The Gettysburg College men's swim team has issued a statement acknowledging the "pain and anguish" felt within the campus community following an incident where a student-athlete allegedly used a box cutter to carve a racial slur onto a teammate's chest.

"As a swim team, both collectively and as individuals, these days have been some of the hardest of our lives," the team's Wednesday statement read. "... Racism has no home here — neither at Gettysburg College nor on our team. We stand united in condemning the actions that took place."

The school continues to investigate the incident, which occurred on Sept. 6, and is working with the victim's family. Earlier this week, Vice President for College Life Anne Ehrlich addressed the campus in an email, confirming that the individual responsible for the attack is no longer enrolled at Gettysburg College.

In its statement, the team emphasized that the 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," they said.

At a community meeting held at the college on Thursday, several students called for more transparency from the administration.

"I just feel like there needs to be a higher level of transparency with the school and the students, especially as a predominately white institution with their students of color," Denae Boweyn, vice president of the Gettysburg College Black Student Union, told ABC 27.

"Not only was there a lack of transparency, there's also a lack of action. and I feel as though the Black community isn't being heard enough," junior Ayah Ahmed added.

According to the school, 21% of its approximately 2,200 undergraduates identify as persons of color, while 62% identify as white.

Tags Racism