Posted By Vincent DiFonzo on Sep 25, 2024 | 2 comments

By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief

On Wednesday afternoon, the Gettysburg swim team contacted the Gettysburgian to release a statement addressing an incident in which a racial slur was cut into the body of a swim team member by another team member at an informal social gathering. The College has since confirmed that the student who cut the slur onto another student is no longer enrolled at the school. 

The swim team’s statement acknowledged the serious nature of the incident and expressed their sympathy for all those directly and indirectly affected by the incident. 

“We acknowledge the past few weeks have been extraordinarily difficult for many people within our campus community and beyond. Our hearts are with everyone who has been directly and indirectly affected by this. The pain and anguish caused by the heinous act that occurred, and the media coverage that has followed, have affected people far and wide. As a swim team, both collectively and as individuals, these days have been some of the hardest of our lives,” said the statement. 

The swim team also acknowledged the national media attention caused by the incident, saying that it has caused some to believe that the team’s culture is “complicit in the racist incident that took place.” 

“The national spotlight has unfortunately led some to believe that our team, or the culture within our team, is complicit in the racist incident that took place. This couldn’t be further from the truth,” reads the statement. “Earlier this week, the College confirmed that fact: ‘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.’”

In his initial email addressing the incident sent on Thursday, Sept. 19, President Bob Iuliano thanked upperclassmen swim team members who were responsible for reporting the incident to the College. Iuliano wrote, “I should note that it was the upper class students from the swim team who first reported the incident, and we thank them for bringing this to the College’s attention.”

The team further condemned racism and the incident, stating, “Racism has no home here — neither at Gettysburg College nor on our team. We stand united in condemning the actions that took place.”

The statement said that the swim team’s reputation has been “unjustly smeared” by its association with the incident.

“We know the character of this team. We believe in our team. To sit in silence while our reputation has been unjustly smeared has been agonizing. It has hurt deeply to see something we love so much be wrongfully associated with something so vile,” the statement said. “To be clear and as President Iuliano has confirmed: this incident was not tied to the swim team. It was not a team-sanctioned event. It was not hazing. It was not endorsed by our team. This incident does not reflect our values or who we are.”

The team expressed their gratitude towards their coaching staff and President Iuliano’s office for their handling of the situation, writing, “In recognizing us in their statement, they commended the upperclassmen of the swim team for reporting the incident and affirmed that the act does not represent our team’s values.”

The team said that as their swimming season begins in a few weeks, they are determined to “emerge from this a stronger, more united team.” 

“In a few weeks, we will return to the pool, as determined as ever. We will represent this College with pride, both in and out of the water. We will emerge from this a stronger, more united team, and, as many others have said, our campus has the potential to become a stronger institution because of it.”

The Gettysburgian has published the swim team’s statement in its entirety below: 

“Given the intense focus surrounding the recent events on campus, the Gettysburg College Swim Team feels compelled to address the incident directly.  

“We acknowledge the past few weeks have been extraordinarily difficult for many people within our campus community and beyond. Our hearts are with everyone who has been directly and indirectly affected by this. The pain and anguish caused by the heinous act that occurred, and the media coverage that has followed, have affected people far and wide. As a swim team, both collectively and as individuals, these days have been some of the hardest of our lives.  

“The national spotlight has unfortunately led some to believe that our team, or the culture within our team, is complicit in the racist incident that took place. This couldn’t be further from the truth. 

“Earlier this week, the College confirmed that fact: ‘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.’”

“Racism has no home here — neither at Gettysburg College nor on our team. We stand united in condemning the actions that took place.   

“We know the character of this team. We believe in our team. To sit in silence while our reputation has been unjustly smeared has been agonizing. It has hurt deeply to see something we love so much be wrongfully associated with something so vile. 

“To be clear and as President Iuliano has confirmed: this incident was not tied to the swim team. It was not a team-sanctioned event. It was not hazing. It was not endorsed by our team. This incident does not reflect our values or who we are.  

“We are grateful to the Gettysburg swim team coaching staff and The Office of the President for their handling of this situation. In recognizing us in their statement, they commended the upperclassmen of the swim team for reporting the incident and affirmed that the act does not represent our team’s values. Thank you.  

“In a few weeks, we will return to the pool, as determined as ever. We will represent this College with pride, both in and out of the water. We will emerge from this a stronger, more united team, and, as many others have said, our campus has the potential to become a stronger institution because of it.” 

 The statement was signed by the “Gettysburg College Swim Team.”