Columbia Student Sues University, Says Rape Accuser Has Ruined His Reputation

[philosslayer]

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — A Columbia University senior filed a lawsuit against the school Thursday, claiming that the university failed to protect him from harassment amid claims that he had raped a fellow student.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Manhattan U.S. District Court by Paul Nungesser. The German citizen said the student’s campaign to muddy his name by dragging a mattress around campus and demonstrating has isolated him and hurt his job prospects and ability to stay in America.

The lawsuit said Columbia University effectively sponsored his gender-based harassment and defamation, causing an intimidating and hostile learning and living environment.

The woman, fellow senior Emma Sulkowicz, brought national headlines to Columbia last fall when she inspired a day of protest over the handling of sexual assault at the University.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/04/23/columbia-university-lawsuit-mattress-rape-allegation/

[KitSileya]

1. K&R for rape culture visibility. NT

[LiberalAndProud]

2. This will keep the lawyers fed.

What an ass.

[Seeking Serenity]

6. He's an ass for wanting to defend his reputation? Nice.

"You've never been convicted of raping anyone, but she says you did and is carrying around a mattress for two years. That's proof enough that your reputation should be smeared for all time."

McCarthyism at its finest. Very illiberal.

[LiberalAndProud]

7. He's an ass for thinking the university has any culpability.

The woman in question was exercising free speech. What should the university do? Expel her or him? He's an idiot.

[Seeking Serenity]

9. Aren't universities supposed to protect students from a hostile environment?

[LiberalAndProud]

10. So pretend you're in a position to decide.

What do you do? You have no way of knowing which party is the more truthful.

He's not suing the student for defamation. He's suing the university. gee, wonder why. The guy is an ass.

[Seeking Serenity]

12. Columbia has failed to protect him from a hostile environment.

Those protections don't extend only to women on campus.

[LiberalAndProud]

13. There are two students with grievances.

I notice you managed to not imagine a reasonable course of action. Why is that?

[Seeking Serenity]

14. Her grievance was heard and dismissed for lack of evidence.

His grievance is being ignored by the university for lack of care.

See the difference?

[LiberalAndProud]

15. That wasn't my question.

What should the university have reasonably done? I would hope, as chancellor that you would realize that lack of evidence does not necessarily mean an assault didn't occur.

I'm making no claim as to the student's guilt or innocence. The question is whether the university acted reasonably. You say they did not. What, in your opinion, would the reasonable course of action have been?

[Seeking Serenity]

18. How about not permitting her to carry around a mattress

in a performance art protest of what she says is/was the university's failure to expel the man she accused, but was never convicted, of raping her.

Even if it's as a class project or something similar, ideas for academic projects get rejected a lot.

[LiberalAndProud]

20. I disagree.

And I doubt that the court will ever weigh in, as Columbia will likely settle.

SCORE!!!

For him.
For the rest of the student body, not so much.

[Seeking Serenity]

21. Yeah, Columbia will probably settle.

Question is, where does he go to get his reputation back?

[LiberalAndProud]

22. Seems like the best way to do that would be to sue the perp

for defamation. Better than diving for the deep pockets, which is the plan here.

[Seeking Serenity]

24. I think he probably should

But Columbia, in failing to protect him from a hostile environment, is not, in my opinion, blameless.

You asked what I would do as dean of the college or president of the university? Here's what: "I'm sorry, Emma, but our university process did not find enough evidence against the man you've accused. And we cannot and will not expel a student based on an unproven accusation. Furthermore, your performance art project of lugging around a mattress on campus in protest of the university's decision not to expel an innocent man is rejected and you will not receive academic credit for it. And if you persist, we may have to expel you for contributing to a hostile environment."

How's that?

[LiberalAndProud]

25. Thank you. Nicely done.

Given that this battle has been largely waged on social media sites, I tend to think your strategy might have backfired. I still maintain that the university acted reasonably. If his accuser was lying, she is culpable, not the institution.

Since I won't be paying tuition at Columbia next semester, it's no skin off my nose either way.

[hifiguy]

32. Courts are in a position to decide.

Let the legal process play out. Sounds like he has a case that will survive a Rule 12 (b) 5 motion to dismiss, to this lawyer.

[Blue_Tires]

45. Unless the girl and/or the university directly named him,

what could he have possibly expected the university to do?

