Student assaulted at frat party

A female Johns Hopkins University student was the victim of assault and indecent exposure while attending a party hosted by members of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity (Fiji). The incident occurred at approximately 1 a.m. last Sunday, according to Hopkins Security, at 2933 N. Charles St. Security would not release the name of the victim.

The suspect, who remains at large, was described by the victim as an African-American male, 20-22 years of age, 5'10-11", with a medium build, short hair and wearing bright orange pants over longer, full-length pants.

According to Hopkins Security Officers and reports, the student was assaulted on the second floor of the house during a Fiji party. As she left an upstairs bathroom, an unidentified male with his fly unzipped and penis exposed made his way down the third floor stairway, put his arm around the student and attempted to pin her up against the hallway wall while mumbling something she couldn't understand.

The student hit and screamed at the suspect, freed herself and ran down the stairs and out the front door of the house. According to the victim's report, she was then screaming at the suspect from the sidewalk while he conversed with students she believed were members of Fiji. Senior Jarrod Bernstein, a Fiji brother and Inter-Fraternity Council Vice President, escorted the suspect out of the house at the victim's urging.

"I walked him to the end of the block and told him he was never welcome here again," said Bernstein.

Bernstein said the suspect walked away down 29th St.

While reports claim that the victim was attending a Fiji party, the house is not the actual chapter house of the fraternity, according to Inter-Fraternity Council President Christopher Jackman.

"The 2933 house is a hangout because the Fiji houses are dry nation-wide," said Jackman. "Parties typically get thrown there, but it's not technically a fraternity party. It would be like if you or I threw a party at our private home."

Still, the victim told Security that she was at a fraternity party, and several brothers were present at the party.

The student filed a report with Hopkins Security Officer James J. Welsh, who then contacted the Northern District police at her request.

"I informed her that there would be a better chance of picking [the suspect] up if I called the police, because they cover a wider area than we do," said Welsh. "After I told her that, she asked me to call them."

Northern District police responded and took a report from the student. An investigation is on-going, but no arrests have been made, according to Hopkins Security Investigator Dennis Rosemary, who followed up on Welsh's report. The Northern District Police Officer that took the report was unavailable to comment.

"The problem right now is trying to identify who he is," said Rosemary. "We know he's probably not a student and we think he must know some members of Fiji; otherwise he wouldn't have been at the party."

Bernstein said he heard rumors that the suspect was a college student at another area school, but said that he "had no idea where the kid went to school and had never seen him before on campus."

Welsh said that the victim reported that other female students told her they had seen the suspect frequently, in the park across the street from the house. Bernstein says Fiji is committed to ensuring similar incidents do not occur in the future.

"We feel we need to address this because so many members of the fraternity were involved, and we're deeply concerned for the victim involved," said Bernstein. "We are willing to cooperate with any authorities in the investigation and we're working with the Greek Life Office to implement a series of steps to prevent future incidents."

Greek Advisor Ira Young said that "the information has been turned over to the proper authorities, and we're handling it appropriately."

Young declined to comment further.

From this point on, security will be increased at Fiji parties.

"Initially, we'll make showing a Hopkins ID mandatory for admittance," said Bernstein. "We're also looking to increase the number of people participating in security at parties, especially in other parts of houses, such as where this incident took place. "We're also looking into the possibility of enlisting Hopkins Security and local police officers."
Further steps Fiji plans to take include a sexual harassment and assault workshop for members of the fraternity.

Eventually, at the end of the semester, or in the spring, the fraternity plans to offer a sexual harassment and assault workshop that will be open to everyone on campus.

Welsh hopes Fiji's security will be better down the road.

"I don't understand how they can have a party and not protect their guests," said Welsh. "You'd think they'd have someone at the door checking to see who comes in. If anyone can walk in off the streets, things could get pretty bad."

Before the incident, senior and Fiji brother Rob Hardy said there was usually a fraternity brother working the front door, but most people were allowed to come in if they wished.

"Somebody's always working the door, but they usually just let anybody in," said Hardy. "But that's not going to happen anymore."

Bernstein said he believed security in the area to be lacking in general. "In my four years at Johns Hopkins University, very rarely have I seen an ID checked by any organization at any event, even by Hopkins Security," said Bernstein. "We will be one of the first to do so.