Editor’s note: In order to demonstrate the nature of this public awareness campaign, this story uses some offensive language the Daily Camera ordinarily would not publish.

Employees at the University of Colorado on Thursday described being hurt, offended and threatened by the language used in a new student-led poster campaign meant to raise awareness about bias-motivated incidents on campus.

The posters contain words and phrases from actual reported incidents of discrimination involving race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and other identities.

The campaign was intended to encourage more reporting of bias-motivated incidents, or any act that intentionally targets and demeans a member of a protected class. The student leaders said they wanted people to feel uncomfortable in order to encourage dialogue about the problems and how to solve them.

But many CU employees said they thought the posters did more harm than good. During a lunchtime meeting on campus Thursday, about 60 faculty and staff members gathered to talk with student leaders about the campaign.

Though many employees said they felt the students’ intentions were good, they were frustrated by their tactics.

While the website for reporting bias-motivated incidents is included near the bottom of each poster, the center of the placards is filled with large type and phrases such as, “Your mom must be the janitor, ’cause that’s the only job for dirty Mexicans,” and, “You’re such a pussy, such a fag. You are not even a real man.”

Some of the words, such as “dirty Mexicans” and “fag,” are featured in bold type and stand out from a distance.

The employees said they worried that most people wouldn’t stop to read the entire poster and instead would only see the slurs.

“I’ve polled two of my classes who are majority underserved/underrepresented students of color on our campus and they were horrified,” said Johanna Maes, who teaches in the ethnic studies department and the ethnic living and learning community. “They were saying, ‘I feel threatened. I’m not a dirty Mexican,’ or, ‘I’m not a fag or a pussy,’ or, ‘Why are they labeling me like this?’

“They’re feeling even more removed because it’s that much in their faces.”

Others worried that the messages would be lost on the perpetrators or people who have never experienced discrimination or harassment.

“Who are we trying to educate and who’s paying the price?” said Brian Shimamoto, who works in human resources for housing and dining services. “If we’re trying to raise awareness in our dominant, white, privileged, whatever group of students that things aren’t so rosy here on campus, the people who are paying the price right now are the ones who are already marginalized.”

Shimamoto said he felt hurt and offended personally, and said he worried about staff members who are tasked with cleaning and preparing residence halls for the summer. With the posters hung around campus, those employees now have to see “dirty Mexicans” and other offensive phrases every day during work, he said.

“Whatever your intent, I’m concerned about the impact,” he said.

Posters won’t be taken down

While several others echoed that sentiment, the students maintained their position and said they would not remove the posters.

Christina Gonzales, dean of students, said many campus departments and units already had taken down the posters themselves.

“Maybe the impact was much greater than we had expected and maybe it wasn’t right, and so maybe we should change it, and that’s what we have to work toward,” said Magnolia Landa-Posas, director of diversity and inclusion for the CU Student Government. “But, if anything, I appreciate the fact that we’re here physically together because that tells me that there are other allies and people on this campus that genuinely care about improving our campus climate.”

Gonzales said she’s heard from students on all sides, including some who felt positively about the posters.

“Just in the last week we’ve had 10 to 12 students stop by who identified that they were happy to see this, as hard as it was to read,” Gonzales said. “That they now feel like the campus is taking this seriously and is willing to admit that it happens, and that now they feel comfortable being on campus.”

The students hope that by encouraging more reporting, they’ll be able to gather accurate data about bias-motivated incidents and come up with targeted strategies for improving campus climate.

They hope to roll out an “action-oriented” campaign as early as next fall, Landa-Posas said.

‘Not OK’

In the meantime, CU’s Title IX coordinator Valerie Simons encouraged employees and students to be “effective bystanders” by stepping in when they hear or see something offensive.

Simons heads the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, which investigates all forms of discrimination and harassment for the campus. She applauded the students for “starting the conversation.”

“We’ve got to create a culture that calls it out, right when it happens, that says ‘Not OK’ when you hear it, when you see it,” she said.

Chancellor Phil DiStefano, who told the campus last week that he fully supports the students and their campaign, reiterated that position Thursday.

“The chancellor recognizes that the posters did have the potential to be misunderstood or to prompt strong reactions,” campus spokesman Bronson Hilliard said. “He also knows that the students have heard and are receptive to the feedback about the posters, and he trusts they will incorporate that feedback into any future awareness efforts.”

Sarah Kuta: 303-473-1106, kutas@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/sarahkuta