2 suspended from college swim team after report of slur scratched onto student’s body

GETTYSBURG, Pennsylvania — At least two students at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania have been suspended from the swim team after a report was made that a racial slur was scrawled on a student’s body, officials said.

Officials received “a deeply disturbing report of a racial slur scrawled on a student with a plastic or ceramic object,” officials at the 2,200-student private liberal arts school in Gettysburg said in a statement last week.

“This is a serious report that is being actively reviewed through the student conduct process,” the board said. “At this time, the students involved are not participating in swim team activities.” The school declined to provide further details, citing that process as well as privacy laws.

It is believed to have happened during an “informal social gathering in a dorm on campus” and was first reported by seniors on the swim team, said Gettysburg College President Robert Iuliano.

Iuliano described feeling “deeply saddened by what happened” and the impact on those who have long been underrepresented on campus, as well as the implications “for a community that continues its 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 denigrate, degrade or marginalize anyone based on their identity and history,” he said in a statement, which also warned against speculation “based on snippets of information that may or may not be accurate.”

City Police Chief Robert Glenny Jr. said he contacted the university after hearing news reports and was told the victim had chosen to handle the matter through the university’s internal process, despite university officials encouraging the person to report the matter to police, WGAL-TV reported.