© Dreamstime/Raleigh News & Observer/TNS Duke University.

DURHAM, N.C. - Police are investigating after a carved pumpkin featuring a swastika was found near a dorm building at Duke University overnight.

The pumpkin was one of two racially charged incidents reported, according to the university.

Sheets of paper with the words "it's okay to be white" were found on a bench near Baldwin Auditorium on the school's East Campus, said Michael Schoenfeld, the university's vice president of public affairs and governmental relations.

"We denounce these actions for what they are: cowardly acts of vandalism that are intended to intimidate, but instead remind us that we are, and will continue to be, a strong, inclusive community that stands up to hate and bigotry," Schoenfeld wrote in an email to The News & Observer on Thursday.

Campus officials have not yet determined who is responsible for the pumpkin or flyers, Schoenfeld said.

The Chronicle, the student newspaper at Duke, first reported about the incidents.

According to The Chronicle, Duke University Police Chief John Dailey urged anyone with information about the incidents to contact his office.

"Multiple staff members have been working on this," Dailey reportedly wrote in an email to The Chronicle. "Any member of the Duke community who may have information or who may have seen something related to this may call us at 919-684-2444 or report anonymously through the LiveSafe app or on the Duke Police webpage."

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