I’m sure some of us have heard the phrase “Masterpiece Theater.” But have you ever heard of Mattress Piece Theater? That’s pretty much what’s going on at Columbia University right now. From the somewhat untrustworthy Dylan Stableford at Yahoo News (for reasons we’ll see in a minute):

A Columbia University student is turning her senior thesis into a protest against the school’s sexual assault policies and her alleged rapist.

Emma Sulkowicz, a visual art major, says she is carrying a twin-size dorm-room mattress until her alleged attacker, a fellow Columbia student, is expelled. Sulkowicz is calling the endeavor, which she says is a sort of performance art piece, ‘Mattress Performance: Carry That Weight.’

You see, the mattress is Emma’s cross upon which she has been crucified. Like Jesus, she must carry her cross throughout a harsh and misunderstanding world. And in Emma’s world, there will be absolutely no justice until the man she accuses is railroaded off campus without a shred of evidence to support her accusations.

The piece could potentially take a day or go on till I graduate,’ Sulkowicz, a senior, told the Columbia Spectator.

The 21-year-old says she was raped in her dorm room on the first day of her sophomore year but did not report the alleged attack until she met two other women who said they were also assaulted by the same man. All three reported their cases to the university, and all three say their allegations were dismissed.

This paragraph is a series of lies (or journalistic incompetence) on the part of Dylan Stableford. Emma’s allegations were not “dismissed” out of hand. They were investigated by the university. Not that it’s the proper role of the school to investigate violent felonies, but they did their “due diligence.”

The other two students did complain to the school. One of the complaints was actually not about sexual assault, but nebulous accusations of “abuse” (which can mean anything nowadays). The school investigated their accusations as well. The accused student was found not responsible every time, despite the university being required to use an extremely low standard of evidence.

But did Emma go to the police? The student-run, independent news site BWOG interviewed Emma about it. She told BWOG:

…after being mishandled by them as well, I just didn’t feel safe or comfortable talking to them anymore, and they passed the case on to the district attorney’s office, who contacted me and said it would take up to nine months or a year for it to go to court.

By then I would have graduated, and if I sit around waiting for that, I’ll be missing out on other opportunities like creating this piece, or doing other work, it’ll just be a waste of my time.’ In short, she has been unable to work with the NYPD.

“Unable” to work with them? District attorneys’ offices are normally backed up. If it were a murder case it would be the same way. But since the criminal justice system didn’t drop everything it was doing to work on her case, she was “unable to work with them”?

Also, prosecuting your rapist is a “waste of time”? The “rapist” that is so dangerous that he (supposedly) abused three people whose accusations were found baseless by a kangaroo court?

I call bullshit. This kind of self-narrated, dramatized passion play, combined with the fact that she apparently doesn’t give a damn about prosecuting her “rapist,” screams the phrase “drama queen.”

And yes, let’s go ahead and say it: chances are that Emma Sulkowicz is a false rape accuser. If a kangaroo court doesn’t find the person you accused responsible, chances are your accusation wasn’t worth much of anything to begin with. And if Feminists don’t like that kind of reasoning, they can blame the people who set up those kangaroo courts to begin with: themselves.

Also, does anyone remember this?

A list of men accused of rape written on a bathroom stall.

Earlier this year Emma and several other women decided to publicly brand unconvicted young men of rape by writing their names on bathroom stalls across campus. I covered it here. Apparently this is also more important than pursuing a case through the criminal justice system.

There is an interesting comment at BWOG that I think is worthy of being highlighted:

I think people seriously need to rethink the myth that nobody is listening to rape victims. This has gone viral across the globe, and she didn’t even need a grain of proof. She gets tremendous support, has become a hero and there is no trace of even slightly critical reporting in the media.

So much for the narrative. It’s “performance art,” folks. In other words, it’s all for show.

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About the Author

Jonathan Taylor is Title IX for All's founder, editor, web designer, and database developer.

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70 Comments

  1. Edu 09/07/2014 at 10:27 pm

    Now wait a minute. “By then I would have graduated, and if I sit around waiting for that, I’ll be missing out on other opportunities like creating this piece, or doing other work, it’ll just be a waste of my time.’ ” Missing out…on opportunities like making a spectacle of herself. Why does this make me feel reminiscent of the WI college student that got caught sending death threats to herself, only to claim it was to “raise awareness” after she got caught?

  2. scott 09/08/2014 at 1:05 am

    This is where we are at folks!!!! the perversions and manufactured statistics from American law enforcement over the last 20 years has led us to where we are today…which is a gender-feminist lynching culture!!! This is why its going to be so important to dismantle these perverse and unconstitutional manufactured statistics Alliances that have poisoned American law enforcement!!!

  3. scott 09/08/2014 at 1:16 am

    History will show that these perversions and manufactured statistics Alliances that are now coming out of American law enforcement were in fact highly illegal and un-unconstitutional, but ( like many things now coming out of washington)….things will have to get worse before it gets better!!!

  4. joe 09/08/2014 at 1:48 am

    Isn’t her performance piece on par with slander or libel?

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/08/2014 at 1:50 am

      Her writing the accused student’s name on the bathroom wall (see later in the post) very well could be. As far as her performance being slander per se, maybe.

      • sharroot 09/08/2014 at 4:58 pm

        Jonathan, You are a creep.

        • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/08/2014 at 5:06 pm

          Got any argument to go with the slime you’re slinging? Any response to any of my points? No? Didn’t think so. You’re just here to accuse. To throw slime.

          You know what the accusation “creep” is in this kind of context? It’s like a miniature false rape accusation. You fling it around like some kind of weaponized rhetoric to designate the men with whom you disagree as sexual deviants – if not potential sexual predators – simply for disagreeing with you. You don’t have any real argument, nothing.

          No, my dear, the only creep here is you. And given that Emma Sulkowicz is very likely a false rape accuser, and given that both of you like flinging around accusations without evidence, it only makes sense that you would support her.

          • sharroot 09/09/2014 at 4:30 am

            You’ve already given the evidence in you’re writing. I’m just giving the summation.

          • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/09/2014 at 7:17 am

            The “evidence” you apparently can’t cite? You’re just wasting our time with nonsense and namecalling. But you won’t be anymore.

          • Josheph Blaugh 09/13/2014 at 4:45 am

            Here is the sumerization: femimism is a weird creepy movement with psychopathic misandrists that want to carry out androcide.

          • Jack Strawb 11/02/2014 at 9:05 am

            Why the cretinous libel? Do you really think this sort of garbage works any more?

            I’d challenge you at some length to do what people with intellectual integrity do, which is quote and rebut, but I’ve already spent more time than your trolling is worth. Shoo. Run away. Go.

        • Masculist Man 02/13/2015 at 7:28 pm

          The only “creeps” out there are feminists.

  5. jack 09/08/2014 at 6:34 am

    I had read this article on several sites but none mentioned what you guys mentioned. Great relief. They all just talked about the damn mattress and how much of a survivor she was. But wait, writing their names on bathroom stalls is definitely cruel, especially when they said he wasn’t liable. I would also like to add that every other site simply stated that other women came forward against him. Now we know that one of the other women said it was abuse, not rape.

    • Mark Wharton 09/08/2014 at 11:37 am

      The one other girl accused him of attempted forced kissing. The other girl accused him of grabbing her arm at one point and emotional abuse. Hardly supporting evidence of a rapist.

  6. Andrew Davis 09/08/2014 at 11:01 am

    Schools need to get out of the business of investigating rape and leave it entirely to PD. If a rapist is expelled from school he is still free to rape more women. Expelling male students for a crime they have not even been charged with is unfair to the accused and encourages women who have been raped to cease trying to follow up with the police. That being said the author most of the people here are really ignorant. Rape is a terribly under reported crime and backlash like what is seen here is why it’s under reported.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/08/2014 at 11:31 am

      While I agree that schools have no competence in investigating rape, I think that if there is any concern over whether a genuine victim isn’t believed it’s largely due to drama queens accusers / false accusers who really aren’t interested in justice. Not people who report on such accusers.

    • Mark Wharton 09/08/2014 at 11:40 am

      I disagree. Jonathan’s article is much different then the majority of articles that consider her a victim without question. There is VERY LITTLE backlash against taking her at her word without evidence. To say that Jonathan Taylor causes rape to be underreported is quite a claim. I know he has more viewership then TIME or Washington Post and stuff that bend over backwards to believe and self described female victim.

