Emma Sulkowicz may not have received the justice she was looking for after her on-campus rape, but today she certainly took her protest to the next level.
The Columbia University student made national news last fall when she began a very unusual senior thesis. Sulkowicz was raped in her dorm room during her sophomore year at the college, and despite reporting the crime to campus police and the existence of several other victims who reported rapes by the same assailant, her case was dismissed by Columbia. As a protest, she set out to carry her mattress with her everywhere she went, so long as she was still forced to attend school alongside her rapist.
During today's graduation ceremony, Emma continued that protest in front of a much larger audience. With the help of several friends, she carried her mattress across the graduation stage as her name was called to receive her diploma. According to The Columbia Spectator, the act was met with loud cheers from audience members. Many of her classmates and others in attendance at the graduation also took to Twitter to discuss the action, including several reports that Sulkowicz chose not to shake hands with the university president.
Ahead of today's ceremony, there was some speculation about whether Sulkowicz would be allowed to bring her mattress into graduation, as strict guidelines were issued barring students from carrying "large objects" into the tents. It appears that Columbia administrators decided to make an exception for the embattled student, which, in our humble opinion, was the least that they could do.
We'll just call this a few cumbersome steps for one student, and a giant leap for awareness of campus rape.