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A Gettysburg College swimmer accused of scratching a racial slur into the chest of another member of the swim team is no longer enrolled at the college, Reuters reported.
The incident took place at a social gathering of the men’s swim team on campus earlier this month, when one student allegedly used “a plastic or ceramic tool” to carve a slur into the chest of another student, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Jamie Yates said in a statement to the student newspaper, The Gettysburgian.
According to the victim’s family, who also shared a statement with the paper, the alleged perpetrator “used a box cutter to etch the N-word” across their son’s chest. They noted their son was the only person of color at the get-together and that the alleged act “was committed by a fellow student-athlete, someone he considered his friend, someone whom he trusted.”
Following the incident, both swimmers were suspended from the team pending an investigation. Administrators have not said whether the alleged perpetrator withdrew voluntarily from the college or was expelled.
In a statement to the campus community, Gettysburg College president Robert Iuliano underscored his “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 noted that an upperclassman on the swim team first reported the incident.
The victim’s family praised the students “who have reached out and expressed their concern for our son’s well-being.”
While they wait for the results of Gettysburg’s investigation, the family has registered complaints with the NAACP and the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations; they said they had not ruled out filing criminal charges as well.
“Our son did not choose to have a hateful racial slur scrawled across his chest, but he has chosen not to return the hate,” they wrote. “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.”