    • Josheph Blaugh 09/13/2014 at 4:50 am

      Underreported? You can’t prove a negative. The “underreported rapes” crap is lazy journalism. Especially in today’s day and age where law enforcement are tripping over themselves to persecute falsely accused men. We’ve seen it at Duke,Holfstra and other colleges as well.

  7. Malcolm James 09/08/2014 at 12:06 pm

    If she is going to carry her mattress around in the manner of Jesus, I look forward to other students meeting her with a rousing chorus of ‘Always look on the bright side of life’!

  8. John Biship 09/09/2014 at 4:27 am

    It’s about time someone call out this liar. I was falsely accuse of rape by a so-called “friend” (which dam sure DIDN’T happen considering we didn’t even have our clothes off and NOTHING remotely sexual happened).

    • Another victim 09/11/2014 at 7:29 am

      I’m sorry you had to endure it, thanks for speaking up.

  9. codyalanreel 09/09/2014 at 6:48 am

    I hate lying women.

    It’s scary how women use the victim cards to get free attention and money.

    But that’s just what women have done all throughout history, and it’s how a lot of marriages are initiated lmfao

  10. Cory Farley 09/10/2014 at 5:37 am

    WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

    You think it’s convenient and cute and just a playful game to carry around your mattress wherever you go? It’s heavy as uck, and a burden, and if it didn’t mean something to Emma she wouldn’t invest in doing it. This isn’t a SHOW. She wouldn’t be going through what she’s doing if it weren’t for the blatant disrespect of the police and university, their refusal to take her seriously while attempting to charge a rapist, and people like Y O U who see someone who’s been attacked in order to feel more comfortable at night, call it bullshit.

    This is shit journalism, second-hand, without any proper sourcing done. Get your shit together. The allegations were dismissed because it took her so much time to get the courage to report it (probably because people like you exist, huh, because it’s a stigma to call raped women liars). Legally, the statue of limitations, mind, has not run out on her case.

    Abuse “can mean anything these days” my ass. That’s laziness, you’re not checking your sources, you’re neglecting to look into it. Why? Because it doesn’t fit the angle of your shit, lazy-ass story with second-hand sources.

    Popcorn fucking journalism to appeal to rape apologists. What shit.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/10/2014 at 10:34 am

      “This isn’t a SHOW.”

      It’s her visual art thesis, but not a show? Right.

      “She wouldn’t be going through what she’s doing if it weren’t for the blatant disrespect of the police and university.”

      But you have no proof of that. Nor proof that she is a rape victim. Just her word, which you appear to have taken entirely on faith. Which leads to the emotional diarrhea called your comment.

      “The allegations were dismissed because it took her so much time to get the courage to report it”

      Got any proof of that claim? You know, any proper sourcing? I cite my sources. I don’t see you citing anything.

      “Abuse ‘can mean anything these days’ my ass.”

      Considering the fact that “economic abuse” (example: withholding money from a partner who wants to spend it all) is considered “abuse,” yes, abuse can mean pretty much anything. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_abuse

      See, I do check my sources.

      You see, dear friend, I actually haven’t “convicted” Emma as a false rape accuser. I said she “probably” is, but didn’t go so far as to say she actually is. Because at the end of the day, I at least have the intellectual honesty and courage to say I don’t know for sure because I wasn’t there. But you don’t have the intellectual honesty and courage to say that. You don’t have the courage to admit that you just might be wrong.

      And that’s what separates skeptics like me, from false rape apologists like you. Because when people like you assume every rape accuser is telling the truth every time, eventually you’re going to defend a liar.

    • The Real Peterman 09/11/2014 at 2:13 am

      A rational person would not.do this for no reason, sure, but is every person rational? There are people.who poison their own children to get attention, people who pay someone to beat them up, people who light themselves on fire to get views on YouTube.

    • the_mouse_ 01/14/2015 at 11:25 pm

      By her own admission she stopped cooperating with police, they didn’t refuse to press charges. As for why she would put herself through that? She’s literally doing a performance piece that will allow her to graduate, and that has already earned her both fame and glowing reviews. She is making a career out of this, but can’t be bothered to go through the arduous task of giving evidence to police in order to protect other women. Sounds real legit, right?

    • johnmarsh 02/09/2015 at 10:11 pm

      Ignoring a lot of facts there, Cory, false-rape apologist.

    • GoldenBoy 02/09/2015 at 11:01 pm

      I always find it fascinating when people have no problem accepting that a man can be a monster and rape someone, but think that a woman can’t possibly falsely accuse someone for revenge / attention / money / or simply because she’s crazy…

  11. The Real Peterman 09/11/2014 at 2:05 am

    “if I sit around waiting for that, I’ll be missing out on other opportunities like creating this piece”

    So you see, she couldn’t talk to the DA about her case because if she did she might be too busy to talk about how no one is listening to her.

    • Graham 09/11/2014 at 1:56 pm

      I love the smoke logic of this comment, people try to over complicate a retort, but this comment is simple and to the point. If she really wanted justice she would pursue it, not pursue attention. She was never denied a police investigation, she just wasn’t prioritized, she had to wait in line, I mean she waited 2 years to file the complaint, but 8 to 9 months is to long to wait for a thorough investigation? Yeah, I’m gonna call BS.

      • Graham 09/11/2014 at 2:00 pm

        Simple* Damn autocorrect

  12. Emelio Lizardo 09/12/2014 at 12:22 am

    One gets the impression that rape is a pretty trivial experience.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/12/2014 at 12:30 am

      If it’s relegated only to “art” and kept out of the justice system, one might indeed get that impression.

  13. Chris 09/12/2014 at 1:51 am

    Years ago I was working as a contractor in a minimum security prison for a day and the guard escorting me through pointed to an old convict and said ‘see that guy, he’s an innocent man. He was a foster father falsely accused of raping a 15 year old girl in his care. She recanted when she turned 22, unfortunately the release process can take 7 years, so he’s probably going to die inside.’ Seeing that poor old guy made it hit home.

    • John Narayan 09/22/2014 at 10:59 pm

      Sometimes I think lying is hardwired into female DNA.

  14. Unknown 09/12/2014 at 7:20 am

    Wow…… Of course you wouldn’t be able to understand Emma Sulkowicz. You’re a man. You don’t’ share the same experiences as a female does. Get your facts straight before you decide to comment on the issue. Yes, it is sad that there are some women who report false rape cases, but the majority of the rapes reported are true. I believe that all rape cases should be investigated thoroughly and fairly to both parties involved, but that did not happen in Emma’s case.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/12/2014 at 11:57 am

      You know, saying someone’s opinion is invalid simply because he is a man is pretty sexist. Also, you don’t think male rape victims go through the same kind of shaming female rape victims do? Actually, oftentimes, male rape victims have it worse because people are more likely to assume that they couldn’t refuse to consent simply because they are men who always want sex.

      It is actually very reasonable to believe that many – if not most – rape claims are false. There is a lot of data that backs this up. See here:
      http://boysmeneducation.com/avfms-mega-post-10-reasons-false-rape-accusations-are-common/

      There is a lot of research that went into that link. So yes, I do get my facts straight before I comment. By the way, since you talk so much about facts, tell me: how do you know *for a fact* that Emma’s case was not investigated thoroughly or fairly? Because when all we are given is Emma’s word, I don’t know how you could be privy to any more “facts” than anyone else. Do enlighten us.

      • Beth 09/23/2014 at 3:12 am

        I’m ok with questioning someones claims. At the same time i’m confused as to what evidence a rape victim should be able to procure? The main thing that bothers me about this article isn’t even the article. It’s the comments on how “females are such liars”. So quickly people lose focus on what the article is about. It’s like the whole world has A.D.D.

        • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/23/2014 at 4:29 am

          “At the same time i’m confused as to what evidence a rape victim should be able to procure?”

          Well, a rape accuser abandoning the path of recourse through the criminal justice system – even when the criminal justice system is working with her – to parade around is worthy of skepticism. Even moreso when she alleges that her rapist has also assaulted several others, while simultaneously claiming to speak and act in their behalf.

          As for what evidence a rape victim would need to procure, the same kind that the falsely accused need. Physical evidence. Testimony. And so forth.

          Also, everyone lies – either to themselves or others – although different people lie do tend to lie differently.

  15. Mabel 09/14/2014 at 4:10 am

    Calling someone a false rape accuser is by itself accusatory without proper evidence. Given the stigma and trauma that actual rape victims go through, your article is subversive to say the least, and extremely derogatory. Rape victims need our support.

