--- title: Columbia University Student Emma Sulkowicz Protests Rape at Graduation description: Emma Sulkowicz swore she would carry the mattress as part of her senior thesis until her alleged rapist was expelled. He wasn't. canonical: https://time.com/3888116/columbia-university-student-mattress-graduation-rape/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-19T15:08:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:57:02.457Z og:title: Columbia University Student Emma Sulkowicz Protests Rape at Graduation og:description: Emma Sulkowicz swore she would carry the mattress as part of her senior thesis until her alleged rapist was expelled. He wasn't. og:url: https://time.com/3888116/columbia-university-student-mattress-graduation-rape/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18d984202d0aceac/698850c935ba6f686ac0d5d4/emma-sulkowicz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: Columbia Student Carries Mattress Around Campus Until Her Alleged Rapist Is Expelled og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Columbia University Student Emma Sulkowicz Protests Rape at Graduation twitter:description: Emma Sulkowicz swore she would carry the mattress as part of her senior thesis until her alleged rapist was expelled. He wasn't. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18d984202d0aceac/698850c935ba6f686ac0d5d4/emma-sulkowicz.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Columbia Student Carries Mattress at Graduation in Protest of Campus Rape Case > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent May 19, 2015 3:08 PM UTC  Emma Sulkowicz, a senior visual arts student at Columbia University, poses with a mattress, which she says she will carry every where she goes in protest of the university's lack of action after she reported being raped during her sophomore year, on Sept. 5, 2014 in New York. Emma Sulkowicz, a senior visual arts student at Columbia University, poses with a mattress, which she says she will carry every where she goes in protest of the university's lack of action after she reported being raped during her sophomore year, on Sept. 5, 2014 in New York. Andrew Burton—Getty Images  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent May 19, 2015 3:08 PM UTC Emma Sulkowicz graduated from Columbia University on Tuesday carrying a mattress she’s been taking everywhere on campus for the last year as part of her visual arts thesis. The student swore to not put down the mattress until the school expelled her alleged rapist from campus. Sulkowicz helped bring attention to a federal complaint that students levied against the school last year for failing to properly adjudicate cases of campus sexual assault. Columbia, along with over 90 other schools, is under federal investigation for violations of Title IX, a law that prohibits gender-based discrimination, including sexual assault, on campuses. Schools found guilty of defying the law could lose federal funding. > [](https://twitter.com/teoarmus/status/600644671883321344) In an [interview with TIME last year](http://time.com/98433/video-ivy-league-rape/), Sulkowicz said that she was raped during her sophomore year. She and two other woman all reported the same attacker to the university. All three cases were dismissed. “During my hearing, one panelist kept asking me how it was physically possible for anal rape to happen,” she said. “I was put in the horrible position of trying to explain how this terrible thing happened to me.” The man who allegedly assaulted Sulkowicz, also a senior, is still on campus. He is currently suing the school and Sulkowicz’s thesis advisor for making his name public. Following an email from the university forbidding “large objects” in the graduation procession, it looked like Columbia might block Sulkowicz for carrying the mattress, [according to](http://columbiaspectator.com/news/2015/05/18/sulkowicz-may-not-be-allowed-bring-mattress-cc-class-day) the Columbia _Spectator_. But students tweeted pictures of the young artist carrying her mattress in her cap and gown to confirm she was allowed to finish her undergraduate thesis. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3888116/columbia-university-student-mattress-graduation-rape/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3888116/columbia-university-student-mattress-graduation-rape/"},"headline":"Columbia Student Carries Mattress at Graduation in Protest of Campus Rape Case","datePublished":"2015-05-19T15:08:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:57:02.457Z","description":"Emma Sulkowicz swore she would carry the mattress as part of her senior thesis until her alleged rapist was expelled. 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