A Columbia University student who carried a mattress around campus to publicly accuse a fellow student of rape graduated alongside her alleged attacker on Tuesday- and took her controversial prop to the ceremony.

Students applauded in support of Emma Sulkowicz as she carried the 50-pound bed on stage while accepting her diploma.

The German student who Sulkowicz accuses of being a 'serial rapist' who sexually assaulted her and two other women was also at the ceremony.

Paul Nungesser has not been charged with a crime after the district attorney's office found there was a 'lack of reasonable suspicion' and he is now suing the university.

Sulkowicz had vowed to carry the mattress around campus until her alleged attacker was expelled - and refused to shake the hand of President Lee Bollinger as she accepted her diploma, according to the Columbia Spectator's Teo Armus.

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Keeping her promise: Emma Sulkowicz carries her mattress at the Columbia University graduation ceremony-the same mattress she swore to carry around campus until her alleged rapist was expelled- he never was

Carrying her weight: Sulkowicz, a visual arts major, received applause from students for taking her mattress to the graduation stage

The artist earned course credits for carrying the mattress around as part of her senior project entitled, 'Carry that Weight' which was framed as a protest against the university's alleged tolerance of rape and other sexual assault.

'The past year of my life has been really marked by telling people what happened in that most intimate and private space,' Sulkowicz told the Columbia Spectator in September.

'I was raped in my own dorm bed and since then, that space has become fraught for me. I feel like I've carried the weight of what happened there since then.'

She and 22 other students at the prestigious New York university filed a complaint last year for failing to properly handle cases of campus sexual assault.

Sulkowicz says that she was raped her sophomore year and she and two other young women at the school reported German citizen and 'serial rapist' Nungesser as their attacker.

He was not expelled from the institution following an internal investigation and is now suing Columbia for failing to protect him against backlash and harassment. No criminal charges have been filed after an NYPD investigation.

Alleged rapist: Paul Nungesser, pictured in a rare front-facing photograph, also graduated on Tuesday and is suing Columbia for failing to protect him against backlash and harassment

Improper handling: Sulkowicz, pictured at graduation on Tuesday with her rape-protest mattress, sued Columbia last year along with 23 students for improperly handling sexual assault cases

Authorities rejected Emma Sulkowicz's case that Paul Nungesser assaulted her after class.

Nonetheless, the case gathered international attention as Sulkowicz, a senior majoring in visual arts, publicly paraded her mattress in protest, calling for his indictment.

His lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court in April, just three days after a judge tossed out another gender-based lawsuit brought by a male student against Columbia University.

Defendants include the school, its board of trustees, President Lee C. Bollinger and Professor Jon Kessler. The lawsuit sought unspecified damages.

'Columbia University's effective sponsorship of the gender-based harassment and defamation of Paul resulted in an intimidating, hostile, demeaning ... learning and living environment,' the lawsuit said.

Shake it off: Students helped Emma Sulkowicz carry her 50-pound mattress up to the stage during graduation where she was given her diploma on Tuesday- and where she refused to shake President Bollinger's hand

Roger Hornsby, a Columbia spokesman, said the school had no comment. Email messages requesting comment from Bollinger and Kessler were not immediately returned.

Prior to graduation the school sent out an email banning large or heavy objects from the ceremony, reported the Columbia Spectator.

The regulation hadn't been implemented in years but there was speculation over whether or not Sulkowicz would be able to carry her mattress with her.

'Graduates should not bring into the ceremonial area large objects which could interfere with the proceedings or create discomfort to others in close, crowded spaces shared by thousands of people,' said the provision which was not enforced.

Heavy memory: 'I was raped in my own dorm bed and since then, that space has become fraught for me. I feel like I've carried the weight of what happened there since then,' said artist Sulkowicz in September

In his lawsuit, Nungesser said a Columbia-owned website had presented as fact that he sexually assaulted Sulkowicz, a senior majoring in visual arts.

It said that the school allowed Sulkowicz to carry a mattress into classes, the library and campus-provided transportation as part of her senior thesis, that Kessler approved the 'Mattress Project' for her course credit and that Sulkowicz's pledge to carry her mattress to graduation may prevent Nungesser and his parents, who'd like to fly from Germany, from participating in graduation ceremonies.

'Day-to-day life is unbearably stressful, as Emma and her mattress parade around campus each and every day,' the suit said.

As a result of publicity that resulted in media reports in 35 countries, the lawsuit said, Nungesser 'has been subjected to severe, pervasive ... and threatening behavior by other Columbia students, believing that Paul is a `serial rapist,' whenever Paul has appeared at university activities.'

The complaint also said he wants to stay in the United States, where he has been dating a girlfriend for over a year, and is seeking consulting work in New York, though job prospects have been 'severely jeopardized' by the school's support of Sulkowicz.

In an email responding to a request for comment, Sulkowicz wrote: 'I think it's ridiculous that Paul would sue not only the school but one of my past professors for allowing me to make an art piece.

'It's ridiculous that he would read it as a `bullying strategy,' especially given his continued public attempts to smear my reputation, when really it's just an artistic expression of the personal trauma I've experienced at Columbia.

'If artists are not allowed to make art that reflect on our experiences, then how are we to heal?'

Sulkowicz has argued her case was badly mishandled by the school disciplinary panel after she reported in 2013 she was raped in her dorm months before.

She was among 23 students who sued Columbia last year, saying it mishandled sexual assault cases.