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Two Canadian educational institutions this week faced blowback for campaigns intended to highlight the racial “privilege” of students.

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) put up posters encouraging students to “check their privilege” using a list of privileges such as “Christian,” “White,” “Heterosexual” and “Male.”

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Meanwhile, B.C.’s School District 74 put up posters featuring school administration officials highlighting their own encounters with racism and privilege.

In one, district superintendent Teresa Downs stands next to a quote reading, “I have unfairly benefitted from the colour of my skin. White privilege is not acceptable.”

In another, district principal of Aboriginal education Tammy Mountain appears next to the quote, “I have felt racism. Have you?”

In the case of UOIT, the posters appear to have been quickly taken down after attracting online scorn.

“I fit the bill for almost every single category yet the promoters have no idea whether or not I’ve had ‘unearned access to social power’ because of this,” wrote one criticon the Facebook page of UOIT Student Life, the department that created the posters.

Still, administrators defended the posters, saying they were not intended to shame people who fell into one of the indicated privilege categories.

“Becoming aware of privilege should not be seen as a burden or source of guilt, but rather, an opportunity,” read a poster accompanying the checklist.