‘Hate is the antithesis of belonging’: CSIB Launches Anti-Hate Initiative

Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Student Inclusion and Belonging (CSIB) is launching a new Anti-Hate Initiative. The initiative began in August.

The CSIB was first created in May 2025, according to an announcement on the Division of Student Development website. The center was created in March 2025 through a merger of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Black Student Excellence, The Phoenix previously reported. 

The initiative intends to combat hate and promote inclusivity on campus, according to the Anti-Hate website. 

To first-year neuroscience major Charlotte Yu, an inclusive campus should be a place where you can unconditionally be yourself. 

“I think an inclusive campus is when you can have a conversation with people and not feel judged,” Yu said. 

Directory of Unity and Belonging Cory Barnes is spearheading the project. He said the importance of not feeling alienated or ostracized by your peers is one of the leading purposes of the initiative. 

Following the merge of the centers, Barnes said one of the expectations of the merger was to create an anti-hate initiative. 

“This is year one of a three year strategic plan,” Barnes said.

The initiative has a foundation of four pillars — education, response, coalition and assessment. Barnes calls them “the heart of the program.” 

The education pillar is centered around modules that provide educational resources to students, including topics like different forms of hate and unconscious bias. Barnes said there’ll also be modules surrounding bystander and upstander intervention that students will be able to sign up for through LUCommunity. 

Barnes said the Office of the Dean of Students and Office of Equity and Compliance will work together with the CSIB to tackle the response pillar, which emphasizes the importance of reporting incidents and bias. This tenet is essential in creating a clear and documented pathway to assess the issue and promote inclusivity. 

The coalition pillar focuses on the presence of interior and exterior collaboration to spread the message of anti-hate. Barnes said he plans to connect with faculty and off-campus associates to improve the initiative. Guest speakers and content experts will be brought in to educate and motivate students to stand up against hate, Barnes said.

The assessment pillar is critical to the function of the initiative, Barnes said. In order to be able to make students feel like they belong on campus, feedback and assessment is necessary. 

“I don’t want to assume that someone’s satisfaction with the session meant it made a requisite impact,” Barnes said. “I wanna know what you actually learned.” 

To gain this critical feedback and spread information, the initiative will be hosting daytime programming in the Damen Student Center. There will be a tabling event Sept. 25. 

The tabling events are where the Ramblers Analyzing Ideas can really shine, Barnes said. The organization is a student-led group focused on exploring and empowering students to have conversations about inclusion, diversity, equity and more topics concerning belonging and social justice. 

Founded in February 2022, the group was previously focused primarily on social justice. Now, they’ll serve as the student ambassadors for the initiative, Barnes said. 

According to first-year accounting major Amelia Crumrine, Loyola is a welcoming place, but she believes change and advocacy is never a negative thing.

“No matter how much hate is anywhere, you can still do things to educate people and make there be less hate,” Crumrine said.

Barnes said the initiative will be founded on Catholic Social Teaching and Jesuit values. These beliefs place emphasis on dignity and cura personalis, which means “care for the whole person.” 

“The Jesuit values are through and through,” Barnes said. “It felt right to build off of the 500 years of legacy and values.” 

Alongside Jesuit involvement, Barnes said students can get involved with the initiative’s work in various ways, including attending tabling events and keeping up to date with CSIB’s newsletter. 

Barnes encourages students to give feedback regarding the initiative and hopes it brings a sense of positivity and belonging to all Loyolans. 

“The aspirational goal is to eradicate hate on campus,” Barnes said. “We’re looking to change the campus ecology.”