We all know in regular instances the dude would be suing the girl, but that will only make him look like a bigger dick, and the university has MUCH deeper pockets...

[riderinthestorm]

54. She said she would carry the mattress til her "rapist" was expelled

then she and the other two young women broke their confidentiality agreement about naming Paul Nungessor (with impunity from the university), and named him. Now it's become her senior thesis project approved by the university even as the university cleared Nungessor of all charges, and the local PD didn't find any evidence to charge him.

He's got a very good case and I believe Columbia will lose big time.

[Blue_Tires]

63. That's the funny part about defamation...

it's damned difficult to prove in court, and since Nungessor would first have to prove that he had a sterling reputation to begin with, every facet of his public/private life is fair game...

Columbia may cut him a small check to settle out of court and make the thing quickly go away (especially if it leads to more scrutiny about how the university and cops handled the original rape complaint), but it Nungessor winning in court is far from a sure thing...

[Yo_Mama]

42. It was her senior thesis, thus bringing the unversity into it.

If she's doing this for academic credit one cannot claim that the university has no involvement.

[alp227]

47. Free speech? Sure. Let me spread rumors that you kill puppies.

I'd like to get your real name and buy a billboard saying: &quot your real name) KILLS PUPPIES! GO HARASS (real name) NOW!" See how that works?

When I first saw Sulkowicz on Democracy Now in September, I was sympathetic. But after reading the complaint filed by the student she accuses of rape, I am very livid. She took a noble cause and made it egocentric. Her tactics turned off many potential supporters. Her tactics make things WORSE, not better, for rape victims. I can't believe what I'm seeing on DU. I thought people here would know better, having studied Joe McCarthy and gone through the accusations that John Kerry lied about serving in Vietnam and Obama is an undercover Kenyan-born Marxist Muslim terrorist. Sometimes, I feel DU can be no more open minded than a certain 1990s looking right wing forum.

[Sivafae]

3. Did it ever occur to him that raping someone would ruin his reputation? n/t

[LisaL]

4. He was never charged with anything, let alone convicted.

[Yo_Mama]

43. He was cleared of wrongdoing. The sex was consensual, regretted later.

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

She invited him to a party a few days later. There's proof of that.

[Seeking Serenity]

5. Please provide your evidence of his guilt of "raping someone"

And, no, an accusation does NOT equal proof. The university cleared him of wrongdoing, and law enforcement (the agencies better equipped by training and experience to investigate and prosecute these matters, not university student courts or Title IX coordinators) found no or insufficient evidence to charge him.

So, please, present your evidence that he has ever been guilty of "raping someone" such that his reputation should be ruined.

[Sivafae]

19. And this absolutely exemplifies the problem with what is happening.

I find it hard to believe that someone would bother carrying around a mattress for weeks on end for the mere purpose of ruining someone's life. If I remember correctly, Universities are not in the law enforcement business other than teaching law enforcement.

The very idea that the University did not do enough to assist law enforcement to apprehend and either exonerate or convict this person shows a defect in the system.

The fact that there are 1000's of rape kits all across the country also demonstrates the fact that this crime, a felony, is not a priority. We certainly don't have that issue when it come to the drug war.

And while I do believe that a person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, when law enforcement fails to bring justice to and for victims, then victims must be able to say that this person is a danger to society in some way. Bill Cosby raped women for years and years and years. So much so, that women are still coming out of the woodwork to claim as such. The reason he was allowed to do so was because no one would or did believe the victims. So he was able to continue his criminal behaviour without impediment.

When a victim is not taken seriously, how does the victim alert others to the danger of the person who behaves criminally? I thought the purpose of the Criminal Justice system was to remove those who are a proven danger to society because of their (violent) behaviour. When the system does not investigate properly acts that are criminal, how does one alert others to the danger of that person? I am not suggesting lists on the internets or anything. Making a claim that someone has acted criminally and officials not doing their utmost best to investigate the situation is not slander because the purpose isn't to defame, but to seek justice for a criminal act.

So this guy, whoever he is, claiming that the University is responsible for his lack of employment is kind of hubbub to me. The University has no interest in protecting its students from claims of criminal behaviour. They do, however, have a responsibility to turn over any information they have to apprehend and try someone for possible criminal behaviour.

