Last month, 23 Columbia and Barnard students filed a federal Title IX complaint alleging that the university mishandled sexual assault cases. Emma Sulkowicz is one of the complainants. The junior says she and two other women reported the same attacker to the university. All three cases were dismissed. Emma tells her story about what it’s like to report an assault in the Ivy League:
“During my hearing, one panelist kept asking me how it was physically possible for anal rape to happen. I was put in the horrible position of trying to explain how this terrible thing happened to me.” The man who Emma says attacked her still lives on campus. (You can read more opinions in TIME’s special report: Ending Campus Sexual Assault, including views from a lawyer who represents the accused and the president of Dartmouth. And get the full story in this week’s cover article by Eliza Gray: The Sexual Assault Crisis on American Campuses.)
More Must-Reads from TIME
- How Donald Trump Won
- The Best Inventions of 2024
- Why Sleep Is the Key to Living Longer
- Robert Zemeckis Just Wants to Move You
- How to Break 8 Toxic Communication Habits
- Nicola Coughlan Bet on Herself—And Won
- Why Vinegar Is So Good for You
- Meet TIME's Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders
Write to Francesca Trianni at francesca.trianni@time.com and Eliana Dockterman at eliana.dockterman@time.com