--- title: Emma Sulkowicz, Columbia University Artist, Made Video About Rape description: She says it's "not a reenactment" of her own rape but "may seem like one" canonical: https://time.com/3910621/emma-sulkowicz-mattress-columbia-rape-video/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-05T15:22:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:57:06.067Z og:title: Emma Sulkowicz, Columbia University Artist, Made Video About Rape og:description: She says it's "not a reenactment" of her own rape but "may seem like one" og:url: https://time.com/3910621/emma-sulkowicz-mattress-columbia-rape-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb20c5b34d39a55a2/6988532c3c1639108345838d/gettyimages-454693120.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 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: Emma Sulkowicz, Columbia University Artist, Made Video About Rape twitter:description: She says it's "not a reenactment" of her own rape but "may seem like one" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb20c5b34d39a55a2/6988532c3c1639108345838d/gettyimages-454693120.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Student Who Carried Mattress in Rape Protest Unveils New Project ## Video: My Rapist Is Still on Campus: Sexual Assault in the Ivy League [Watch (HLS stream): My Rapist Is Still on Campus: Sexual Assault in the Ivy League](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/o8izpqKu.m3u8) (6:50)  _Published 2014-05-14. In April, 23 Columbia and Barnard students filed a federal Title IX complaint alleging that the University mishandled sexual assault cases_  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jun 5, 2015 3:22 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 September 5, 2014 in New York City. (Andrew Burton--Getty Images) 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 September 5, 2014 in New York City. (Andrew Burton--Getty Images)Andrew Burton—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jun 5, 2015 3:22 PM UTC A Columbia University student who carried a mattress around campus to protest the administration’s refusal to expel her alleged rapist has made a follow-up project– a performance art video about her alleged rape. Emma Sulkowicz, who says she was raped by another student in 2012, has become one of the most prominent faces of campus sexual assault because of her senior thesis project — entitled _Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight)_ — about what she considers to be the poor handling of her rape allegations by university authorities. In a statement accompanying the video, [which was first reported by _New York_](http://nymag.com/thecut/2015/06/emma-sulkowicz-made-a-film-addressing-rape.html), she writes that the video “not a reenactment” of her own rape, but “may seem like one.” The video project is called [_Ceci N’est Pas Un Viol_](http://www.cecinestpasunviol.com/)_,_ translates to “this is not a rape”– an allusion to surrealist Rene Magritte’s famous painting _The Treachery of Images,_ more commonly known as _Ceci N’est Pas Un Pipe,_ or “this is not a pipe.” Sulkowicz writes on the website for the project that the video is “not about one night in August, 2012.” Instead, she says, “I want to change the world, and that begins with you, seeing yourself. If you watch this video without my consent, then I hope you reflect on your reasons for objectifying me and participating in my rape.” You can watch the project, which contains graphic scenes, [here](http://www.cecinestpasunviol.com/). 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