BALTIMORE — A Johns Hopkins University fraternity has been placed on interim suspension for underage drinking, school officials said Wednesday, as police investigate a report that a 16-year-old girl was raped at the organization’s off-campus house.
The girl told police that she was assaulted by two men about 1:30 a.m. Sunday at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house in the 2900 block of St. Paul Street. The victim and the men are not believed to be affiliated with Hopkins.
Two people in law enforcement, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case, said the victim was from Baltimore County and had attended the party with her sister. The girl said she had been drinking and ended up in a bathroom with two men, they said.
A Baltimore police spokesman, Detective Ruganzu Howard, said Wednesday that the incident remains under investigation and that no arrests have been made.
An e-mail Wednesday from the university said that the suspension of Sigma Alpha Epsilon stems from underage drinking and “other possible violations of university policy” during the incident.
“We are in discussions about additional steps we can and must take in light of last weekend’s reported incident in order to protect the safety and well-being of our students and our visitors,” said the e-mail, sent by Hopkins’s vice provost for student affairs, Kevin G. Shollenberger.
“We remind all students and student groups that they are expected and required to abide by the law, by university policy and by the student code of conduct,” he said.
Brian Weghorst, a Sigma Alpha Epsilon national spokesman, said he could not comment on Wednesday’s action because the investigation is ongoing.
“However, I can tell you that the national organization maintains a comprehensive, stringent health and safety program for our members to follow,” he said.
Weghorst referred to the group’s Fraternity Laws handbook, which states: “Although open parties may seem like fun, they pose a very significant exposure for potential problems. During an open party, it is difficult, if not impossible, to monitor who is entering and leaving the party. It is also difficult, if not impossible, to know what is going on throughout a location, chapter house or apartment when you have no idea who is there.
“When you have larger numbers of people who are involved in an event, it becomes more difficult to know what is going on, and you increase the possibility that unfortunate incidents such as date rape, alcohol poisoning, auto accidents, falls, fights and other injuries may occur.” The handbook points out that “the Fraternity doesn’t own these houses or exercise any control over them.”
The incident comes months after it was revealed that Hopkins failed to notify students of a rape reported at another fraternity house last year. Students filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education, and Hopkins President Ronald J. Daniels later said the failure to notify the community was “unacceptable.”
This time, a notification was sent out within hours of the assault being reported.
