A student-athlete at Gettysburg College allegedly scratched a racial slur on a swim teammate’s chest with a box cutter in a disturbing incident that has sparked an investigation at the small Pennsylvania liberal arts college, according to school officials and one of the swimmer’s families.
The student who wrote out the slur on his peer’s body is reportedly no longer with the school and the student with the etched word on him was initially barred from swimming for the small school after revelations came out about the incident that was wholly condemned by the college president.
“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,” Gettysburg President Bob Iuliano wrote on Thursday.
Iuliano noted the incident happened during an on-campus informal social gathering.
The family of the student on the receiving end of the carved slur told the school newspaper, the Gettysburgian, that their son was a “victim of a hate crime” and a box cutter was used to write the n-word on their child’s chest by a so-called friend on Sept. 6.
Less than two days later, the alleged victim was interviewed by swim coaches and was “summarily dismissed (not suspended) from the swim team,” the family claimed on Friday. It was not immediately clear if his status had changed Sunday night.
The family also alleged the “reprehensible act” was done by someone he “considered a friend, someone whom he trusted” while noting he was the only person of color at the gathering.
The student who allegedly wrote the slur is no longer enrolled at the college, the school and other student’s family said in a joint statement Sunday to the Gettysburgian. It was unclear if the student left on their own terms or was booted.
“The college and the family both recognize the gravity and seriousness of this situation and hope it can serve as a transformative moment for our community and beyond,” according to the statement that said the college and family are looking for the best way to move forward.
The internal investigation is nearing a conclusion, the statement also read.
In the Thursday note to the school community, Iuliano said the school became aware of the situation after upperclassmen reported it to school officials.
“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 wrote.
