Dear Campus Community,
This weekend, Campus Safety issued an alert notifying the College that a campus community member had been physically assaulted on Carlisle Street in the early hours of Saturday, September 10. Since the time of the assault, Campus Safety and the Gettysburg Police Department (GPD) have been working to determine the facts of the incident, including who was involved. I write today to share the facts we have been able to gather.
A student was physically assaulted by a group of non-students on the way back to their on-campus residence, Diaspora House (“D-House”) at 343 Carlisle Street. The student was seen at Gettysburg Hospital and has since been released.
The assailants were young men reported as multi-racial. Campus Safety and GPD both responded to the scene. As GPD was attempting to deescalate the situation, one of the assailants appeared to charge at a GPD officer, who used his taser and handcuffed that individual in response. Again, the assailants are not Gettysburg students.
GPD has been able to identify four of the individuals involved in the assault, and continues to gather evidence to file charges against them. Those individuals have been banned from our campus, which includes campus housing on Carlisle Street, and were notified of this on Saturday by GPD.
College Life staff responded to the incident as soon as it happened, and have been working with students since Saturday morning to provide them with support and resources. We have held several one-on-one and group conversations with students who wished to participate, and have more scheduled in the coming days.
Additionally, there have been recent reports of gray four-door sedan circling the Carlisle Street/Lincoln Avenue area. This is the same area where Diaspora House is located. Campus Safety has received at least one report that the vehicle’s occupants made monkey noises directed at a Black student, and other incidents are under investigation. Witnesses indicate that there were three occupants in the vehicle. They are not believed to be Gettysburg students. It is unclear if the vehicle is connected to the September 10 assault. We believe the vehicle does not have a license plate. If anyone sees this vehicle, please call 911 immediately
Campus Safety and GPD are providing a dedicated officer presence in this area for the foreseeable future..
Our students are understandably traumatized by these events. Faculty of students who live in Diaspora House have been notified by the Center for Student Success and asked to provide grace with regard to attendance and assignments. There are undoubtedly many other students who have been impacted as well. Please join me in making sure those students are aware of the many resources available to them, including but not limited to myself, Associate Dean Cristina Garcia, Chaplain Bright, and Counseling Services. The safety of our students is paramount to all that we do. Together, as a community, let us remain vigilant, live our shared values, and support one another through these challenging times.
Anne