Pennsylvania college investigates report of racial slur scratched onto student's chest

(This story was updated to add new information.) 

HANOVER, Pa. — Officials at a small liberal arts college in southern Pennsylvania are investigating reports that a racial slur was scratched onto a student's chest with a box cutter earlier this month.

The incident occurred on Sept. 6 at a men's swim team gathering at Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, according to a statement from the victim's family published Friday in the college's student newspaper, The Gettysburgian. The victim's family called the incident a "hate crime" and noted that their son was the only person of color at the gathering, which was at an on-campus residence.

"The reprehensible act was committed by a fellow student-athlete, someone he considered his friend, someone whom he trusted," the victim's family wrote in the statement. "This student used a box cutter to etch the N-word across his chest."

The incident was first reported on Wednesday by The Gettysburgian.

School officials initially said two students were suspended from the school's swim team in connection to the attack and that an investigation was being conducted through the student conduct process, according to a statement from Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Jamie Yates.

At the time, the school said it received a "deeply concerning report" of a racial slur being scratched onto a student's body with a plastic or ceramic tool.

In a joint statement between the school and the victim's family on Sunday, Vice President for College Life Anne Ehrlich said the investigation was near its conclusion and that the student who scratched the slur was no longer enrolled at the college. The names of the students have not been made public.

"We previously made a commitment to the family that once the investigation was nearing its completion, we would work with them about how most constructively to move forward," Ehrlich wrote. "Those conversations have already begun."

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Victim's family says their son was dismissed not suspended

The victim's family confirmed in their statement on Friday that their son was not suspended but had been summarily dismissed from the swim team after he was interviewed by members of the coaching staff.

"The punitive action was taken prior to the commencement of the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities own investigation," the family wrote. "This does not appear to have followed the policies and procedures stated in the Gettysburg College Student-Athlete Manual."

While the victim's family said they supported the school's investigation, they said they had filed complaints citing racial discrimination, harassment, and lack of due process with the NAACP's Harrisburg chapter, the NAACP Pennsylvania conference, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

"Our son did not choose to have a hateful racial slur scrawled across his chest, but he has chosen not to return the hate," the family statement added.

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Television station WGAL previously reported that Gettysburg Police Chief Robert Glenny Jr. said he had first learned of the incident from local news and had reached out to the college after hearing about the incident.

Glenny, according to WGAL, said he was told by the college that the victim chose to handle it through their internal investigatory process, despite the school encouraging the victim to take the matter to the police.

Gettysburg College President Bob Iuliano responded to reports of the incident in a statement Thursday. Iuliano said a student conduct report was recently filed to the college for an incident in which a racial slur was scratched onto a student's body by another student during an "informal social gathering at an on-campus residence."

In the statement, Iuliano thanked upperclassmen students from the swim team, who reported the incident to the college.

"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 the statement.

According to the college's website, over 2,200 undergraduate students were enrolled for Fall 2024. Of those students, 62% were white, 21% were students of color, and 3% percent whose ethnicity and race are unknown.

Gettysburg, best known as the site of a Civil War battle in 1863 that killed thousands and where President Abraham Lincoln gave a moving speech four months later, is about 140 miles west of Philadelphia.

Contributing: Reuters