N-Word Scratched In Gettysburg College Student's Chest

Source: John Greim / Getty

Pennsylvania’s Gettysburg College has been rocked with controversy since news broke of a member of the school’s swim team carving the N-word into the chest of one of his teammates. So far, neither student has been publicly identified, and the Gettysburg Police Department’s police chief told ABC 7 that the department hadn’t received a complaint regarding the incident, but school officials have confirmed that the incident did happen at an on-campus residence during an informal social gathering.

In fact, Jamie Yates, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at Gettysburg College has confirmed that the student who is allegedly responsible for scratching the slur into his teammate’s body is no longer enrolled at the college while administrators are still investigating the incident to determine what is to be done regarding the second student-athlete. “The student who did the scratching is no longer enrolled at the College,” Yates told ABC News in a statement. “The college is working with the other student and his family about how to most constructively move forward.” It’s unclear whether the student who had the slur carved in his chest has been accused of any wrongdoing, but a statement made by his family, which was published in the school’s newspaper, seems to indicate that some may have accused him of being a willing participant in the incident. “For the sake of our son’s well-being, we are attempting to address the recent challenges by mirroring our son’s spirit of humility and courage,” the family said in the statement. “Our son did not choose to have a hateful racial slur scrawled across his chest, but he has chosen not to return the hate. He did not choose the color of his skin tone, but has chosen to embrace the strength and diversity it represents. Our son did not choose to be shunned and isolated at the behest of some who pay lip service to inclusion and diversity.” You can read the family’s full statement here, and see how social media is reacting to the horrific act below.