A swimmer who scratched a racial slur onto the body of another student is no longer enrolled at Gettysburg College, the school said.
The incident, in which the N-word was allegedly cut into a student’s chest using a box cutter, happened at a gathering of the Pennsylvania college’s swim team at which the victim was the only person of color, the victim’s family said in a statement.
“The reprehensible act was committed by a fellow student-athlete, someone he considered his friend, someone whom he trusted,” the victim’s family added, saying their loved one was the victim of a “hate crime.”
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The family said the “nightmare” was exacerbated by the college’s decision to remove their son from the swim team in the wake of the attack.
“In less than 48 hours after the incident, our son was interviewed by the members of the coaching staff and summarily dismissed (not suspended) from the swim team,” the family said.
“The punitive action was taken prior to the commencement of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities own investigation. This does not appear to have followed the policies and procedures stated in the Gettysburg College Student-Athlete Manual.”
The statement continues: “Complaints citing racial discrimination, harassment and lack of due process have been filed with the NAACP Harrisburg chapter and the NAACP Pennsylvania conference.
“We have also filed a similar complaint with the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations. We are well aware that we retain the right to pursue local, state and federal criminal charges in this matter.”
The family added: “Our son did not choose to have a hateful racial slur scrawled across his chest, but he has chosen not to return the hate. He did not choose the color of his skin tone, but has chosen to embrace the strength and diversity it represents. Our son did not choose to be shunned and isolated at the behest of some who pay lip service to inclusion and diversity.”
The perpetrator has left the college, but it is unclear whether he was expelled or left of his own volition.
“The investigation is nearing its conclusion, and we can report now that the individual who scratched a slur onto another person is no longer enrolled at the College,” Vice President for College Life Anne Ehrlich wrote in a campus-wide email Sunday, according to The Gettysburgian.
The incident reportedly happened at an “informal” on-campus gathering on September 6. While the family said the victim was dismissed from the swim team, the college is reported as saying he was suspended along with the student alleged to have carried out the attack.
Gettysburg College President Bob Iuliano said an upperclassman on the swimming team reported the attack. “Let me underscore my profound distress about what happened, its impact on those who have long been underrepresented on this campus, and its implications for a community continuing its evolving efforts to create a truly inclusive environment,” he said.
In a statement last week, Gettysburg College said it had “received a deeply concerning report of a racial slur being scratched onto a student using a plastic or ceramic tool.”
“This is a serious report, which is being actively assessed through the student conduct process,” the statement continued. “At this point, the students involved are not participating in swim team activities pending the outcome of the student conduct process. Given privacy laws and the ongoing nature of the student conduct process, we are unable to share further details.”
Gettysburg is a popular tourist destination as the site of an 1863 Civil War battle and the place where President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address speech that same year.