    If you read the details of her story on her blog, you would know that the guy pervaded her from behind and probably pulled out before his erection. Perhaps she was doubtful of his eviction given unsubstantial evidence and decided to embark on her own brand of justice. her solution came in the form of a performance art. It is creatively done and rises awareness about rape in colleges, which should not be something to condone.

    Instead of minding about the tiny details on what makes her story believable/unbelievable – being judgmental, which by the way no one knows, it would be better off to focus on the course of action that colleges take for rape prevention and remediation. It is hard to believe that Columbia, a top university, where the top academic students and staff go, can stay silent on this matter. It is almost reflective of bureaucratic ways to disdain itself from controversy.

    • Malcolm James 09/14/2014 at 6:20 am

      How much further do we need to ‘raise awareness’? The whole world seems to be well aware of the problem. No-one can deny that campus rape is a problem because it happens and even one campus rape is one too many. However, it appears that the whole world is aware of the grossly inflated, preposterous ‘one-in-five’ statistic. Emma Sulkowicz’s accusation was tested in a disciplinary hearing and found not to be credible enough even on a ‘preponderance of the evidence’ standard to convict the accused. It appears that activists want to dispense with any semblance of due process and convict the accused based solely on an accusation. As Columbia wanting to distance themselves from controversy, it has got to the stage that the best way to do that is to throw the accused under the bus, regardless of evidence or lack thereof.

    • Edu 09/14/2014 at 10:24 pm

      Mabel, you completely missed the point there, didn’t you? People already know there is a problem with sexual assault and rape on campuses. The issue is that the school (which by the way is punished if the government doesn’t think that they are finding ENOUGH rapists in their midst for the governments taste, leading to a bias to find them guilty to keep funding) found that there was not enough evidence to prove her claim. In 2013 there were 8.5 million people living in New York City, only about 34,500 cops, That’s about 247 people PER COP, and includes everyone from the Commissioner, all the way down to the lowliest rookie patrolman. Only a tiny amount of those are detectives, and an even fewer number of those are part of the Special Victims Unit, which would have investigated her claim. The District Attorney’s Office has even fewer investigators than that.

      So, by her own admission, after waiting an extended period of time to speak up, continually reduces the capability of investigators to, well, investigate, and then complains that her case, among the many they have to deal with, doesn’t get priority over the rest.

      But you did hit the nail on the head with one thing. “If you read the details of her story on her blog, you would know that the guy pervaded her from behind and probably pulled out before his erection. Perhaps she was doubtful of his eviction given unsubstantial evidence and decided to embark on her own brand of justice. her solution came in the form of a performance art. It is creatively done and rises awareness about rape in colleges, which should not be something to condone.” We are apparently expected, based off of nothing more than her word, to destroy the life of the accused. When that does not happen, we are apparently supposed to let her try and publicly shame not only him, but the school and the community; and to let her enact her own form of vigilante justice. Be honest here Mabel. If you were my neighbor, and your pet was always getting lose and getting into my yard, chasing my pets and attacking my children, do you believe that if your pet showed up dead in your yard, with no evidence of trauma or being attacked, that it would give you right to come to my home and shoot me dead? That is vigilante justice at its finest. And as extreme as the ending may seem to be over a hypothetical pet, can you really tell me that a parent or relative of someone that has accused another of rape would be above such an act? Do we really want to instill the mindset that summary judgement on behalf of the accused should be allowed and praised?

      The pervasive atmosphere is that of “guilty until proven innocent, and even then you’re still guilty”, and it is running rampant in our school system. Each and every time that a case is investigated and the accused proved not guilty (not necessarily innocent, just not guilty. There’s a difference), there are always people there to negate it. They spout off at the mouth telling the world that it’s just another case of “the good ol’ boys club” looking out for their own, or that he “bought his way out”. But now we have feminist buzzwords like “rape culture” to hide such defamation behind. “Because rape is the most horrible thing in the world, and all women everywhere are perfect little angels that would never lie for their own benefit, and because she accused him, he MUST be guilty.” So if there’s not enough evidence to prove it, or even if the evidence contradicts her story totally, it must be a massive conspiracy to say that rape is an okay thing to do. It’s really not helping the cause to paint yourselves as tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theorists, but still it’s done.

      Of course, we only have her word. Seriously. We only have her version of what happened, in the way that she chooses to portray herself in all of this. And that’s a big issue, because when one party controls the narrative, they instinctually put their best interests first. Her entire story as portrayed to the media paints her as a total and complete victim. No, I’m not saying that she deserved any of the things she says happened. I’m saying that she leads us to believe that every single person or group, save her two friends, victimized her in some way. There are NO parties but herself and those two that she excludes from statements of villainy. And when she (in my opinion) pitches a hissy fit over not being first on the list for investigation she turns to a performance piece? She stops working with the DA’s Office instead choosing a route that says “Hey everybody, look at me! I’m a victim!” She didn’t take it to any college board, or even the Department of Education itself. Instead, she sees her time to get her vengance. When she and her friends didn’t get their way, they tried to bully people by scribbling the accused’s name on bathroom walls. And when that didn’t work, she seeks to try and vilify him in the court of public opinion by toting her matress.

      And why hasn’t he spoken up to clear his name in all of this? For much the same reason anyone else would hide. To speak up places a giant target on his back, his family’s, his coworkers, his bosses, etc, etc. Anyone that doesn’t automatically hate him for what he is ACCUSED of doing (not proven to be guilty of, just ACCUSED) must be guilty of supporting “rape culture”, and should then be targeted for the same harassment, stalking, death threats, and attempts on his life that he would undoubtedly receive.

      So while we may never know what really happened in that dorm room that night, we also can’t allow one individual to use self-indulgent misdirection from the issues and then praise it as “raising awareness”.

    • Josheph Blaugh 09/27/2014 at 4:22 am

      Subversive? Does this mean you are going to report us to gynocracy?

  16. Murray Kleinowitz 09/15/2014 at 4:03 am

    Reminds me of the Jewish girl caught painting swastikas on her own door. Hmm. Sulkowicz. -witz. Jew.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/15/2014 at 5:11 am

      Curious question: do you have a problem with her if she is Jewish?

    • Malcolm James 09/18/2014 at 9:15 am

      Are they aware of the delicious, Orwellian irony of carrying a piece like this on a website of this name?

      • Jack Strawb 11/21/2014 at 9:59 pm

        Well, they didn’t actually mean “democracy now” for you.

  17. Niall 09/18/2014 at 5:26 pm

    execute yourself please

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/18/2014 at 5:35 pm

      Thank you for successfully representing the intellectual and moral threshold of the opposition. No arguments, just slime and death wishes.

      Anything else you’d like to add?

  18. Alana 09/23/2014 at 3:33 pm

    Wow, this girl. ‘Lol, it’s not worth my time to sit through a court case to get my alleged rapist off the street. Forget other girls he might rape, I have other projects to do and they might call me to listen to me AND testify in court? My time is more precious than that of other potential victims!’.
    If this actually happened to her, she’s a horrible, self-centred person. I honestly doubt it, though. It seems like she’s doing this for her own feminist propaganda and will just wind up hurting actual victims once the truth comes out.

  19. Jim 09/25/2014 at 12:10 am

    I’ve been following this story for a while. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of articles about this issue. Every one — except this one — is extremely sympathetic to the accuser. Notably, since the university is (rightly) prohibited from commenting on its investigation, and the accused (understandably) doesn’t want to publicly identify himself by commenting on the allegations, we only get the accuser’s side. But, in watching and reading her interviews, her accusation of rape just doesn’t seem credible. I am certainly NOT excusing rape. I’m simply pointing out the obvious that based on her own interviews, there are a number of unanswered questions that go to the credibility of her story.

    1. She was allegedly raped in her own dorm room on the first night of school. Presumably, there were other students in their rooms on her floor. She does not allege that she was threatened in any way or felt that she was in any danger. If she was being raped, why didn’t she yell, scream or try to attract attention to what was happening?

    2. She did not report the rape that night or the next day. She did not report it to the administration until 6 months later. There is no indication she told anyone (a friend, a roommate, a school counselor) about the rape before reporting it to the administration. Why not?

    3. She had consensual sex with her alleged rapist at least twice previously. On the night of the alleged rape, she met the guy at a party, kissed him, and invited him back to her dorm room where they commenced to engage in consensual sex. According to her, it became rape when he began having anal intercourse with her and she said “no.” She then says he left without ejaculating. She does not say how long he continued attempting to have sex with her after she said no. Was it 10 seconds or 10 minutes? She doesn’t say. What was said or done during that period? did he threaten her or forcefully hold her down? Did she try to push him away, or did they begin consensual vaginal sex thereafter? Did they argue or talk about what had occurred before he left? All of these questions seem pretty relevant to me.