[cali]

23. things can take on a life of their own

People can convince themselves of stuff that isn't true. Humans do that all the time. It's possible that she was suffering from post rape trauma when she sent him gushing emails professing her love for him, over a period of weeks after the night she claimed he raped her, but I have a hard time believing that.

[Yo_Mama]

44. Having had several friends who WERE raped, I don't believe it.

Her behavior is an affront to decency.

[cali]

48. i was raped.

And by someone very prominent when I was still a teenager.

[Yo_Mama]

56. I'm sorry - this sort of thing has to grind a little. n/t

[stevenleser]

57. I don't think the alleged victims affect or behavior after the fact is a good indicator

People suffering from PTSD can manifest all kinds of odd behaviors. There are even syndrome like Stockholms where victims defend and identify with their tormentors. Everyone is an individual and may have different even unique relations to such a traumatic incident.

I agree there are reasons to doubt her but the stats are so against a person being falsely named as a rapist that it's hard not to believe the accuser by default.

[LisaL]

58. Why do we need trials at all? For any crime.

We should just go by stats.
If you are accused, you are guilty. I mean, chances are, you are. Don't need any stinking evidence.

[hifiguy]

59. The Ed Meese approach:

"If you're a suspect that means you can't be innocent."

DU disgusts me sometimes.

[stevenleser]

62. Cute straw man. That is not what I said. I have no ability to pronounce someone guilty. nt

[cali]

8. I've read a lot about this case. I'm far from convinced that he raped her

[LisaL]

11. I am far from convinced also.

And he says he has numerous electronic communications between them, after the fact, but before she made her accusations, that don't seem to indicate anything was amiss.

"On Oct. 3, Sulkowicz’s birthday, Nungesser sent her an effusive greeting; she responded the next morning with, “I love you Paul. Where are you?!?!?!?!” Nungesser claims that these exchanges represent only a small portion of their friendly communications, which also included numerous text messages."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/03/columbia-student-i-didn-t-rape-her.html

[Eleanors38]

39. "I love you Paul. Where are you?!" A: "Praying before the God of the One-Night Stand."

[LisaL]

40. Sounds more like "friends with benefits" to me.

They had sex on several prior occasions. Apparently consensual sex, since she isn't accusing him of rape for those prior occasions.

[Eleanors38]

41. That's why he begs for forgiveness before ol' One Night.

[951-Riverside]

16. People rarely make up rape claims

He did something now he needs to be a man and accept what he did to that woman.

[cali]

17. i suggest reading more about this

I think she may well have made it up. The emails she sent him after the alleged rape do not help her case.

[Eleanors38]

36. "The Great Oz has spoken!!"

[Yo_Mama]

46. Women who were raped do not contact their victims as she did, and the "rapist"

has shown proof that she did to independent parties, which is why the university did not proceed against him.

[NaturalHigh]

49. Try reading some more about this.

There is not one shred of evidence that he committed any crime at all. I hope you're not scheduled for jury duty anytime soon.

[LexVegas]

26. Men's Rights bullshit. nt

[cali]

27. how much do you know about this specific case?

[hifiguy]

33. Back it up or shut up.

Drive-by buzzwords don't cut it around here. Maybe you haven't been around long enough to know and notice that.

[hifiguy]

35. I think the courts are perfectly capable of sifting the wheat

from the chaff in his case. Speaking as an attorney it seems pretty clear to me that he has a better case than many that go to court and Columbia would be wise to settle out of court.

And what do you think is the value of someone's reputation when it has been falsely smeared? Or isn't that an issue that concerns you? And if not, why not?

[Eleanors38]

38. Yeah, seen one you seen ' em all, right?

[NaturalHigh]

50. Yeah, those fake rape claims never hurt anyone.

[Inkfreak]

51. What an odd declaration. (nt)

[LordGlenconner]

28. The court documents are interesting for those taking the time to read them

[KitSileya]

29. Too many women have tried to have relationships with their rapists

After he raped them, in order to convince themselves that they weren't rape. Most rapes are acquaintance rapes, and a rape victim often has trouble reconciling the idea of rape as something that is done by strangers jumping from bushes, and rape done by someone they know, someone they like, even, someone they trusted. Rapists are usually very good at being likable - it is how they manage to rape so many and still have people in their corner. They often deliberately cultivate cover personas that are 'good guys'. And the victims have the cultural narrative about how good guys don't rape, it must have been a misunderstanding, and their bodies and subconscious telling them differently, and so in the immediate aftermath of the rape, they try to silence their alarms by convincing themselves it was love, because if it was love, it wasn't rape, and if it wasn't rape, they don't have to face the horridness of what the rapist did to them. That Sulkowicz wrote and said the things she did is in no way evidence that it wasn't rape.

