Gettysburg College campus in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. | Source: John Greim / Getty
A Pennsylvania college, not local police, is investigating an apparent racist and violent hate crime committed against a student by a now-former member of its swim team, according to reports. Notably, no arrests were reported in the incident.
None of the Gettysburg College students involved in the incident at a “men’s swim team social gathering” have been publicly identified, including the victim, who “was the only person of color at the gathering,” according to the Gettyburgian.
A student who is reportedly responsible for the racist violence is “no longer enrolled” at Gettysburg College, WGAL reported. They were first placed on suspension. It’s unclear if they were ultimately expelled.
Upper-class teammates reportedly told Gettysburg College officials about the alleged incident, which occurred off-campus on the night of Sept. 6. Reports about the gathering were first published last week.
Despite bearing all the elements of a racist hate crime, neither Gettysburg College nor the victim reported the violence to the Gettysburg Police Department, the latter of which contacted the school only after it learned of reports about the incident.
The Gettysburg Police Department was told that “the victim chose to handle the matter through the college’s internal process, despite college officials encouraging the person to take the matter to police,” according to the Associated Press.
Last week, Gettysburg College President Bob Iuliano confirmed that “a racial slur was scratched onto a student by another student at an informal social gathering at an on-campus residence.”
The victim’s parents said their son was “summarily dismissed (not suspended) from the swim team” following the incident and accused Gettysburg College of not following its own protocol and mishandling the situation.
The victim’s parents also said they decided against involving the police and instead chose to file complaints with local NAACP chapters as well as the Pennsylvania Commission on Human Relations.
“We are well aware that we retain the right to pursue local, state and federal criminal charges in this matter,” they said in part of a lengthy statement, which added: “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.”
They claim a boxcutter was used to commit the “act of racial animus.”
The incident came weeks before an FBI report found that while violent crime was down in the U.S. last year, the rate of hate crimes rose.
This is America.
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