    4. She said in an interview that he pushed her legs up to her chest, and slapped and choked her. If that occurred, that would seem pretty damning evidence against him and would in itself constitute assault. But she sort of throws that out there in the interview without discussing this aspect of the “rape.” That raises more questions than it answers. She doesn’t appear to allege anywhere that she was in fear of her life or that he threatened to hurt her. Where did he slap her? On her face? On her buttocks? Did he really choke her? If so, why wouldn’t she have called out for help or contacted the police immediately afterwards?

    5. She says she reported the assault only after hearing of his abusive behavior by two other women. One of whom had a long-term relationship with him and one he allegedly groped at a party. I haven’t seen what the specific allegations of abuse were, but apparently neither of them came close to being sexual assault. The fact that the administration cleared him of each of those instances strongly implies there wasn’t any credible evidence against him in either case. Maybe the guy is a jerk. Maybe he uses women. That doesn’t mean he’s guilty of rape.

    6. And, most damning, as pointed out in this article, her grounds for not pressing charges sounds completely ridiculous and self-serving. She didn’t “feel safe” with campus police because an officer was smoking? She didn’t press charges with the NYPD because it would take to long and interfere with her other priorities? Come on. If she really wanted to protect other women from this guy, she would have pressed charged. How about the fact that lying to a police officer about a crime is in itself a crime? Could that be a reason why she hasn’t pursued this?

    Like I said. I am not condoning rape. I personally believe that rapists use violence, threats or drugs should be executed. And of course date rape – whether through the use of alcohol, intimidation, or anything else — needs to be condemned. But, come on. Not every allegation of rape is actually what 99% of us would consider rape. Bad behavior maybe. Egotistical. Self-serving. Selfish. Crude. Maybe even abusive. But not necessarily rape. This sounds like one of those instances.

  20. Miles 10/17/2014 at 11:22 pm

    “chances are that Emma Sulkowicz is a false rape accuser.”

    “We must also acknowledge that whatever the numbers are, it should not prejudice us toward assuming guilt or innocence in any individual case.”

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 10/18/2014 at 1:34 am

      Exactly. The numbers alone should not prejudice us. That’s why we must make decisions on a case by case basis, given the facts surrounding each case. Which is exactly what I have done here regarding Emma, citing her willful refusal to pursue the case through the criminal justice system and her enthusiastic pursuit of the case in the court of public opinion. Among other things.

  21. Miles 10/18/2014 at 4:50 am

    Which is still an assumption of guilt.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 10/18/2014 at 7:31 am

      Nope, because assumptions are things which are made despite a lack of evidence, whereas here we have evidence, which we have also cited. See in particular Jim’s excellent comment above, where he lists six points specific to Emma’s case. Assumptions, you say? That word does not mean what you think it means. Or perhaps – more likely – you seek to dishonestly deny what it means because of ill intent.

      So come clean now, which are you: a PUA who is butthurt that I didn’t let you turn the comments section of this website into a linkfarm to Return of Kings (which – I remind – is what placed all your future comments back on premoderated status), or a feminist plant who is just interested in trying to smear this website by trying to falsely appear as an MHRA, or a negative image of what you think MHRAs should look like?

      You’re not going to slip through the cracks here.

      • Miles 10/18/2014 at 5:59 pm

        The evidence you claim is all circumstancial, none of it definitively proving or disproving her claim. If definitive evidence did surface that proved she was actually sexually assaulted, something that is entirely possible, how would you justify making such a comment?

        • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 10/18/2014 at 6:52 pm

          An easy question to answer: because I never said she definitely made a false accusation. I never said her claim was definitely disproven. I said “probably,” which I don’t feel bad about saying one bit. But you knew that, because you have the ability to read. Is it possible that she actually was raped? Yes. Probable? No.

          Furthermore, everyone can clearly see that Emma’s supporters do indeed believe that she definitely was a victim – no “probably” about their attitudes. You seem to have these “standards” about presuming guilt, but you (1) falsely accuse me of doing so, and (2) don’t seem to care about how Emma’s supporters blatantly presume guilt. Dear me, someone who holds MHRAs to a higher standard than feminists & friends, where have we run into that before?

          You deliberately refused to answer my earlier question when I asked who you really are. That was after I let you continue commenting out of mere charity, after you already broke the comment policy with your first two posts. It is beyond obvious that you aren’t here for an honest conversation, that you’re just a lying shitbag trying to throw slime at people, strawmanning others and then grandstanding by falsely claiming you’ve made some kind of point, when that slime you throw is nothing more than a projection of your own attitudes.

          Go linkspam some other MHRA website with PUA/RoK links thinking they’re too dumb to notice. That’s your last comment here.

  22. Sheila 11/09/2014 at 5:11 am

    I really appreciate this article and I hope more like it come out in the future. I’m actually fairly convinced by what she’s said that she actually was raped in the way she claims (but yes, there’s just not enough evidence). In any case, she’s clearly handling it in a selfish way that’s doing way more harm than good. Some of the comments here claiming that women are all liars should obviously be ignored, but there are always gonna be idiots on both sides of any argument. Thanks for writing about something that so many people seem afraid to.

    • Jack Strawb 11/21/2014 at 10:09 pm

      Sheila – I’ve just read through the comments section and didn’t see where anyone said “women are all liars.” Where did you see that? Thanks.

  23. Bryan Scandrett 12/07/2014 at 11:56 pm

    Attention.

  24. Malcolm James 12/12/2014 at 9:38 pm

    Is she still carrying the mattress around? Or has it got a little chilly for diddums? Just asking.

  25. Jack Strawb 02/05/2015 at 8:04 am

    I’ve never heard this version before. Do you have a source?

  26. Jack Strawb 02/05/2015 at 8:08 am

    The Daily Beast just published an article featuring an interview with the man Sulkowicz accused of rape, titled, “Columbia Student: I Didn’t Rape Her.” In it the accused presents flirtatious and friendly messages he received from Sulkowicz for months following the incident.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/03/columbia-student-i-didn-t-rape-her.html

    The former opinion editor of The Columbia Spectator then admitted,

    But I think we—not just the opinion page, not just Spec—but we, the members of the campus media, failed specifically with Sulkowicz’s story by not being thorough and impartial.

    Instead, campus media’s goal to promote discussion about sexual assault and to support survivors became conflated with a fear of rigorous reporting. Personally, I felt that if I covered the existence of a different perspective—say, that due process should be respected—not only would I have been excoriated, but many would have said that I was harming survivors and the fight against sexual assault.

    http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2015/02/03/better-media-coverage-sexual-assault-survivors

  27. Sons of Ares 02/07/2015 at 4:27 pm

    I’m sure this observation had been made before, but when I learned that she she was using this as a senior thesis project, the flags went up, and that was even before learning the university hadn’t found anything to her allegations. What kind of person decides to turn aspects of her rape into a thesis project? Am I supposed to read this as “empowering”? What, screaming “here’s the proof of my attack, now arrest this jerk!” isn’t enough?

  28. Robert Riversong 02/13/2015 at 4:07 am

    For an in-depth expose of the evolution of universities from institutions of higher learning into witch-hunt tribunals for the “rape culture” advocates, see: New Puritanism – New Paternalism: The “Rape Culture” Narrative Demeans Women, Demonizes Men, and Turns Universities into Witch Hunt Tribunals

    The deprivation of basic constitutional rights for men and their attempts to fight back are addressed in: The Pendulum Reverses – Again: The Betrayal of Liberty on America’s Campuses & Men Strike Back against Title IX Tribunals

  29. Robert Riversong 02/13/2015 at 4:07 am

    For the full story on Emma Sulkowicz’s unwarranted national celebrity
    status, see A
    Model of Campus Gender-Based Harassment: The Columbia University
    “Mattress” Story

  30. penelope 02/24/2015 at 6:08 am

    yo what is this website even. yall are perpetuating rape culture please sit down

    • Jonathan Taylor 02/24/2015 at 6:11 am

      More like opposing false rape culture. Heard Emma’s latest post-rape text messages? The ones where she proclaims how much she loves the man she later accused of rape and can’t wait to see him again?

