A new campaign by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to educate students about abuse is admirable, but the method devised to do so – informational posters placed in “strategic” locations on college campuses – just won’t cut it.

Posters, even if placed in high-traffic areas such as the residence halls or classrooms, are not an effective means of communication. In a campus covered in fliers that advertise every meeting, concert and presentation from now until December, the educational posters will only be lost in the crowd, more likely to be seen in pieces on the ground than displayed prominently on a bulletin board.

In her presentation Wednesday, Madigan told listeners the goal of the project is to let college students know that verbal abuse is not acceptable.

She’s right – the message of the project is important, and students should be educated about all types of abuse.

But to truly ensure that students get that message, the attorney general’s office is going to have to find a solution a little more hard-hitting than merely tacking up posters. Decorations, no matter how catchy, won’t help stop abuse – and won’t educate students.

Verizon Wireless will partner with the campaign to print more than 6,000 posters that will feature common phrases associated with verbal abuse.

If the attorney general’s office and Verizon Wireless are willing to sink money into posters, they should be willing to put the same funds to better use, such as creating more effective awareness programs, support groups and hot lines. The office could fund campus organizations such as Voices for Change or Safe Passage – at least these services have an opportunity to make a difference.

After all, the last thing the bulletin boards in the residence halls or DuSable need are more posters to be ignored, defaced or torn down.