By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
On Monday afternoon, President Bob Iuliano addressed the College investigation into a racial slur being carved into a student’s body at an informal social gathering on campus in a campus-wide email, calling it “unacceptable and distressing.” The incident was first reported on by the Gettysburgian last Wednesday.
The communication follows an email yesterday sent by Vice President of College Life Anne Ehrlich, which confirmed that the student responsible for cutting the slur into another student is no longer enrolled at the College. The family of the victim reached out to the Gettysburgian on Friday to publicize their statement on the incident, saying their son was the victim of a “hate crime.”
Iuliano wrote, “Most important, unacceptable and distressing was the act by one student to scratch a racial slur onto the body of another student. As I said in my Sept. 19 note to the campus, ‘[n]o 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.’”
He acknowledged the significance of the incident to marginalized communities and the attention the incident has gotten in national media outlets.
“We are upset. We need to acknowledge the harm the incident has imposed on members of our community who by virtue of their identity, race, culture and history have long been marginalized in our society through language and actions precisely like those that took place,” wrote Iuliano. “We need to ask what it says about our campus’s culture and our work to create an environment where every student feels a sense of belonging and authentic membership. We are struggling to find the right words when family and friends, seeing the national news, ask us about what happened and what it says about our school.”
Iuliano wrote that a community’s character “is defined by how it responds to situations that challenge its most basic commitments.” Further, he wrote that the investigation into the incident has confirmed that it did not occur due to an “unhealthy” athletic team culture. He highlighted that the swim team captains reported the incident to the College.
“The student conduct investigation affirmed that the incident is not a byproduct of an unhealthy athletic team culture or a reflection on the team itself; rather, we see in the captains the measure of what it means to be a Gettysburgian by their notification to their coaches. We see it in the actions taken by faculty, staff and other members of the community when they heard concerning reports of what happened that evening. We see it in the calls for justice from all corners of our community, underscoring our unwavering values as a community and our collective commitment to confronting and addressing racism. We see it in the family of the student on whom the racial slur was scratched, and their continued belief in the College,” wrote Iuliano.
In Iuliano’s previous communication on the incident which was released on Thursday, he also acknowledged and thanked the upperclassmen men’s swim team members who reported the incident to the College.
The incident represents “lessons to be learned — lessons that must take into account our collective history,” Iuliano wrote. “We know that those lessons won’t reveal themselves on their own — it takes a focused effort to study, reflect, understand and then take concrete actions.
He shared that the College’s Chief Diversity Officer, Eloísa Gordon-Mora, has been asked to “lead a process through which we undertake that important work.”
Iuliano called for the community to “look out for one another, to support one another and to use our response to this incident to strengthen the community we are and want to be.”
Acknowledging Gettysburg’s significant role in American history, Iuliano concluded, “Let us be clear that racism has no place at Gettysburg.”
Iuliano’s full statement has been republished below:
“Dear Campus Community,
“As noted in recent messages from Vice President Ehrlich and me, the past few weeks have been challenging for our community. Most important, unacceptable, and distressing was the act by one student to scratch a racial slur onto the body of another student. As I said in my September 19 note to the campus, ‘[n]o 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.’
“Since then, the national media has focused attention on the incident and the College.
“We are upset. We need to acknowledge the harm the incident has imposed on members of our community who by virtue of their identity, race, culture, and history have long been marginalized in our society through language and actions precisely like those that took place. We need to ask what it says about our campus’s culture and our work to create an environment where every student feels a sense of belonging and authentic membership. We are struggling to find the right words when family and friends, seeing the national news, ask us about what happened and what it says about our school.
“It will take time for us to see this moment clearly, to work through its impact, and to understand the lessons it offers us as a community. But I know this: the character of a community is defined by how it responds to situations that challenge its most basic commitments. And it is in part for that reason that I’m writing.
“The student conduct investigation affirmed that the incident is not a byproduct of an unhealthy athletic team culture or a reflection on the team itself; rather, we see in the captains the measure of what it means to be a Gettysburgian by their notification to their coaches. We see it in the actions taken by faculty, staff, and other members of the community when they heard concerning reports of what happened that evening. We see it in the calls for justice from all corners of our community, underscoring our unwavering values as a community and our collective commitment to confronting and addressing racism. We see it in the family of the student on whom the racial slur was scratched, and their continued belief in the College.
“We know there are lessons to be learned — lessons that must take into account our collective history. We know that those lessons won’t reveal themselves on their own — it takes a focused effort to study, reflect, understand, and then take concrete actions. To that end, I have asked Eloísa Gordon-Mora, the College’s Chief Diversity Officer, to lead a process through which we undertake that important work.
“In the meantime, let’s continue to look out for one another, to support one another, and to use our response to this incident to strengthen the community we are and want to be. For generations, our campus has occupied a special place in American history, connected to ground that has so long served as a reminder of the dire consequences of bigotry and racial animus. Let us be clear that racism has no place at Gettysburg.”