  31. sparkzilla 06/10/2015 at 5:29 am

    Read the unbiased truth: The complete Emma Sulkowicz timeline: http://newslines.org/emma-sulkowicz/?order=ASC

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I’m sure some of us have heard the phrase “Masterpiece Theater.” But have you ever heard of Mattress Piece Theater? That’s pretty much what’s going on at Columbia University right now. From the somewhat untrustworthy Dylan Stableford at Yahoo News (for reasons we’ll see in a minute):

A Columbia University student is turning her senior thesis into a protest against the school’s sexual assault policies and her alleged rapist.

Emma Sulkowicz, a visual art major, says she is carrying a twin-size dorm-room mattress until her alleged attacker, a fellow Columbia student, is expelled. Sulkowicz is calling the endeavor, which she says is a sort of performance art piece, ‘Mattress Performance: Carry That Weight.’

You see, the mattress is Emma’s cross upon which she has been crucified. Like Jesus, she must carry her cross throughout a harsh and misunderstanding world. And in Emma’s world, there will be absolutely no justice until the man she accuses is railroaded off campus without a shred of evidence to support her accusations.

The piece could potentially take a day or go on till I graduate,’ Sulkowicz, a senior, told the Columbia Spectator.

The 21-year-old says she was raped in her dorm room on the first day of her sophomore year but did not report the alleged attack until she met two other women who said they were also assaulted by the same man. All three reported their cases to the university, and all three say their allegations were dismissed.

This paragraph is a series of lies (or journalistic incompetence) on the part of Dylan Stableford. Emma’s allegations were not “dismissed” out of hand. They were investigated by the university. Not that it’s the proper role of the school to investigate violent felonies, but they did their “due diligence.”

The other two students did complain to the school. One of the complaints was actually not about sexual assault, but nebulous accusations of “abuse” (which can mean anything nowadays). The school investigated their accusations as well. The accused student was found not responsible every time, despite the university being required to use an extremely low standard of evidence.

But did Emma go to the police? The student-run, independent news site BWOG interviewed Emma about it. She told BWOG:

…after being mishandled by them as well, I just didn’t feel safe or comfortable talking to them anymore, and they passed the case on to the district attorney’s office, who contacted me and said it would take up to nine months or a year for it to go to court.

By then I would have graduated, and if I sit around waiting for that, I’ll be missing out on other opportunities like creating this piece, or doing other work, it’ll just be a waste of my time.’ In short, she has been unable to work with the NYPD.

“Unable” to work with them? District attorneys’ offices are normally backed up. If it were a murder case it would be the same way. But since the criminal justice system didn’t drop everything it was doing to work on her case, she was “unable to work with them”?

Also, prosecuting your rapist is a “waste of time”? The “rapist” that is so dangerous that he (supposedly) abused three people whose accusations were found baseless by a kangaroo court?

I call bullshit. This kind of self-narrated, dramatized passion play, combined with the fact that she apparently doesn’t give a damn about prosecuting her “rapist,” screams the phrase “drama queen.”

And yes, let’s go ahead and say it: chances are that Emma Sulkowicz is a false rape accuser. If a kangaroo court doesn’t find the person you accused responsible, chances are your accusation wasn’t worth much of anything to begin with. And if Feminists don’t like that kind of reasoning, they can blame the people who set up those kangaroo courts to begin with: themselves.

Also, does anyone remember this?

A list of men accused of rape written on a bathroom stall.

Earlier this year Emma and several other women decided to publicly brand unconvicted young men of rape by writing their names on bathroom stalls across campus. I covered it here. Apparently this is also more important than pursuing a case through the criminal justice system.

There is an interesting comment at BWOG that I think is worthy of being highlighted:

I think people seriously need to rethink the myth that nobody is listening to rape victims. This has gone viral across the globe, and she didn’t even need a grain of proof. She gets tremendous support, has become a hero and there is no trace of even slightly critical reporting in the media.

So much for the narrative. It’s “performance art,” folks. In other words, it’s all for show.

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Jonathan Taylor is Title IX for All's founder, editor, web designer, and database developer.

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70 Comments

  1. Edu 09/07/2014 at 10:27 pm

    Now wait a minute. “By then I would have graduated, and if I sit around waiting for that, I’ll be missing out on other opportunities like creating this piece, or doing other work, it’ll just be a waste of my time.’ ” Missing out…on opportunities like making a spectacle of herself. Why does this make me feel reminiscent of the WI college student that got caught sending death threats to herself, only to claim it was to “raise awareness” after she got caught?

  2. scott 09/08/2014 at 1:05 am

    This is where we are at folks!!!! the perversions and manufactured statistics from American law enforcement over the last 20 years has led us to where we are today…which is a gender-feminist lynching culture!!! This is why its going to be so important to dismantle these perverse and unconstitutional manufactured statistics Alliances that have poisoned American law enforcement!!!

  3. scott 09/08/2014 at 1:16 am

    History will show that these perversions and manufactured statistics Alliances that are now coming out of American law enforcement were in fact highly illegal and un-unconstitutional, but ( like many things now coming out of washington)….things will have to get worse before it gets better!!!

  4. joe 09/08/2014 at 1:48 am

    Isn’t her performance piece on par with slander or libel?

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/08/2014 at 1:50 am

      Her writing the accused student’s name on the bathroom wall (see later in the post) very well could be. As far as her performance being slander per se, maybe.

      • sharroot 09/08/2014 at 4:58 pm

        Jonathan, You are a creep.

        • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/08/2014 at 5:06 pm

          Got any argument to go with the slime you’re slinging? Any response to any of my points? No? Didn’t think so. You’re just here to accuse. To throw slime.

          You know what the accusation “creep” is in this kind of context? It’s like a miniature false rape accusation. You fling it around like some kind of weaponized rhetoric to designate the men with whom you disagree as sexual deviants – if not potential sexual predators – simply for disagreeing with you. You don’t have any real argument, nothing.

          No, my dear, the only creep here is you. And given that Emma Sulkowicz is very likely a false rape accuser, and given that both of you like flinging around accusations without evidence, it only makes sense that you would support her.

          • sharroot 09/09/2014 at 4:30 am

            You’ve already given the evidence in you’re writing. I’m just giving the summation.

          • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/09/2014 at 7:17 am

            The “evidence” you apparently can’t cite? You’re just wasting our time with nonsense and namecalling. But you won’t be anymore.

          • Josheph Blaugh 09/13/2014 at 4:45 am

            Here is the sumerization: femimism is a weird creepy movement with psychopathic misandrists that want to carry out androcide.

          • Jack Strawb 11/02/2014 at 9:05 am

            Why the cretinous libel? Do you really think this sort of garbage works any more?

            I’d challenge you at some length to do what people with intellectual integrity do, which is quote and rebut, but I’ve already spent more time than your trolling is worth. Shoo. Run away. Go.

        • Masculist Man 02/13/2015 at 7:28 pm

          The only “creeps” out there are feminists.

  5. jack 09/08/2014 at 6:34 am

    I had read this article on several sites but none mentioned what you guys mentioned. Great relief. They all just talked about the damn mattress and how much of a survivor she was. But wait, writing their names on bathroom stalls is definitely cruel, especially when they said he wasn’t liable. I would also like to add that every other site simply stated that other women came forward against him. Now we know that one of the other women said it was abuse, not rape.

    • Mark Wharton 09/08/2014 at 11:37 am

      The one other girl accused him of attempted forced kissing. The other girl accused him of grabbing her arm at one point and emotional abuse. Hardly supporting evidence of a rapist.

  6. Andrew Davis 09/08/2014 at 11:01 am

    Schools need to get out of the business of investigating rape and leave it entirely to PD. If a rapist is expelled from school he is still free to rape more women. Expelling male students for a crime they have not even been charged with is unfair to the accused and encourages women who have been raped to cease trying to follow up with the police. That being said the author most of the people here are really ignorant. Rape is a terribly under reported crime and backlash like what is seen here is why it’s under reported.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/08/2014 at 11:31 am

      While I agree that schools have no competence in investigating rape, I think that if there is any concern over whether a genuine victim isn’t believed it’s largely due to drama queens accusers / false accusers who really aren’t interested in justice. Not people who report on such accusers.

    • Mark Wharton 09/08/2014 at 11:40 am

      I disagree. Jonathan’s article is much different then the majority of articles that consider her a victim without question. There is VERY LITTLE backlash against taking her at her word without evidence. To say that Jonathan Taylor causes rape to be underreported is quite a claim. I know he has more viewership then TIME or Washington Post and stuff that bend over backwards to believe and self described female victim.

