Mental health organization, Active Minds, was told by Bradley University not to hold an event focusing on healing the mental health of Palestinian students over accusations of anti-Semitism.

Active Minds is a Bradley student organization focused on meeting students mental health needs. The organization provides students with coping strategies and encourages people to take care of themselves in general. They have regular meetings during which they practice self-care, coping mechanisms, mental health education, provide you with resources available, stress management, and more. They say their aim is to #BreakTheStigma around mental illness.

This is especially important as the campus’ current Zoomer population is sometimes called the “anxious generation.” As Emily Potts of Bradley Magazine wrote, “It’s not surprising when you consider they’re the first generation of students to transition from in-person learning to e-learning, back to in-person learning, all in the course of three years. Trying to anticipate and navigate the unknown has taken a toll on their mental health.”

One of Active Minds’ victories was convincing the University to offer students mental health days off from class.

However, Active Minds ran into an unexpected problem when it tried to address the mental health needs of Palestinian students on campus and was accused of anti-Semitism by Bradley University Student Activities director Caro Wood.

Israel’s ongoing War on Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attacks during the Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7^th, 2023, have dramatically increased tensions and individual’s stress levels across the political, religious, and ethnic spectrums.

One Active Minds member, Jenna Smiley, suggested doing an event specifically for Palestinians. Smiley is a quarter Palestinian on her mother’s side; her family comes from a small town called Beitunia near Ramallah in the West Bank of Occupied Palestine. Smiley said there were many already existing organizations on campus addressing the needs of Bradley’s Jewish community including Hillel, the Chabad Jewish Center of Peoria & Bradley University, and the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. Active Minds also holds biweekly events which all students are welcome at.

Smiley hoped to provide similar support for the Palestinian community which she saw as lacking on campus.

Active Minds partnered with local activist group Peoria for Palestine¹ and held an event called Mindful Solidarity on February 16^th, 2024 at Neumillar Hall. According to Smiley, the event was not a political education event. It specifically focused on helping students stay vocally active around any global topic while taking care of their mental health. It offered a space for Palestinian students to talk about their experiences. It included providing coping skills on dealing with tragedy, and it involved drumming & singing.

Bradley University Television News covered the event, showing the activities provided and attendees reactions:

Smiley said the event went really well and most of the attendees appreciated and enjoyed it. She said it helped strengthen relationships, and attendees felt loved, comforted, and more energized to keep fighting for what they believe in. In an effort to be as broad as possible, the event also focused on LGBTQ+ & reproductive health issues.

Active Minds president Gabi Necastro echoed Smiley’s comments. She reiterated the event was not trying to educate people on the situation, or anything more broadly political because that would be for other student organizations to do.

Yet, even before the February event, there was consternation within Active Minds over hosting the event. At least two Active Minds board members expressed opposition to the event asserting it was biased against Jewish students.²

Necastro said one of the opposed board members had a close relationship with Bradley Hillel. Necastro tasked this member with contacting Hillel to include them in Active Minds’ campus efforts, but this member did not follow through according to Necastro.

Yet, there was still interest in the group to hold another Mindful Solidarity event with Peoria for Palestine.

However, on March 17^th, 2024, graffiti appeared across Bradley campus accusing the predominately Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi of supporting genocide. The graffiti said “Free Palestine” and “AEPi Supports Genocide.” The fraternity itself was one of the locations of said graffiti. Alpha Epsilon Pi has a giant sign outside stating “AEPi Stands With Israel.”

The incident was quickly deemed anti-Semitic by the Bradley Jewish community and Bradley administration. The university release the following statement:

“Overnight, the Bradley University Police Department (BUPD) responded to acts of vandalism and intimidation that were directly targeting members of our Jewish community. These acts occurred at three separate locations across our campus, and are being investigated by BUPD. These acts are completely against the fabric of who we are as a University. Bradley University has no tolerance for acts of bias, hatred, violence, or intimidation toward ANY member of our community. Regardless of how you identify, this is a place you should feel safe. Those responsible will be found and held accountable.”

STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF BRADLEY UNIVERSITY

Despite the graffiti incident occurring during Spring Break, Smiley said there was still lots of outrage amongst Bradley Students over Instagram, with most believing it was anti-Semitic.

Peoria for Palestine also released a statement condemning the graffiti.

“Such actions only sow division, empower oppression and hinder our collective pursuit for freedom and liberation,” said Imam Mazhar Mahmood, President of Peoria for Palestine.

