allowing her alleged rapist to basically roam the halls free — shines a spotlight on why blurred lines do not exist. As she carries around a mattress with her everywhere she goes until her attacker is expelled for an art project called “Carry That Weight”, she’s giving a voice to all of the women who’ve been wronged. We shine our own spotlight on the five reasons why Emma Sulkowicz is our hero. 1. She is so brave. By deciding to file a complaint against Nungesser, who was also accused of rape by two other students, she is not only taking a stand for herself but for all of the other brave women who have ever been brutally assaulted and felt too afraid to speak up about it.

Students’ Silent Protest Against Sexual Assault

June 17, 2014 Nina Friend, www.huffingtonpost.com Resist! Protest, Sexual Assault, Student Activism

Many students saw this year's commencement season as a time for solidarity, and not necessarily celebration. Students at elite universities across the United States decorated their caps and gowns in red tape to protest the handling of sexual assault cases on campus, with the latest example at Stanford University on Sunday. The practice of using red tape to convey a message of discontent originated at Columbia University in the late 1990s. It was meant to symbolize the bureaucratic barriers students faced reporting sexual violence. Since then, current Columbia students revived the red tape on campus and at their own commencement. Other schools like Harvard, Brown and most recently Stanford followed suit. All of these universities are accused of mishandling sexual assault cases as well.

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