Jesuit sophomores Dowen Fife, Will Robinson, Cole LaCour, Freddie Washington, Josef Ernst, Evan North, Dylan Davidson, and Cy Fuxan take a moment for a picture at the ADL’s Unity Through Understanding Day on Friday, Feb. 10 at Loyola University’s School of Law.

Eight Jesuit sophomores served as delegates to the Anti-Defamation League’s 14th annual Unity Through Understanding Day on Friday, Feb. 10.

Dylan Davidson, Josef Ernst, Dowen Fife, Cy Fuxan, Cole LaCour, Evan North, Will Robinson, and Freddie Washington were selected based on recommendations from teachers to participate in the day-long conference, which attempts to heighten students’ awareness of stereotypical behaviors and prejudices in their environment and explore ways to confront and overcome them.

The event drew more than 200 participants from 30 schools to Loyola University’s School of Law for a mix of speakers and workshops, all designed to provide students with the tools to act as facilitators in helping create campus environments that embrace diversity.

“When we were putting our delegation together, we reached out to theology teachers, coaches, and moderators of some of the larger clubs on campus,” said St. Peter Claver Club co-moderator Jay Combe ’83, who chaperoned the group along with Jesuit Spanish teacher and co-moderator Irma Noyola-Gonzalez. “We asked them to recommend students who fit two molds. First, we wanted students with leadership potential. Second, we asked teachers to recommend students who they believed truly cared about creating a campus environment where no one feels marginalized, where everyone feels truly welcome and valued.”

Holocaust survivor Anne Skorecki Levy with Jesuit Spanish teacher Irma Noyola-Gonzalez.

The day’s activities kicked off with a welcome from U.S. Attorney Kenneth Polite, who encouraged students to start making a difference now, even if it’s in the smallest way.

After that students were broken into smaller groups to interact with students from other schools. Among the activities was an exploration of the five roles commonly present in incidents of bullying and bias–aggressor, target, bystander, ally, and confronter.

After lunch and a group photo, students returned to hear the mesmerizing story of Holocaust survivor Anne Skorecki Levy, whose amazing journey led her from the ghetto of Warsaw to, of all places, the Poland Avenue wharf in New Orleans.