    • Josheph Blaugh 09/13/2014 at 4:50 am

      Underreported? You can’t prove a negative. The “underreported rapes” crap is lazy journalism. Especially in today’s day and age where law enforcement are tripping over themselves to persecute falsely accused men. We’ve seen it at Duke,Holfstra and other colleges as well.

  7. Malcolm James 09/08/2014 at 12:06 pm

    If she is going to carry her mattress around in the manner of Jesus, I look forward to other students meeting her with a rousing chorus of ‘Always look on the bright side of life’!

  8. John Biship 09/09/2014 at 4:27 am

    It’s about time someone call out this liar. I was falsely accuse of rape by a so-called “friend” (which dam sure DIDN’T happen considering we didn’t even have our clothes off and NOTHING remotely sexual happened).

    • Another victim 09/11/2014 at 7:29 am

      I’m sorry you had to endure it, thanks for speaking up.

  9. codyalanreel 09/09/2014 at 6:48 am

    I hate lying women.

    It’s scary how women use the victim cards to get free attention and money.

    But that’s just what women have done all throughout history, and it’s how a lot of marriages are initiated lmfao

  10. Cory Farley 09/10/2014 at 5:37 am

    WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

    You think it’s convenient and cute and just a playful game to carry around your mattress wherever you go? It’s heavy as uck, and a burden, and if it didn’t mean something to Emma she wouldn’t invest in doing it. This isn’t a SHOW. She wouldn’t be going through what she’s doing if it weren’t for the blatant disrespect of the police and university, their refusal to take her seriously while attempting to charge a rapist, and people like Y O U who see someone who’s been attacked in order to feel more comfortable at night, call it bullshit.

    This is shit journalism, second-hand, without any proper sourcing done. Get your shit together. The allegations were dismissed because it took her so much time to get the courage to report it (probably because people like you exist, huh, because it’s a stigma to call raped women liars). Legally, the statue of limitations, mind, has not run out on her case.

    Abuse “can mean anything these days” my ass. That’s laziness, you’re not checking your sources, you’re neglecting to look into it. Why? Because it doesn’t fit the angle of your shit, lazy-ass story with second-hand sources.

    Popcorn fucking journalism to appeal to rape apologists. What shit.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/10/2014 at 10:34 am

      “This isn’t a SHOW.”

      It’s her visual art thesis, but not a show? Right.

      “She wouldn’t be going through what she’s doing if it weren’t for the blatant disrespect of the police and university.”

      But you have no proof of that. Nor proof that she is a rape victim. Just her word, which you appear to have taken entirely on faith. Which leads to the emotional diarrhea called your comment.

      “The allegations were dismissed because it took her so much time to get the courage to report it”

      Got any proof of that claim? You know, any proper sourcing? I cite my sources. I don’t see you citing anything.

      “Abuse ‘can mean anything these days’ my ass.”

      Considering the fact that “economic abuse” (example: withholding money from a partner who wants to spend it all) is considered “abuse,” yes, abuse can mean pretty much anything. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_abuse

      See, I do check my sources.

      You see, dear friend, I actually haven’t “convicted” Emma as a false rape accuser. I said she “probably” is, but didn’t go so far as to say she actually is. Because at the end of the day, I at least have the intellectual honesty and courage to say I don’t know for sure because I wasn’t there. But you don’t have the intellectual honesty and courage to say that. You don’t have the courage to admit that you just might be wrong.

      And that’s what separates skeptics like me, from false rape apologists like you. Because when people like you assume every rape accuser is telling the truth every time, eventually you’re going to defend a liar.

    • The Real Peterman 09/11/2014 at 2:13 am

      A rational person would not.do this for no reason, sure, but is every person rational? There are people.who poison their own children to get attention, people who pay someone to beat them up, people who light themselves on fire to get views on YouTube.

    • the_mouse_ 01/14/2015 at 11:25 pm

      By her own admission she stopped cooperating with police, they didn’t refuse to press charges. As for why she would put herself through that? She’s literally doing a performance piece that will allow her to graduate, and that has already earned her both fame and glowing reviews. She is making a career out of this, but can’t be bothered to go through the arduous task of giving evidence to police in order to protect other women. Sounds real legit, right?

    • johnmarsh 02/09/2015 at 10:11 pm

      Ignoring a lot of facts there, Cory, false-rape apologist.

    • GoldenBoy 02/09/2015 at 11:01 pm

      I always find it fascinating when people have no problem accepting that a man can be a monster and rape someone, but think that a woman can’t possibly falsely accuse someone for revenge / attention / money / or simply because she’s crazy…

  11. The Real Peterman 09/11/2014 at 2:05 am

    “if I sit around waiting for that, I’ll be missing out on other opportunities like creating this piece”

    So you see, she couldn’t talk to the DA about her case because if she did she might be too busy to talk about how no one is listening to her.

    • Graham 09/11/2014 at 1:56 pm

      I love the smoke logic of this comment, people try to over complicate a retort, but this comment is simple and to the point. If she really wanted justice she would pursue it, not pursue attention. She was never denied a police investigation, she just wasn’t prioritized, she had to wait in line, I mean she waited 2 years to file the complaint, but 8 to 9 months is to long to wait for a thorough investigation? Yeah, I’m gonna call BS.

      • Graham 09/11/2014 at 2:00 pm

        Simple* Damn autocorrect

  12. Emelio Lizardo 09/12/2014 at 12:22 am

    One gets the impression that rape is a pretty trivial experience.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/12/2014 at 12:30 am

      If it’s relegated only to “art” and kept out of the justice system, one might indeed get that impression.

  13. Chris 09/12/2014 at 1:51 am

    Years ago I was working as a contractor in a minimum security prison for a day and the guard escorting me through pointed to an old convict and said ‘see that guy, he’s an innocent man. He was a foster father falsely accused of raping a 15 year old girl in his care. She recanted when she turned 22, unfortunately the release process can take 7 years, so he’s probably going to die inside.’ Seeing that poor old guy made it hit home.

    • John Narayan 09/22/2014 at 10:59 pm

      Sometimes I think lying is hardwired into female DNA.

  14. Unknown 09/12/2014 at 7:20 am

    Wow…… Of course you wouldn’t be able to understand Emma Sulkowicz. You’re a man. You don’t’ share the same experiences as a female does. Get your facts straight before you decide to comment on the issue. Yes, it is sad that there are some women who report false rape cases, but the majority of the rapes reported are true. I believe that all rape cases should be investigated thoroughly and fairly to both parties involved, but that did not happen in Emma’s case.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/12/2014 at 11:57 am

      You know, saying someone’s opinion is invalid simply because he is a man is pretty sexist. Also, you don’t think male rape victims go through the same kind of shaming female rape victims do? Actually, oftentimes, male rape victims have it worse because people are more likely to assume that they couldn’t refuse to consent simply because they are men who always want sex.

      It is actually very reasonable to believe that many – if not most – rape claims are false. There is a lot of data that backs this up. See here:
      http://boysmeneducation.com/avfms-mega-post-10-reasons-false-rape-accusations-are-common/

      There is a lot of research that went into that link. So yes, I do get my facts straight before I comment. By the way, since you talk so much about facts, tell me: how do you know *for a fact* that Emma’s case was not investigated thoroughly or fairly? Because when all we are given is Emma’s word, I don’t know how you could be privy to any more “facts” than anyone else. Do enlighten us.

      • Beth 09/23/2014 at 3:12 am

        I’m ok with questioning someones claims. At the same time i’m confused as to what evidence a rape victim should be able to procure? The main thing that bothers me about this article isn’t even the article. It’s the comments on how “females are such liars”. So quickly people lose focus on what the article is about. It’s like the whole world has A.D.D.

        • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/23/2014 at 4:29 am

          “At the same time i’m confused as to what evidence a rape victim should be able to procure?”

          Well, a rape accuser abandoning the path of recourse through the criminal justice system – even when the criminal justice system is working with her – to parade around is worthy of skepticism. Even moreso when she alleges that her rapist has also assaulted several others, while simultaneously claiming to speak and act in their behalf.

          As for what evidence a rape victim would need to procure, the same kind that the falsely accused need. Physical evidence. Testimony. And so forth.

          Also, everyone lies – either to themselves or others – although different people lie do tend to lie differently.

  15. Mabel 09/14/2014 at 4:10 am

    Calling someone a false rape accuser is by itself accusatory without proper evidence. Given the stigma and trauma that actual rape victims go through, your article is subversive to say the least, and extremely derogatory. Rape victims need our support.

