A frat party held at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house near Johns Hopkins in November 2014 has had a lasting impact on a teenage girl in attendance, as well as the frat and the university itself.
A 16-year-old girl who was allegedly invited to the party by a frat member reported to Baltimore police that she’d been sexually assaulted by two men; none of those involved with the incident were students at the university. The next month, the BPD charged two men with multiple counts of rape stemming from the Halloween weekend assault. Their trial is scheduled for next month.
In response to the incident and subsequent outcry, the Johns Hopkins administration banned frat parties and then quickly reversed that decision, instead banning “open” frat parties where people who weren’t invited are present, and increase the presence of sober “student monitors.” However, the university did suspend the frat for underage drinking. (Incidentally, this was far from the biggest scandal facing the national chapter of SAE last year.)
The teenager involved in the alleged assault has now sued the university, the frat, and the two alleged rapists, seeking $30 million in damages. The lawsuit argues that both the university and the frat were negligent in not preventing alcohol consumption by minors and in failing to take steps to prevent the alleged sexual assault.
my question is what was a 16-year old doing at this party anyway?