After Columbia University dismissed Emma Sulkowicz’s sexual assault, finding the accused student “not responsible,” Sulkowicz took action. She vowed to carry a 50 pound, twin XL mattress, identical to the one she was attacked on, wherever she went on the Columbia campus. Sulkowicz physically shouldered the burden of her alleged rape for an entire year, entitling her performance “Carry that Weight.” Sulkowicz set rules for her project. For example, she could not ask for help carrying the mattress, but she could receive it. Sulkowicz had friends and strangers approach her unasked. They helped her carry her mattress in a visual show of support. This aspect of Sulkowicz’s project emulates the often silent suffering of sexual assault survivors, as they carry their own burdens, unseen to the public. Sulkowicz’s project then asks us to do better: to use public space as a support system, rather than a place for individualist pursuits.