    If you read the details of her story on her blog, you would know that the guy pervaded her from behind and probably pulled out before his erection. Perhaps she was doubtful of his eviction given unsubstantial evidence and decided to embark on her own brand of justice. her solution came in the form of a performance art. It is creatively done and rises awareness about rape in colleges, which should not be something to condone.

    Instead of minding about the tiny details on what makes her story believable/unbelievable – being judgmental, which by the way no one knows, it would be better off to focus on the course of action that colleges take for rape prevention and remediation. It is hard to believe that Columbia, a top university, where the top academic students and staff go, can stay silent on this matter. It is almost reflective of bureaucratic ways to disdain itself from controversy.

    • Malcolm James 09/14/2014 at 6:20 am

      How much further do we need to ‘raise awareness’? The whole world seems to be well aware of the problem. No-one can deny that campus rape is a problem because it happens and even one campus rape is one too many. However, it appears that the whole world is aware of the grossly inflated, preposterous ‘one-in-five’ statistic. Emma Sulkowicz’s accusation was tested in a disciplinary hearing and found not to be credible enough even on a ‘preponderance of the evidence’ standard to convict the accused. It appears that activists want to dispense with any semblance of due process and convict the accused based solely on an accusation. As Columbia wanting to distance themselves from controversy, it has got to the stage that the best way to do that is to throw the accused under the bus, regardless of evidence or lack thereof.

    • Edu 09/14/2014 at 10:24 pm

      Mabel, you completely missed the point there, didn’t you? People already know there is a problem with sexual assault and rape on campuses. The issue is that the school (which by the way is punished if the government doesn’t think that they are finding ENOUGH rapists in their midst for the governments taste, leading to a bias to find them guilty to keep funding) found that there was not enough evidence to prove her claim. In 2013 there were 8.5 million people living in New York City, only about 34,500 cops, That’s about 247 people PER COP, and includes everyone from the Commissioner, all the way down to the lowliest rookie patrolman. Only a tiny amount of those are detectives, and an even fewer number of those are part of the Special Victims Unit, which would have investigated her claim. The District Attorney’s Office has even fewer investigators than that.

      So, by her own admission, after waiting an extended period of time to speak up, continually reduces the capability of investigators to, well, investigate, and then complains that her case, among the many they have to deal with, doesn’t get priority over the rest.

      But you did hit the nail on the head with one thing. “If you read the details of her story on her blog, you would know that the guy pervaded her from behind and probably pulled out before his erection. Perhaps she was doubtful of his eviction given unsubstantial evidence and decided to embark on her own brand of justice. her solution came in the form of a performance art. It is creatively done and rises awareness about rape in colleges, which should not be something to condone.” We are apparently expected, based off of nothing more than her word, to destroy the life of the accused. When that does not happen, we are apparently supposed to let her try and publicly shame not only him, but the school and the community; and to let her enact her own form of vigilante justice. Be honest here Mabel. If you were my neighbor, and your pet was always getting lose and getting into my yard, chasing my pets and attacking my children, do you believe that if your pet showed up dead in your yard, with no evidence of trauma or being attacked, that it would give you right to come to my home and shoot me dead? That is vigilante justice at its finest. And as extreme as the ending may seem to be over a hypothetical pet, can you really tell me that a parent or relative of someone that has accused another of rape would be above such an act? Do we really want to instill the mindset that summary judgement on behalf of the accused should be allowed and praised?

      The pervasive atmosphere is that of “guilty until proven innocent, and even then you’re still guilty”, and it is running rampant in our school system. Each and every time that a case is investigated and the accused proved not guilty (not necessarily innocent, just not guilty. There’s a difference), there are always people there to negate it. They spout off at the mouth telling the world that it’s just another case of “the good ol’ boys club” looking out for their own, or that he “bought his way out”. But now we have feminist buzzwords like “rape culture” to hide such defamation behind. “Because rape is the most horrible thing in the world, and all women everywhere are perfect little angels that would never lie for their own benefit, and because she accused him, he MUST be guilty.” So if there’s not enough evidence to prove it, or even if the evidence contradicts her story totally, it must be a massive conspiracy to say that rape is an okay thing to do. It’s really not helping the cause to paint yourselves as tin-foil hat wearing conspiracy theorists, but still it’s done.

      Of course, we only have her word. Seriously. We only have her version of what happened, in the way that she chooses to portray herself in all of this. And that’s a big issue, because when one party controls the narrative, they instinctually put their best interests first. Her entire story as portrayed to the media paints her as a total and complete victim. No, I’m not saying that she deserved any of the things she says happened. I’m saying that she leads us to believe that every single person or group, save her two friends, victimized her in some way. There are NO parties but herself and those two that she excludes from statements of villainy. And when she (in my opinion) pitches a hissy fit over not being first on the list for investigation she turns to a performance piece? She stops working with the DA’s Office instead choosing a route that says “Hey everybody, look at me! I’m a victim!” She didn’t take it to any college board, or even the Department of Education itself. Instead, she sees her time to get her vengance. When she and her friends didn’t get their way, they tried to bully people by scribbling the accused’s name on bathroom walls. And when that didn’t work, she seeks to try and vilify him in the court of public opinion by toting her matress.

      And why hasn’t he spoken up to clear his name in all of this? For much the same reason anyone else would hide. To speak up places a giant target on his back, his family’s, his coworkers, his bosses, etc, etc. Anyone that doesn’t automatically hate him for what he is ACCUSED of doing (not proven to be guilty of, just ACCUSED) must be guilty of supporting “rape culture”, and should then be targeted for the same harassment, stalking, death threats, and attempts on his life that he would undoubtedly receive.

      So while we may never know what really happened in that dorm room that night, we also can’t allow one individual to use self-indulgent misdirection from the issues and then praise it as “raising awareness”.

    • Josheph Blaugh 09/27/2014 at 4:22 am

      Subversive? Does this mean you are going to report us to gynocracy?

  16. Murray Kleinowitz 09/15/2014 at 4:03 am

    Reminds me of the Jewish girl caught painting swastikas on her own door. Hmm. Sulkowicz. -witz. Jew.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/15/2014 at 5:11 am

      Curious question: do you have a problem with her if she is Jewish?

    • Malcolm James 09/18/2014 at 9:15 am

      Are they aware of the delicious, Orwellian irony of carrying a piece like this on a website of this name?

      • Jack Strawb 11/21/2014 at 9:59 pm

        Well, they didn’t actually mean “democracy now” for you.

  17. Niall 09/18/2014 at 5:26 pm

    execute yourself please

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 09/18/2014 at 5:35 pm

      Thank you for successfully representing the intellectual and moral threshold of the opposition. No arguments, just slime and death wishes.

      Anything else you’d like to add?

  18. Alana 09/23/2014 at 3:33 pm

    Wow, this girl. ‘Lol, it’s not worth my time to sit through a court case to get my alleged rapist off the street. Forget other girls he might rape, I have other projects to do and they might call me to listen to me AND testify in court? My time is more precious than that of other potential victims!’.
    If this actually happened to her, she’s a horrible, self-centred person. I honestly doubt it, though. It seems like she’s doing this for her own feminist propaganda and will just wind up hurting actual victims once the truth comes out.

  19. Jim 09/25/2014 at 12:10 am

    I’ve been following this story for a while. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of articles about this issue. Every one — except this one — is extremely sympathetic to the accuser. Notably, since the university is (rightly) prohibited from commenting on its investigation, and the accused (understandably) doesn’t want to publicly identify himself by commenting on the allegations, we only get the accuser’s side. But, in watching and reading her interviews, her accusation of rape just doesn’t seem credible. I am certainly NOT excusing rape. I’m simply pointing out the obvious that based on her own interviews, there are a number of unanswered questions that go to the credibility of her story.

    1. She was allegedly raped in her own dorm room on the first night of school. Presumably, there were other students in their rooms on her floor. She does not allege that she was threatened in any way or felt that she was in any danger. If she was being raped, why didn’t she yell, scream or try to attract attention to what was happening?

    2. She did not report the rape that night or the next day. She did not report it to the administration until 6 months later. There is no indication she told anyone (a friend, a roommate, a school counselor) about the rape before reporting it to the administration. Why not?

    3. She had consensual sex with her alleged rapist at least twice previously. On the night of the alleged rape, she met the guy at a party, kissed him, and invited him back to her dorm room where they commenced to engage in consensual sex. According to her, it became rape when he began having anal intercourse with her and she said “no.” She then says he left without ejaculating. She does not say how long he continued attempting to have sex with her after she said no. Was it 10 seconds or 10 minutes? She doesn’t say. What was said or done during that period? did he threaten her or forcefully hold her down? Did she try to push him away, or did they begin consensual vaginal sex thereafter? Did they argue or talk about what had occurred before he left? All of these questions seem pretty relevant to me.