Statistically speaking, you have 92-98% of being right if you believe her, and 2-8% chance of being right if you believe him. In fact, considering that she named a name, the stats are more in her favor. I know who I believe in he said, she said situations, especially considering the consequences.

And that he considers it harassment - well, lets compare it to harassment, a lesser crime than rape. I mean, is he being pressured to drop it like she was? Has his past been scrutinized, his sexual history looked over with a fine-tooth comb? Has he been told that if he smiles or seems to enjoy himself after being falsely accused, obviously it mustn't be false? Are false accusations a source of jokes and is he being told it is a compliment to be falsely accused? Is he subjected to PSAs and endless campaigns about how to avoid being falsely accused without any reference to women who might falsely accuse? Does he have to face probing questions about whether he promised her a relationship, did he give her the impression he would marry her, was he dressed inappropriately, is he sure he didn't lead her on to falsely accuse? Did he have to pay for the gathering of evidence in his own case? No, then fuck it. Being raped is always worse than being falsely accused of raping someone, and odds are, he did it. Even convicted rapists don't have their careers destroyed - witness Mike Tyson et. al.

[historylovr]

52. +1.

[RedCappedBandit]

53. Many respondents in this thread need to read this post. Thanks. nt

[PoliticAverse]

30. Also DU discussion on this issue in Latest Breaking News...

here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=1076061

[McCamy Taylor]

31. Don't know who raped or didn't rape whom, but Columbia is guilty.

[Eleanors38]

37. The requirement that institutions provide a safe learning and living environment may be dubious

If viewed through the prism of numerous prior cases where courts have ruled that (various) police agencies are not required to protect citizens within its jurisdiction. If the case plays out in court, I bet Columbia will cite them; otherwise, they'll pay out til the next time. I agree that Columbia doesn't appear to be liable, but it might not want to go there.

[linuxman]

55. I've read up on this case.

If he sue's, he's going to be a rich man.

Columbia really fucked up on this one.

The plaintiff was cleared by an investigation by the university, then the report filed by the accuser was not pursued by the DA due to lack of evidence (probably because two years had passed since the incident).

I understand that some people react differently to traumas, but her initial refusal to file charges due to it being too stressful ,followed by carrying around her mattress and ginning up rage towards the accused seems at odds with her reasoning. Filing a report would be too invasive; starting up your own campaign and reliving the details isn't. Not seeing how that works. Then again, it's entirely possible that she didn't want to be under the microscope, given the nature of the messages and behavior that followed.

She seems to want Columbia to kick this guy out, though the school already cleared him. If she is telling the truth, her best bet would have been in filing a police report early, rather than forgoing the effort needed to do that in lieu of starting up her mattress campaign.

Columbia's big mistake was in approving her "thesis" based on her accusations. By giving the ominus dominus on her mattress project/thesis, they legitimized her claims and complicitly assigned guilt to the accused. Combined with the lack of effort to stop the leafleting campaign/harassment targeting the accused, I'd be surprised if Columbia comes out of this unscathed.


Flame suit on, bring on the rape-apologist accusations.

[hifiguy]

61. Speaking as an attorney, I would tell Columbia to

negotiate a settlement, and it is NOT going to be cheap, issue a formal, written, public apology to the plaintiff and make this go away as soon as possible. For all the reasons you stated. Approving that "thesis" was a disastrous mistake.

[Pooka Fey]

60. I read 22 pages of the lawsuit and I am appalled at Columbia

My take away after reading 22 pages of the report, this is highly unbalanced young woman who decided to ruin this young man's life because he wouldn't be her boyfriend. To make matters worse, a very irresponsible Columbia academic decided to become her accomplice in savaging the man's reputation by approving a ridiculous "thesis" project. What an utter clusterfuck.