FACE Condemns Senator Kristin Gillibrand (D-NY)
FACE Condemns Senator Kristin Gillibrand for Honoring Emma Sulkowicz at State of the Union
Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE), a not for profit organization that advocates for fairness and due process on our college campuses, condemns Senator Kristin Gillibrand’s (D-NY) for honoring at the State of the Union on January 21, 2015 Ms. Emma Sulkowicz, a Columbia University student whose allegations of rape by a fellow student were proven to be unfounded.
By welcoming Ms. Sulkowicz to sit among our nation’s leaders on this solemn occasion, Sen. Gillibrand, like Ms. Sulkowicz, signaled her willingness to ignore basic considerations of fundamental fairness, due process of law, and gender equality fundamental to Title IX, the law that oversees sexual misconduct on campus.
Since Ms. Sulkowicz failed to establish any wrongdoing, she has resorted to defaming and pressuring her fellow student who remains presumed innocent as a matter of law to leave school under duress in violation of Title IX’s confidentiality and retaliation rules.
Senator Gillibrand is sworn to uphold the rule of law, and she is one of our nation’s leading spokespersons on the issue of sexual misconduct. That she would lend the imprimatur of her high office to vigilantism is beneath the dignity of the oath she has taken and raises significant concerns about her ability to legislate in this area with any semblance of fair-mindedness.
While FACE and other concerned organizations and citizens are working to improve upon Title IX and its tribunals, a civil society at a minimum has to abide by its standards and decisions. Ms. Sulkowicz’s personal vendetta treads on the rights of her fellow student and Sen. Gillibrand’s choice to honor Ms. Sulkowicz is offensive to our most sacred values.
www.facecampusequality.org Press release from FACE
