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Campus Studios Vandalized With Swastikas, 'Devil Signs' At Valencia Art School

SANTA CLARITA (CBS) — Students at an art school in Valencia were on edge Monday after swastikas and other "hate" messages were found spray-painted in a studio on campus over the weekend.

Senior art student Daine Carter returned home from a Halloween party on Friday night to discover his apartment at the California Institute of the Arts had been broken into with red swastikas and "devil signs" left on the walls.

"They stole some stuff, and they used my paint brushes," said Carter. "I had some expensive paint brushes, they're completely destroyed."

Campus police took a report on the incident — which Carter said is a first for him personally — but so far no suspects or leads have been reported.

The incident is only the latest of racist graffiti to hit the campus in recent months.

"My studio has been broken into three times," said student Sasha Swedlund. "The first time it was broken into, spray-painted everywhere."

In September, Cal Arts president and assistant provost sent out a campus-wide email saying, "We are writing to you today to unequivocally address a few recent acts of hateful and racist graffiti found on campus...we do not accommodate or accept language or actions imbued with hate."

Officials said an investigation into the reports is ongoing.

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