( CNN ) -- Ohio University student Taylor See and her friends expected some controversy to arise from a project to raise awareness of what it means to dress up as an ethnic stereotype for Halloween . But they were n't expecting the comparisons to robots or dogs . The campaign , `` We 're a culture , not a costume , '' features students of different races holding pictures of costumes of racial or ethnic stereotypes : a geisha , a suicide bomber , a Native American , a `` Mexican on a donkey , '' a person with their skin painted black and a metal grill in their mouth . Brainchild of Students Teaching About Racism in Society , the campaign drew international media attention , generated intense online debate and perhaps most telling , it became the object of several Internet spoofs . The memes also come in various forms : a real golden retriever with a picture of a man in a dog costume , a na'vi from the film `` Avatar '' holding a picture of a man painted blue , a LOLcat , a dalek with a picture of a dalek , a unicorn with a unicorn , and so on . See , who designed the imagery , never expected it to get this big . Her first reaction ? `` Wow . A conversation is happening , because that 's all we wanted , to make people think . '' Then came the realization that their original message was getting lost in the mockery , she said . `` These people that are putting out characters of vampires , dogs , robots , they do n't have anything better to do with their time ? '' she said . `` It 's silly . We 're talking about actual race , actual people that are actually affected . I guarantee you robots and dogs are not affected by what we 're trying to say . '' The most startling was an image of a monkey holding a picture of the black student featured in the original poster , she said . `` That was just awful . The fact that people think that 's OK shows why this discussion is still important and relevant , unfortunately , '' she said . By their nature , these kinds of memes have a way of trivializing the original message , especially when it comes to ad campaigns or PSAs dealing with social issues , said Brad Kim , editor of knowyourmeme.com , a site that tracks viral stuff on the Web . This campaign in particular has a high `` exploitability '' quotient because it 's about race and stereotypes , perennial hot topics on the Internet , where people can comment anonymously and therefore more freely than they would face-to-face , he said . The posters ' design also sets up the objects for exploitation , practically beckoning people to deploy their Photoshop skills to play around with various themes , he said . Kim cited a derivative featuring grunge icon Kurt Cobain holding a picture of the lead singer of Nickelback . `` This would be a perfect example of a movement or campaign with a fixed set of messages that turned into a visual mad lib and turned into something bigger , '' he said . `` I do n't think they 're all necessarily arguing against the campaign or lashing out against it , but it does the subtle job of trivializing the subject 's topic , which is the Internet 's subtle way of saying , 'No , I beg to differ . ' `` Most of the reaction the campaign received directly has been positive , said the group 's president , Sarah Williams . Other schools in the United States have asked for permission to use the posters , along with a primary school teacher from South Korea . `` Our main purpose was to have a dialogue and discussion and make people think and we 've definitely hit a nerve with people , '' she said . On the other end of the spectrum , they 've also received hate mail , including an e-mail with the n-word . Some criticism takes the students to task for being too sensitive and taking themselves too seriously . Others questioned whether the same concept applied to white people , or costumes of leprechauns or rednecks . `` I find this article offensive and stereotypical . Just because I 'm white does n't mean that I take my Halloween costume as anything more than a costume . Get a life Ohio University , '' one CNN.com commenter said . `` Whew . I 'm going to wear a XXXL suit and stuff it full of pillows , draw some fake beard on my face , add some extra chins , shuffle around dancing badly and go as Chaz Bono . But I 'm white , so this is not offensive , '' said another . The idea to highlight the issue of racial and ethnic costumes resulted from the prevalence of students going in blackface last Halloween to dress like rappers and Tiger Woods , Williams said . An off-campus party last year also encouraged guests to come painted black and dressed `` ghetto . '' `` We do n't think we 're being too sensitive . I think that 's just the reaction from the majority culture , '' Williams said , `` It 's hard to put yourself in that position of being a minority when you 're not a part of the minority . Usually the majority culture can exploit and make fun of that . '' Stereotypes have the power to hurt , especially when they embody false or archaic notions about someone , added See , who is black . Not all Mexicans travel on donkeys or wear sombreros , just like not all of them are illegal . And not all black people are rappers or young single mothers or behave like Tiger Woods . `` I fight every day to prove I 'm not a stereotype , '' she said . `` I get good grades , I try to be articulate , but it 's frustrating because costumes like that tell me that all of my efforts are fruitless because this is what people think of me at the end of day . ''
`` We 're a culture , not a costume '' ad campaign goes viral , generates race debate . Comment: Poster layout , themes lend themselves to exploitability , knowyourmeme editor says . `` Our main purpose was to have a dialogue , '' student says .