Photo Essay: New Mural Showcased at CSIB Welcome Week Event

The Center for Student Inclusion and Belonging (CSIB) kicked off the school year on Aug. 25 with their annual Welcome Week event, “One Love Open House.” For more than 10 years, CSIB has hosted this event to allow new and returning students to meet CSIB staff and learn more about the department.

A ribbon cutting occurred at the beginning of the event to mark the reopening of room 126 in Damen Student Center, featuring a new mural created by Loyola alumnus Adrian Villegas (BA ‘14) in collaboration with current Loyola students.

The addition of Villegas’ mural to the conference room and its subsequent reopening occurred more than a year after the merging of the Center for Black Student Excellence and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion in May 2025 created CSIB. 

At the beginning of the summer, Villegas was invited by CSIB to create a second mural for the program’s space after he crafted one in 2014 for the Resource Room in Damon Student Center.

“The first mural highlighted social justice figures of the past and how they paved the way for our current society, and this second mural is a continuation of that,” Villegas said. “Now we are focusing on the students of today and how their heritage, ancestry and each student’s individual uniqueness can really help them feel grounded and grow as an individual and become future leaders and activists themselves.”

While drafting the mural, Villegas talked with CSIB staff and students about the personal connections they had with the center and how it impacted their experience at Loyola. 

Working to include imagery of the inclusive space CSIB provided many community members, Villegas shared he was honored to include this piece of art into his Loyola legacy having created it with current and future Loyola students in mind.

At “One Love Open House,” students had the chance to view the mural while enjoying ice cream provided by CSIB.

“As part of Welcome Week, it’s an opportunity to get a sweet treat,” Director of Unity and Belonging Corey Barnes said. “But for us, it’s an opportunity for students to really engage with our different programs.”

After grabbing their ice cream, students navigated the CSIB offices to fill in punch cards and learn more about the specific programs within the department.

“This space is for all Ramblers,” Barnes said. “All Ramblers are welcome to the Center for Student Inclusion and Belonging, all 17,000. We want to engage with every single student in various modalities whether it be coming to our tabling programs, coming to our physical programs, coming to our receptions, joining our mentorship programs.”

Throughout the year, CSIB plans for the redesigned conference space to be used by student leaders for daytime programming, satellite hours for campus partners and drop-in hours for students to meet with a member of CSIB staff.

“We want to see everybody come through the doors,” Director of Inclusive Excellence and Community James Thomas said. “This space is for everyone and we want y’all to come together in community because that’s the best way for you to go out and set the world on fire.”