Students Suspended from Swim Team Amid Report of Racial Slur ‘Scratched’ On Student’s Body

Editor’s Note: This story was a breaking news report that involves an ongoing investigation. The Gettysburgian’s most recent reporting can be found at this link. 

By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief

Two students have been suspended from the Gettysburg swim team following a report that a racial slur was carved into the body of a swim team member at a social gathering. The names of students involved are not yet public while the College investigates the incident. 

The Gettysburgian reached out to the College for more information. Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Jamie Yates shared the following statement: 

“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.”

President Bob Iuliano addressed the incident in a campus-wide email sent on Thursday. 

This story was updated to correct that both the victim and perpetrator of the incident are included in the students suspended from swim team activities. Previously, the report stated that two students were suspended amid investigation into the racial slur carved into “another” student’s body. The word “another” has been removed. – V. DiFonzo

Author: Vincent DiFonzo

Vincent DiFonzo ’25 serves as Editor-in-Chief for the Gettysburgian. Vince is an IGS international affairs and history major with a political science minor. He served as Content Manager in Spring 2023 and as Opinions Editor and Lead Copy Editor for the Fall 2023 semester, before studying abroad in Berlin in Spring 2024. On-campus, he is the house leader for Public Policy House, an editor for the Gettysburg Social Science Review, a participant in Eisenhower Institute programs and Managing Editor of the Eisenhower Institute's Ike’s Anvil. Outside the Gettysburgian, Vince enjoys discovering new music, geography and traveling.

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