On the first day of her sophomore year at Columbia University, Emma Sulkowicz was raped by one of her classmates on campus, according to Time.

The attacker had been reported by two other women for rape. According to the report, the university held a panel investigation on the incident. After it concluded, the case was dismissed.

"During my hearing, one panelist kept asking me how it was physically possible for anal rape to happen," Sulkowicz told Time. "I was put in the horrible position of trying to explain how this terrible thing happened to me."

According to Us Weekly, although it was clearly an outrageous conclusion, Sulkowicz decided she was going to carry a mattress around with her on campus as part of a senior thesis for visual arts. It was titled "Carry That Weight," and she pledged to continue on with the protest until her attacker was expelled from the school.

Her story went viral and soon after, her alleged attacker, Paul Nungesser, filed suit against Columbia University for failing to protect him against her campaign. The suit alleged that the university failed in its duties to protect him, which "resulted in an intimidating, hostile, demeaning...learning and living environment."

But all that came to an end on Tuesday, May 19, when Sulkowicz graduated from the University, with her mattress in tow.

The university had previously warned students that they could not bring any large objects to the stage, but they allowed her to pass with the mattress and the era has ended, although her attacker was never prosecuted or even reprimanded for his alleged actions.

The commencement speech was given by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who graciously gave Sulkowicz a shout out.

"You've held contrary opinions, held die-ins and sit-ins, carried mattresses ... Never stop being academics, and never stop being activists," Garcetti said to the crowd.

Daily Mail also reports that Sulkowicz was greeted on-stage with loud cheers from the audience. Included in the audience was her alleged attacker, Paul Nungesser (a German citizen). He has still not been charged for the crime against Sulkowicz and the two other women by the district attorney's office due to a "lack of reasonable suspicion," even though the three woman all detailed their accusations to them.

There were also posters around the school's campus that called out Sulkowicz as a "pretty little liar," Gothamist reports. Although it's not known who put up the signs, there are students who are taking it upon themselves to remove the posters.