Student carved racial slur on teammate’s chest with box cutter, school says

A student at Gettysburg College in southern Pennsylvania is no longer enrolled after carving a racial slur on a swim teammate’s chest, the campus newspaper reported.

The incident occurred Sept. 6 during an informal swim team meeting at a campus residence hall, where the victim’s family said their son was the only person of color there, the Gettysburgian reported. At the scene, the family said a teammate their son “trusted” used a box cutter to carve the “N-word” into his chest, making him the victim of a hate crime, they told the newspaper.

In his first statement Wednesday about the incident, Gettysburg College President Bob Iuliano said he felt “deep distress” over the event, “its impact on those who have long been underrepresented on campus and its implications for a community that continues its ever-evolving efforts to create a truly inclusive environment.”

“Regardless of the relationship and regardless of the motivation, there is no place on this campus for words or actions that demean, degrade or marginalize based on a person’s identity and history,” the statement read.

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Iuliano said upperclassmen on the swim team were the first to report the incident to the school, prompting an investigation that led to the suspension of both the victim and the assailant from swim team activities.

But on Friday, the victim’s family anonymously said in a statement to the Gettysburgian that their son was “summarily dismissed (not suspended)” from the team within 48 hours of the incident, which they say violates the policies and procedures in the college’s student-athlete handbook.

The family also said the “harm” caused by the crime has continued “without much relief,” and that their son is “isolated from many members of the Gettysburg College community he had grown to trust.” However, they said they are approaching these “recent challenges by reflecting our son’s spirit of humility and courage” rather than starting with frustration.

“Our son did not choose to have a hateful racial slur written across his chest, but he chose not to reciprocate,” the statement read. “He did not choose the color of his skin, but he chose to embrace the strength and diversity it represents. Our son did not choose to be ostracized and isolated at the behest of some who only pride themselves on being inclusive and diverse.”

Although the family has acknowledged that it has the right to file criminal charges in the case, it has so far sought redress only by filing complaints with the Harrisburg chapter of the NAACP, the Pennsylvania conference of the NAACP and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, each claiming racial discrimination, harassment and lack of due process.

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The news that the attacker was no longer enrolled at Gettysburg College was revealed in a campus-wide email Sunday, which also said the school’s investigation was “nearing its conclusion.”

Vice President of University Life Anne Ehrlich also acknowledged the family’s statement in the email, saying the school was committed to working with them on “the most constructive way forward” once the investigation is complete. She said those discussions have now begun.

“Both the College and the family recognize the gravity of this situation and hope that it can serve as a transformative moment for our community and beyond,” the email said.

The email then linked to a line in the family’s statement that said their intention in sharing their experience was that “to some extent, a heinous act can serve as a transformative moment for Gettysburg College to live up to its ideals of diversity, inclusion and justice; to celebrate the College’s maxim: ‘Doing Good Work.'”

Gettysburg College is a private, comprehensive college with approximately 2,200 students. Non-international students of color make up 21.3 percent of the student body, according to its website.