“As advocates for Palestinian rights, we understand the importance of constructive dialogue in addressing grievances and fostering understanding. We urge Peorians to engage in respectful discourse and seek peaceful solutions to further the pursuit of justice,” Mahmood said.

This incident is currently under investigation by Bradley Campus safety and the Peoria Police Department (PPD). No arrests have been made and PPD declined to comment citing an ongoing investigation.

After the success of their first event, Active Minds scheduled a follow-up Mindful Solidarity event for April 6^th, 2024, again co-organized with Peoria for Palestine. They submitted the request on March 26^th, 2024. The request was denied three days later by Student Activities.

One reason for the cancellation was a Dustin Lynch concert on the University scheduled for the same day. This would have stretched Bradley’s campus safety thin.

When Necastro reached out to Student Activities to reschedule, she was told by Student Activities Director Caro Wood the University had received three complaints regarding Peoria for Palestine accusing them of being an anti-Semitic organization. Two of the complaints were from the above referenced Active Minds board members, and a third was from an unknown Jewish student.

Necastro was told by Wood that “it would be unwise proceeding further with Peoria for Palestine,” lest Active Minds and the entirety of Bradley University be labeled anti-Semitic. Wood did not provide Necastro any examples of Peoria for Palestine’s alleged anti-Semitism or any anti-Semitism which occurred at the February event.

Agitation Rising reached out to Caro Wood regarding this incident. She declined to comment and immediately hung up. (Necastro did say she appreciates Wood and believes she’s simply “in a bad position” from the higher ups in the Bradley administration.)³

Again, this was supposed to be an event focusing on the mental health of students whose relatives are facing what some consider an active genocide with a current death toll over 34,000. This is the largest death toll of Palestinians in the history of the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

Necastro said the cancellation and accusations were heartbreaking to hear, especially after the success of the first event.

Smiley said Student Activities offered the alternative of starting a Students for Palestine organization on campus. However, this would be difficult to do because the school year is almost over, and it is currently difficult finding a faculty advisor with so many positions being cut because of Bradley’s recent announcement of significant budget cuts to numerous departments.

Necastro did reach out herself to Hillel Executive Director Matt Lorch about a possible collaboration with the Jewish community. Lorch stated that while they were not interested in doing an event like what was done in February, they were interested in doing a de-stress event for students facing finals. Hillel wanted to collaborate with Active Minds to make the event more open to the general student body instead of just the Jewish community. (While Hillel is a Jewish organization, it has many non-Jewish students that participate in its events.) Necastro said Lorch made no mention of Peoria for Palestine.

Agitation Rising spoke with Lorch about Active Minds collaboration. Lorch confirmed the content of Necastro’s conversation with him.

“Active Minds is an excellent organization that does a lot of good work for the Bradley Community,” he said.

Hillel is currently occupied with the Jewish holiday of Passover, but Lorch hopes an Active Minds event could be arranged with Hillel soon.

Lorch confirmed he had heard of Peoria for Palestine; but, he had never interacted with them nor did he offer any opinion about them.

Smiley expressed anger over the graffiti perpetrator believing their actions had something to do with the cancellation of the event and accusations against Peoria for Palestine. There has been no evidence provided showing a connection between the vandalism and any of the groups involved.

Active Minds has biweekly meetings on Mondays at 7:30 PM.

CORRECTION: The student activities director’s name is Cara Wood. This article originally incorrectly named her Carol Woods.

1. Members of Peoria for Palestine (PfP) have held five protests on the corner of Main & University in Peoria, IL nearby Bradley University since the Al-Aqsa Flood. Protests were held on the following dates: 10/15/2023, 10/18/2023, 11/12/2023, 12/10/2023, 03/10/2024. PfP has also lobbied for a permanent Ceasefire in the War on Gaza and a release of all hostages. See Agitation Rising’s extensive reporting on the Israel-Palestine conflict in Peoria since October 7^th. FULL DISCLOSURE: Agitation Rising was listed as a host for the first two dates, but was not directly involved in organizing the events.
2. According to Necastro, one of these opposed board members eventually chose to resign from the organization.
3. A third reason was also given citing Active Minds as being inactive because it did not have a faculty advisor, which all student organizations are required to have. Necastro stated they lost their previous advisor because of the budget cuts to multiple Bradley University departments. However, Necastro said they’ve already found a replacement advisor, and the proper paperwork just needs to be submitted.