Posters Go Up Around Columbia Calling Mattress Rape Protester A "Pretty Little Liar" [View all]

[Nuclear Unicorn]

Posters Go Up Around Columbia Calling Mattress Rape Protester A "Pretty Little Liar"



Early this morning, an anonymous person or persons put up posters around Columbia University—in the 116th Street subway station, outside of Tom's Restaurant, on stoplights and construction walls—emblazoned with the image of student Emma Sulkowicz and her now-iconic mattress. Since September 2014, Sulkowicz has been dragging the mattress around campus as a protest against the school's handling of her rape allegations against another student. (That student, Paul Nungesser, has since sued the university.) This morning's posters accuse Sulkowicz of making it all up, dismissing her as "Pretty Little Liar" with the caption "Emma Sulkowitz" [sic] and "RapeHoax."

A new Twitter account, @FakeRape, has been tweeting pictures of the posters for the last five hours. Another poster, picturing Lena Dunham sticking her tongue out, is clearly part of the series, emblazoned "Big Fat Liar," with the same #RapeHoax hashtag.

Today's stunt coincides with Columbia's commencement ceremony, and follows on the heels of yesterday's College Class Day ceremony, during which Sulkowicz carried her dorm room mattress across the stage. The NY Times reports that President Lee C. Bollinger refused to shake her hand when she passed, as he had done with all the other students—including Nungesser, who crossed the stage minutes before her.

http://gothamist.com/2015/05/20/columbia_rape_protest_posters.php

I dread the thought that this might be a hoax ala Rolling Stone's UVa story because of the harm it would do combatting sexual assault (of course I also dread the thought of the story being true, as well). However, even if the story turns out to be a hoax I'm really uncomfortable with this article. Between the posters and being snubbed by the university president I feel things could descend from ugly to positively horrid.