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Georgia Tech president denounces outside agitators

"We believe many of them were not part of our Georgia Tech community, but rather outside agitators intent on disrupting the event."
Memorial to Scout Schultz on the Georgia Tech campus

Georgia Tech President G.P. Peterson released a letter to the campus community Tuesday afternoon pointing out that the campus family has lost one of its student leaders in Scout Schultz, and that the entire community is in mourning as a result.

Peterson's letter goes on to ask that everyone not jump to conclusions, and to allow the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to review all of the circumstances of Schultz's death.

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He says that more than 500 members of the Georgia Tech community attended Monday night's vigil in Schultz's memory, including Scout's family. In addition, Peterson says, there were "several dozen others intent on creating a disturbance and inciting violence. We believe many of them were not part of our Georgia Tech community, but rather outside agitators intent on disrupting the event."

The events of the past few days have been incredibly difficult and challenging for the entire Georgia Tech community. Consistent with our traditions and values, it is especially important that during times like these we come together and support one another.

One of our student leaders, Scout Schultz, has died and we all bear the tremendous weight of that loss. I met Scout last year at the Lavender Graduation ceremony, and our entire Georgia Tech community is mourning the tragic loss of this smart and passionate young person. Losing a student, friend, colleague, and campus leader is one of the most difficult experiences that any of us will have to face.

Georgia Tech has gained national attention as a result of this incident, and while today’s communications technologies provide us with almost instantaneous coverage, we must rely on professional investigation and evaluation, and not draw conclusions too quickly. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is currently investigating the incident and reviewing all of the circumstances surrounding Scout’s death. Details will be revealed by the GBI as they become available.

For now, we are focusing on mourning the loss and remembering Scout’s many contributions to the Georgia Tech community over the past four years. Last night’s vigil at the Campanile that was coordinated by the Pride Alliance and the Progressive Student Alliance was attended by almost 500 community members including Scout’s family. Unfortunately, they were also joined by several dozen others intent on creating a disturbance and inciting violence. We believe many of them were not part of our Georgia Tech community, but rather outside agitators intent on disrupting the event. They certainly did not honor Scout’s memory nor represent our values by doing so.

Rest assured that our campus community is responding to these recent events in a positive and constructive manner, in spite of the many challenges they represent. I am grateful for our students, faculty, staff, campus leaders, and for our campus police. The response by our students to last night’s events is particularly heartwarming – they were on Facebook and Twitter through the night trying to find ways to show support and to say this is not who we are.

In closing, I want to convey to you how proud I am of the Georgia Tech community. I know the true character of our community and am confident that we can work together to address our challenges and heal.

Let’s do it the Georgia Tech way. We are, after all, One Georgia Tech.

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Scout Schultz was shot and killed by a Georgia Tech police officer late Saturday night outside a dorm on 8th Street on the Georgia Tech campus.

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