( CNN ) -- Thinking about donning a kimono to dress like a geisha for Halloween , or a Mexican mariachi suit ? Students from Ohio University have a message for you : `` We 're a culture , not a costume . '' With ethnic and racial stereotypes becoming increasingly popular Halloween costume themes , members of the school 's Students Teaching About Racism in Society are launching a campaign to make revelers think twice before reducing a culture to a caricature , the group 's president said . Posters from the campaign are expected to go up on the Athens , Ohio , campus Wednesday . Meanwhile , the images are making the rounds online , raising debate over whether it 's ever OK for people to paint their faces black , impersonate a racial stereotype for fun , and where to drawn the line . It 's a seasonal point of controversy , but even after widely publicized controversies such as the `` Ghetto Fab '' wig at Kohl 's and Target 's illegal alien jumpsuit , costumes of stereotypes abound . On Google 's shopping section , several pages of `` Mexican costume ideas '' are available , from `` Mexican donkey costumes '' to sexy serapes and tequila shooter girls . The ad campaign from Ohio University show students holding photos of different racial and ethnic stereotypes in costume : an Hispanic guy with a picture of the Mexican donkey costume , an Asian girl with an image of a Geisha , a Muslim student with a photo of a white guy wearing a traditional ghutra and iqal over his head , bombs strapped to his chest . `` During Halloween , we see offensive costumes . We do n't like it , we do n't appreciate it . We wanted to do a campaign about it saying , 'Hey , think about this . It 's offensive , ' '' said senior Sarah Williams , president of STARS . `` The best way to get rid of stereotypes and racism is to have a discussion and raise awareness , which is what we want to do with this campaign , '' said Williams , who is black and plans on dressing as singer Janelle Monae for Halloween . The most obvious offense occurs when someone who 's not black decides to go blackface , because of the historical context , she said . But the message applies to all races and stereotypes -- and not just during Halloween . The dean of students fully supported the campaign , calling it a `` clean , succinct '' way of delivering an important message . `` We 've always tried to get a handle on what it means to be thoughtful and appropriate when it comes to talking to students about choosing costumes and making the best decisions for celebrating Halloween , '' Ryan Lombardi said . `` I think it 's a clean way of raising awareness of how the costumes you choose might be offensive . In many cases , students are n't doing it maliciously , but they might not realize the consequences of their actions on others . '' The campaign has gone viral , landing on blogs and other schools ' online publications . So far , the response in the editorial sections has been positive . But in the comment sections , not everyone thinks it 's a message that needs to be reinforced . `` Suddenly , I am overcome with the urge to dress up as the Frito Bandito this year , '' one comment on the Arizona Daily Wildcat 's piece on the campaign said . `` Guys & girls -- Halloween is just bit of fun . Dead guys do n't come back to life and eat people . There are no hot blonde lady cops in tiny uniforms that demand to 'frisk ' you . Kimonos are OK even if 'Asians ' do n't wear them on a daily basis . '' But others think it 's a message that needs to be repeated . `` I think it 's almost impossible to be ironic while being racist , so irony is lost , '' said Jelani Cobb , a professor of Africana studies at Rutgers University and the author of `` The Substance of Hope : Barack Obama and the Paradox of Progress . '' `` To treat a character like Batman or Superman as a Halloween costume is one thing , but to treat an entire ethnicity as a costume is something else . It suggests that people conflate the actual broad diversity of a culture with caricatures and characters . '' While Italian-Americans can be stereotyped as gangsters and Irish-Americans as hard drinkers , there are no pervasive stereotypes for whites on the same level that allow for them to be caricatured as a Halloween costume , Cobb said . `` The more we look at people as caricatures , the harder it is to operate as democracy , '' he said . `` What underlies this kind of costuming is the belief that these people are n't quite equal to what we are or are n't as American as we are , or that you as a person who 's not a member of that group should be able to dictate how painful the stereotype should be . ''
Ohio University students who stand against dressing up as racial minorities for Halloween . ` ` The best way to get rid of prejudice and racism is to have a discussion , '' one says . Another popular campaign , calling it a ` ` clean , succinct '' way of delivering message . Online response mixed , with some saying the message took itself too seriously .