Two Gettysburg College Swimmers Suspended for Racist Incident
Two swimmers at Gettysburg College have been suspended by the university for an incident in which a racial slur was scratched onto the body of a student.
The news was first reported by and confirmed to The Hanover Evening Sun and The Gettysburgian, the college’s student newspaper, on Wednesday. The two students have been suspended from the team pending an investigation. Names of the students were not released.
The College released a statement on the incident:
“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. 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.”
College president Bob Iuliano expounded on that confirmation in a letter to the community later Thursday. He said that the instant occurred at an “informal social gathering at an on-campus residence.” It was reported to the college by upperclassmen members of the swim team. Gettysburg police only became aware of the incident after it had been reported to the news, with those involved opting to follow the college’s internal disciplinary processes, per the Evening Sun.
Iuliano wrote in his letter, which can be found in full here:
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. …
As a community, we will learn from this and renew our commitment to support those who need it most.
Gettysburg is a Division III college in Pennsylvania. It competes in the Centennial Conference. The men’s and women’s swim teams are under the direction of Greg Brown, who is beginning his sixth year in charge.
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Why haven’t the students that committed this act of hate been suspended from the swim team indefinitely and expelled from school immediately! What is needed to be discovered in an investigation? There is nothing that can be explained to justify or rationalize this type of degradation.