Mark Meckler
The New York Times has a fascinating development in the case of the Columbia student who dragged a mattress around campus ever since she decided her so-called rape case wasn’t settled to her satisfaction:
A woman who felt that Columbia University had mishandled her charge of rape against a fellow student turned that anger into her senior arts thesis, a yearlongproject in which she carried a 50-pound mattress whenever she was on the Morningside Heights campus.
The woman, Emma Sulkowicz, won national acclaim and was largely embraced by her fellow students, who often helped her carry her burden, which she even brought to a graduation ceremony in May 2015.
Turns out, the guy she accused of rape was actually found innocent, and he wasn’t that keen on being constantly accused of a rape he didn’t commit. Paul Nungesser wasn’t thrilled that the university gave this woman college credit for dragging a mattress around and making false accusations.
The New York Times reports:
Columbia said late this week that it had reached a settlement with Mr. Nungesser, the terms of which it did not disclose. But the university said in a statement: “Columbia recognizes that after the conclusion of the investigation, Paul’s remaining time at Columbia became very difficult for him and not what Columbia would want any of its students to experience. Columbia will continue to review and update its policies toward ensuring that every student — accuser and accused, including those like Paul who are found not responsible — is treated respectfully and as a full member of the Columbia community.”
Mr. Nungesser’s lawyer, Andrew T. Miltenberg, said it had been important to Mr. Nungesser and his parents that Columbia “take some steps to ensure that this wouldn’t happen again, that this type of experience wouldn’t be suffered by someone else.” Of the settlement, Mr. Miltenberg said: “It’s as reasonable of an ending as you can have under these circumstances. Paul still has to live with this, and I suspect he will for a long time.”
This is a great development. I’m sick and tired of how colleges bend over backward to accommodate female students at the expense of male students. Too often, colleges side with the “victim” because sexual assault is taken so seriously — as it should be. But crying wolf like so many female activists are doing does a real disservice to other female, and male, victims.
Image Credit: By Emma Sulkowicz (Our source is Art in America) via Wikimedia Commons
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