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Our Community

"Northwestern University is deeply committed to student, faculty and staff diversity-the broad array of characteristics, experiences, backgrounds and perspectives that shape us as individuals and together make us a vibrant community... A truly diverse community requires broad inclusion on our campus and the fostering of opportunities for interaction."

Former Provost Linzer

Why This is Important to Northwestern

Northwestern is committed to fostering a safe and welcoming campus community for all students. As people, we are interconnected; therefore it is the responsibility of each person within the Wildcat Community to foster an environment in which its members can thrive without fear of hate or bias. Hence, the work of creating and maintaining an inclusive campus community requires the efforts of the entire university.

We must all recognize the commonalities that exist within the human experience, protect the university as a market place of ideas, while being respectful of the breadth and depth of diversity that exists in each individual-including race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, marital status, age, disability, citizenship, veteran status, or genetic information.

About Respect NU & BIRT

The Respect NU site is a reporting system where students who have been the targets or witnesses of a hate or bias incident can make the university aware of these incidents. Their report will inform the actions of the NU Bias Incident Response Team (BIRT). BIRT is a group of university administrators who are committed to the values of freedom of speech and expression and understand the importance of civil discourse around multiple points of view.

But Respect NU and BIRT endeavor to assist our community in making that dialogue professional, collegial, and respectful. To that end, we want to know when members of our community witness or experience words or conduct that create a hostile learning environment or negatively impact our campus climate.

BIRT is committed to proactively responding to instances of hate and bias in the following ways:

  • Support students who are targets or witnesses of hate or bias incidents
  • Refer students to available campus resources and services
  • Promote dialogue within the campus community about the impact of hate and bias
  • Advocate for new programs, initiative, policies, and services that will promote a more inclusive Northwestern University