    4. She said in an interview that he pushed her legs up to her chest, and slapped and choked her. If that occurred, that would seem pretty damning evidence against him and would in itself constitute assault. But she sort of throws that out there in the interview without discussing this aspect of the “rape.” That raises more questions than it answers. She doesn’t appear to allege anywhere that she was in fear of her life or that he threatened to hurt her. Where did he slap her? On her face? On her buttocks? Did he really choke her? If so, why wouldn’t she have called out for help or contacted the police immediately afterwards?

    5. She says she reported the assault only after hearing of his abusive behavior by two other women. One of whom had a long-term relationship with him and one he allegedly groped at a party. I haven’t seen what the specific allegations of abuse were, but apparently neither of them came close to being sexual assault. The fact that the administration cleared him of each of those instances strongly implies there wasn’t any credible evidence against him in either case. Maybe the guy is a jerk. Maybe he uses women. That doesn’t mean he’s guilty of rape.

    6. And, most damning, as pointed out in this article, her grounds for not pressing charges sounds completely ridiculous and self-serving. She didn’t “feel safe” with campus police because an officer was smoking? She didn’t press charges with the NYPD because it would take to long and interfere with her other priorities? Come on. If she really wanted to protect other women from this guy, she would have pressed charged. How about the fact that lying to a police officer about a crime is in itself a crime? Could that be a reason why she hasn’t pursued this?

    Like I said. I am not condoning rape. I personally believe that rapists use violence, threats or drugs should be executed. And of course date rape – whether through the use of alcohol, intimidation, or anything else — needs to be condemned. But, come on. Not every allegation of rape is actually what 99% of us would consider rape. Bad behavior maybe. Egotistical. Self-serving. Selfish. Crude. Maybe even abusive. But not necessarily rape. This sounds like one of those instances.

  20. Miles 10/17/2014 at 11:22 pm

    “chances are that Emma Sulkowicz is a false rape accuser.”

    “We must also acknowledge that whatever the numbers are, it should not prejudice us toward assuming guilt or innocence in any individual case.”

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 10/18/2014 at 1:34 am

      Exactly. The numbers alone should not prejudice us. That’s why we must make decisions on a case by case basis, given the facts surrounding each case. Which is exactly what I have done here regarding Emma, citing her willful refusal to pursue the case through the criminal justice system and her enthusiastic pursuit of the case in the court of public opinion. Among other things.

  21. Miles 10/18/2014 at 4:50 am

    Which is still an assumption of guilt.

    • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 10/18/2014 at 7:31 am

      Nope, because assumptions are things which are made despite a lack of evidence, whereas here we have evidence, which we have also cited. See in particular Jim’s excellent comment above, where he lists six points specific to Emma’s case. Assumptions, you say? That word does not mean what you think it means. Or perhaps – more likely – you seek to dishonestly deny what it means because of ill intent.

      So come clean now, which are you: a PUA who is butthurt that I didn’t let you turn the comments section of this website into a linkfarm to Return of Kings (which – I remind – is what placed all your future comments back on premoderated status), or a feminist plant who is just interested in trying to smear this website by trying to falsely appear as an MHRA, or a negative image of what you think MHRAs should look like?

      You’re not going to slip through the cracks here.

      • Miles 10/18/2014 at 5:59 pm

        The evidence you claim is all circumstancial, none of it definitively proving or disproving her claim. If definitive evidence did surface that proved she was actually sexually assaulted, something that is entirely possible, how would you justify making such a comment?

        • Jonathan Taylor (TCM) 10/18/2014 at 6:52 pm

          An easy question to answer: because I never said she definitely made a false accusation. I never said her claim was definitely disproven. I said “probably,” which I don’t feel bad about saying one bit. But you knew that, because you have the ability to read. Is it possible that she actually was raped? Yes. Probable? No.

          Furthermore, everyone can clearly see that Emma’s supporters do indeed believe that she definitely was a victim – no “probably” about their attitudes. You seem to have these “standards” about presuming guilt, but you (1) falsely accuse me of doing so, and (2) don’t seem to care about how Emma’s supporters blatantly presume guilt. Dear me, someone who holds MHRAs to a higher standard than feminists & friends, where have we run into that before?

          You deliberately refused to answer my earlier question when I asked who you really are. That was after I let you continue commenting out of mere charity, after you already broke the comment policy with your first two posts. It is beyond obvious that you aren’t here for an honest conversation, that you’re just a lying shitbag trying to throw slime at people, strawmanning others and then grandstanding by falsely claiming you’ve made some kind of point, when that slime you throw is nothing more than a projection of your own attitudes.

          Go linkspam some other MHRA website with PUA/RoK links thinking they’re too dumb to notice. That’s your last comment here.

  22. Sheila 11/09/2014 at 5:11 am

    I really appreciate this article and I hope more like it come out in the future. I’m actually fairly convinced by what she’s said that she actually was raped in the way she claims (but yes, there’s just not enough evidence). In any case, she’s clearly handling it in a selfish way that’s doing way more harm than good. Some of the comments here claiming that women are all liars should obviously be ignored, but there are always gonna be idiots on both sides of any argument. Thanks for writing about something that so many people seem afraid to.

    • Jack Strawb 11/21/2014 at 10:09 pm

      Sheila – I’ve just read through the comments section and didn’t see where anyone said “women are all liars.” Where did you see that? Thanks.

  23. Bryan Scandrett 12/07/2014 at 11:56 pm

    Attention.

  24. Malcolm James 12/12/2014 at 9:38 pm

    Is she still carrying the mattress around? Or has it got a little chilly for diddums? Just asking.

  25. Jack Strawb 02/05/2015 at 8:04 am

    I’ve never heard this version before. Do you have a source?

  26. Jack Strawb 02/05/2015 at 8:08 am

    The Daily Beast just published an article featuring an interview with the man Sulkowicz accused of rape, titled, “Columbia Student: I Didn’t Rape Her.” In it the accused presents flirtatious and friendly messages he received from Sulkowicz for months following the incident.

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/03/columbia-student-i-didn-t-rape-her.html

    The former opinion editor of The Columbia Spectator then admitted,

    But I think we—not just the opinion page, not just Spec—but we, the members of the campus media, failed specifically with Sulkowicz’s story by not being thorough and impartial.

    Instead, campus media’s goal to promote discussion about sexual assault and to support survivors became conflated with a fear of rigorous reporting. Personally, I felt that if I covered the existence of a different perspective—say, that due process should be respected—not only would I have been excoriated, but many would have said that I was harming survivors and the fight against sexual assault.

    http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2015/02/03/better-media-coverage-sexual-assault-survivors

  27. Sons of Ares 02/07/2015 at 4:27 pm

    I’m sure this observation had been made before, but when I learned that she she was using this as a senior thesis project, the flags went up, and that was even before learning the university hadn’t found anything to her allegations. What kind of person decides to turn aspects of her rape into a thesis project? Am I supposed to read this as “empowering”? What, screaming “here’s the proof of my attack, now arrest this jerk!” isn’t enough?

  28. Robert Riversong 02/13/2015 at 4:07 am

    For an in-depth expose of the evolution of universities from institutions of higher learning into witch-hunt tribunals for the “rape culture” advocates, see: New Puritanism – New Paternalism: The “Rape Culture” Narrative Demeans Women, Demonizes Men, and Turns Universities into Witch Hunt Tribunals

    The deprivation of basic constitutional rights for men and their attempts to fight back are addressed in: The Pendulum Reverses – Again: The Betrayal of Liberty on America’s Campuses & Men Strike Back against Title IX Tribunals

  29. Robert Riversong 02/13/2015 at 4:07 am

    For the full story on Emma Sulkowicz’s unwarranted national celebrity
    status, see A
    Model of Campus Gender-Based Harassment: The Columbia University
    “Mattress” Story

  30. penelope 02/24/2015 at 6:08 am

    yo what is this website even. yall are perpetuating rape culture please sit down

    • Jonathan Taylor 02/24/2015 at 6:11 am

      More like opposing false rape culture. Heard Emma’s latest post-rape text messages? The ones where she proclaims how much she loves the man she later accused of rape and can’t wait to see him again?

  31. sparkzilla 06/10/2015 at 5:29 am

    Read the unbiased truth: The complete Emma Sulkowicz timeline: http://newslines.org/emma-sulkowicz/?order=ASC

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