“Not everyone wants to look at faggots.”

This was just one of the phrases written on posters of a gay couple kissing.

As part of Awareness Days, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Alliance conducted a poster campaign. LGBTAA members hung posters featuring three types of couples kissing: two men, two women and a man and a woman.

The poster read, “Everybody has a right to love.”

More than 1,000 posters were displayed on campus. When counted at the end of the week, 81 were still intact, said Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen, LGBTAA president.

“This is sort of a barometer to the attitude on campus,” Beatty-Hansen said. “It didn’t turn out like we’d hoped it would.”

Todd Herriott, LGBTAA adviser, said hundreds of the posters came back with faces burnt off and mouths taped over. Some had writing on them, including “Not everyone wants to know you exist” and “Everyone has the right to be saved by Christianity.”

“I’m disgusted by what some people have done,” Herriott said. “Most people don’t realize how many times we go through this on a regular basis. Every time we have a poster campaign, they get torn down.”

Katie Mead, sophomore in sociology, and Julia McGinley, sophomore in psychology, posed for one of the posters.

“It’s really disheartening, frustrating and disappointing that my classmates and peers showed that much intolerance,” McGinley said.

Beginning Monday, the group will put some of the vandalized posters inside a display case in the Memorial Union. Beatty-Hansen hopes people who take the time to look at the display case will help the LGBTAA promote awareness and understanding.

“[I hope] that people will realize what kind of a situation is out there, what the atmosphere is right now,” Beatty-Hansen said. “Maybe they could do some work, too, to promote understanding.”

Herriott said some students have said the posters are “sexually explicit.”

“How can an innocent kiss be sexually explicit?” Herriott said. “I can’t walk around without seeing people kiss or hold hands.”

He said at least twice a semester, librarians find heterosexual couples having sex on the bookshelves in the library.

“If a homosexual couple was doing this, a big deal would be made of it,” Herriott said.

The group would like to see the defaced posters recognized as hate crimes.

In place of the torn-down posters, they would like to post signs stating, “A hate crime occurred here.”

“It is a crime, an act of discrimination against three couples,” McGinley said. “Maybe they won’t be listed or written down, but I hope this is recognized as a very harsh thing that has happened on our campus.”

The LGBTAA is planning to meet with President Gregory Geoffroy to discuss what will be done about this issue. Herriott said the group wants the administration to acknowledge that this happened on campus.

“I hope President Geoffroy is shocked. I was shocked,” McGinley said. “I hope he’s saddened.”

McGinley said she has been impressed with the administration’s support, but hopes they will help take action.

“Personally, I would like to see administration, from the president on down, take responsibility for what’s going on and have some action happen,” McGinley said.