Woman also filed charges against entire Theta Xi frat

The student who filed sexual harassment charges against a Theta Xi fraternity member with the JIO said last night she has also made a similar complaint against the whole fraternity. College senior Katy Henrikson said she blames the entire fraternity for the incident in which a Theta Xi pledge repeatedly tried to kiss her despite her protests at a party in February 1990. "It was not an individual thing that he did," Henrikson said. "He was not acting as an individual because he was doing it as part of a fraternity event." Henrikson said that when she filed the charges November 7 she asked the Judicial Inquiry Office to investigate her claims against both individual and the fraternity as a whole. Theta Xi President Rich McCloskey said yesterday he is still not sure what -- if anything -- happened at the Valentine's Day party two years ago. McCloskey said he was not at the party and is currently "talking to brothers who were at the party . . . to get some first-hand information about what happened." "Nobody really knows for sure what happened," McCloskey said. "There weren't a whole lot of brothers around at the time." McCloskey added that he does not think Henrikson should blame the whole house for the incident "because most of the brothers at the time have graduated." But Henrikson said she believes current Theta Xi members are still responsible for the act because "they joined it knowing Theta Xi's history." "The [pledge] was acting under the roof of, by the example of, by the rules of, and by the protection and support of Theta Xi," she said. Henrikson and McCloskey both said they do not know the name of the pledge Henrikson says harassed her. According to Henrikson, the fraternity member tried to kiss her immediately after a pledge event in which each pledge, dressed as Cupid with a towel wrapped around his body like a diaper, ran into the room, kissed a woman and then ran over to a couch to sing a song. Henrikson said the pledge came up to her after she ducked from him during the event. Interim JIO Jane Combrinck-Graham said last night collective responsibility cases are referred to the JIO through the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, which ultimately determines sanctions that should be taken against a fraternity. Combrinck-Graham said she is not currently investigating a collective responsibility case, but added that someone else in her office might be handling Hendrikson's complaint. Hendrikson said she has discussed her charges with Assistant JIO Robin Read, who could not be reached for comment yesterday.

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