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Columbia Graduate Accused Of Rape Sues School For "Anti-Male Harassment"
By
Lauren Evans
Published Jun 25, 2015
Modified Jun 26, 2015
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Jun 25, 2015
Modified Jun 26, 2015
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Paul Nungesser, the man who was accused of raping recent Columbia graduate and tough-as-nails mattress carrier Emma Sulkowicz, is now going after the university for failing to protect him from Sulkowicz's “gender based anti-male discriminatory harassment campaign.”
Nungesser, who was not charged by the NYPD, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the university in April, arguing that he was the victim of “gender-based harassment and defamation" by allowing Sulkowicz to proceed with her project, called Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight). Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published a letter jointly filed by Nungesser and Columbia that summarizes their respective stances on the matter.
Nungesser's attorneys reason that the university has violated Title IX by "condoning a hostile educational environment due to knowingly permitting and apparently approving" of Sulkowicz's performance, thus "denying him equal access to Defendant Columbia’s resources and opportunities." He argues that the university made no attempt to silence Sulkowicz after finding him "not responsible" for raping her, and in fact went ahead and featured her work on university property, and gave her "special university privilege" to carry her mattress to the school's graduation ceremony. However, Columbia specifically sent a letter to dissuade Sulkowicz from carrying the mattress during commencement events, but she did it anyway, during a pre-commencement honors ceremony.
Columbia, for this part, denies that it's responsible for Sulkowicz's decision to speak out.
Still, Nungesser maintains that the mattress caused "damages to physical well-being, emotional and psychological damages, damages to reputation, past and future economic losses, loss of educational and athletic opportunities, and loss of future career prospects. The nature of these damages are not subject to a precise calculation.” Surely, though, he'll come up with a figure soon enough.
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carry that weight
emma sulkowicz
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Lauren Evans
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