Students at Columbia University, on campuses nationwide protest sex assault protocols

NEW YORK (WABC) -- A huge protest is was held at Columbia University Wednesday, with students taking a stand against sexual assault.

And they used mattresses, 28 to be exact, to illustrate their point. Many of them have red tape and messages scrawled on them, lined up along the steps of the school.

One read, "Carry the weight together," meaning they are standing together as rape survivors and survivors of sexual assault, and they don't want red tape standing in the way of prosecution.

They are complaining about the bureaucracy at Columbia when it comes to reporting sexual assaults, with protests going on at 100 campuses across the country.

They lined up about a half hour before the 4 p.m. rally to pull the mattresses together, many with statements and mantras, making sure that they band together, pledging together to fight what they believe to be mistreatment by universities and lack of accountability for those accused of sexual assault.

Eyewitness News spoke to one sex assault survivor who said even though the university commits lots of resources to what happens after someone is sexually assaulted, they want to see more action before sexual assault.

"It has to do with prevention," she said. "We need more comprehensive programs to stop these violent attacks before they occur and keep people safe before these crimes are taking place. And we also need an extremely revised policy and investigation and adjudication process so that when and if these crimes do occur, students trust the system, students feel they can come forward to get help and students have a fair and transparent process by which they can hold perpetrators accountable."

Columbia released a statement saying that they are committed to and embrace the cause. They have nine full-time staff members and one part timer devoted to sexual assault, and they have two rape crisis centers on campus, with three advocates for sexual assault.