By Sophie Kaufman on SwimSwam
Two members of the Gettysburg College swim team have been suspended following a report that one of them scratched a racial slur onto another student’s body, according to a statement released by the college.
The story was first reported by the school’s student-run newspaper, The Gettysburgian, on Wednesday, which reported that the two students scratched a racial slur onto another student’s body. After reporting, a parent of an athlete on the team has contacted SwimSwam to say that one student scratched the slur onto another student, and those were the students who were suspended (the student who did the writing, and the student who was written on), and that there was not a third student involved.
“The college has 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 released by Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Jamie Yates read.
The students are suspended from participating in team activities pending the investigation’s outcome.
Local television station WGAL’s News8 team contacted the Gettysburg police. The station reported that Chief Robert Glenny Jr. said the police “contacted the college [when it heard the report] and was told the victim chose to handle it through the college’s internal investigatory process.”
At this time, the college is not providing further details on the incident, including the names of the students involved due to “privacy laws and the ongoing nature of the student conduct process.”
Gettysburg College’s Full Statement:
“The College has recieved 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. At this point, the students invovled 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.”
In an email sent to the campus community, Gettysburg President Bob Iuliano said that an upperclassman on the team reported the incident to the school. Iuliano thanked that person for reporting it.
“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,” Iuliano said.
In Fall 2024, 71.8% of the domestic, full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate student body at Gettysburg College identify as white, while 12.6% identify as Hispanic or Latino, 5.5% identify as black, and 2.2% identify as Asian.
Iuliano’s Letter
Dear Campus Community,
By now, some of you have heard about a student conduct report that recently was filed with the College arising from an incident where a racial slur was scratched onto a student by another student at an informal social gathering at an on-campus residence. I should note that it was the upperclass students from the swim team who first reported the incident, and we thank them for bringing this to the College’s attention.
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.
No matter the relationship, and no matter the motivation, there is no place on this campus for words or actions that demean, degrade, or marginalize based on one’s identity and history.
Please appreciate that the College cannot speak to an ongoing investigation where witnesses are being interviewed and key information is still being understood. Beyond that, we are constrained in discussing a student-related matter governed by federal privacy laws. I recognize that the lack of details regarding this incident might be frustrating and we ask for your forbearance.
In times like these, we may be tempted to speculate about what happened based on fragments of information that may or may not be accurate. Instead, I’d strongly urge us to let our well-established student conduct process play out. I have every confidence in its ability to conduct a thorough review and, together with College Life and Athletics, to respond appropriately to what the investigation reveals.
Let’s also focus on our collective responsibility to foster a truly inclusive environment and to uphold our mission statement that underscores who we are: a dynamic educational environment starts with an unwavering commitment to the “worth and dignity of all people.” We realize the fullest potential in ourselves and in each other only if we honor each other’s common humanity in all of our interactions.
As a community, we will learn from this and renew our commitment to support those who need it most.
As a reminder, a listing of campus resources is below:
- If you experience or witness an act of bias, please report it as soon as you are able.
- All students – Counseling and Wellness Services at counseling@gettysburg.edu or 717-337-6960
- All employees and students – Diversity and Inclusion, Eloísa Gordon-Mora at egordon@gettysburg.edu or 717-337-6376
- All students – College Life, Cristina Garcia at cgarcia@gettysburg.edu or 717-337-6921
- All employees –Human Resources, Employment Assistant Program at hr@gettysburg.edu or 717-337-6202
- All faculty – Office of the Provost, Michelle Schmidt at mschmidt@gettysburg.edu or 717-337-6840
Sincerely,
Bob Iuliano
President
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Two Gettysburg Swimmers Suspended After Reports Of Racial Slur Scratched Onto Student