By Megan Lamont<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As graduation season approaches, students at Bradley University reflect on their time on the so-called Hilltop. The school sits literally atop a hill, separated from the rest of Peoria by a number of steep inclined roads. On the edge of campus sits Moss Avenue, a historic street with elegant homes and the kinds of trees that flower in the springtime. <\/span><\/p>\n Yet just miles away lie some of Peoria\u2019s most marginalized and crime-ridden neighborhoods. South Arago Street sits two miles from Bradley\u2019s campus, a street that suffered the murder of a 12-year-old girl who was sitting at home watching television during the summer of 2016. <\/span><\/p>\n Even with violence so close, the idea of the \u201cBradley bubble\u201d endured for years: that students at Bradley were generally immune from the violence of the surrounding neighborhoods. Sure, there was gun violence in \u201cthose\u201d neighborhoods, but at Bradley, you can walk home from the library at night or go to a party and not have to worry, right?<\/span><\/p>\n The bubble was burst in the early hours of April 8, 2018. <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n In 2011, a man named David Kennedy published a book called \u201cDon\u2019t Shoot.\u201d It detailed a radical new approach to reducing violence: rehabilitation of the criminals by showing them that they have value in their communities, rather than simply punishing them for their wrongdoing. <\/span><\/p>\n Kennedy paid a visit to Peoria to present his message to city officials, after which they decided a Don\u2019t Shoot campaign would be of great benefit to the community.<\/span><\/p>\n Diane Brown, a community leader and member of Indivisible Peoria, said the program started with good intentions. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe program had a social work component to make sure that people engaging in violence weren\u2019t further angered,\u201d Brown said. \u201cBut instead, it more turned into bringing in black men to harass them, not help them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t Shoot was led by law enforcement, creating a conflict of interest as the police are often the source of the conflict itself in marginalized communities. <\/span><\/p>\n Four years ago, Peoria Community Against Violence (PCAV) emerged as a sort of grassroots, community-centered arm of the Don\u2019t Shoot campaign. Unlike Don\u2019t Shoot, PCAV\u2019s mission was to be proactive, not reactive, in preventing violence in Peoria. However, PCAV too was governed by a board of city and law enforcement officials, including Mayor Jim Ardis, State\u2019s Attorney Jerry Brady, the police chief and the sheriff.<\/span><\/p>\n Terry Burnside, a lead volunteer for PCAV, warned the board of this problem. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things PCAV was doing on a regular basis was events called Stand Up for Peace,\u201d Burnside said. \u201cAfter a homicide or other violent act was committed, we would organize a sort of prayer vigil to bring people together and talk about what happened. But people didn\u2019t want to come because of PCAV\u2019s ties to law enforcement.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Burnside specifically mentioned the incident of Eddie Russell Jr., 25, who was shot 17 times by Peoria police officers after allegedly robbing a bank. State\u2019s Attorney Brady ruled the officers did not act improperly; nevertheless, the ordeal was a source of controversy and distress for the Peoria community. Russell\u2019s family refused to attend the Stand Up for Peace event in his honor due to the role law enforcement played in governing PCAV.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen there is a police-related shooting, people aren\u2019t going to support PCAV if they see it as an extension of the police,\u201d Burnside said. \u201cWe can\u2019t grow our membership and expand our message if we don\u2019t have participation from families.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Burnside said his plea for a change in board leadership was largely ignored until two Caterpillar community relations employees came to a PCAV meeting. They essentially told the board what Burnside had been saying for a full year.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen they came in, the board suddenly agreed and decided it was time for a change,\u201d Burnside said. \u201cI\u2019d been saying it for months, and then they came in, and suddenly ten minutes later, it clicked with the board.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n When the board finally agreed a change was necessary, they decided Burnside was not part of the new direction. Mayor Ardis asked him to step down from his role with PCAV on April 5.<\/span><\/p>\n Burnside was not angered by their decision. \u201cI stand for what PCAV does and always will,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m going to keep helping. I\u2019m still involved, just not with a formal title. It\u2019s not about titles, anyway.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Diane Brown stands behind Burnside: \u201cHe is by far one of the most effective leaders in standing up to violence in Peoria,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of the most respected.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Why, then, did city officials remove him?<\/span><\/p>\n \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Valentine\u2019s Day is an otherwise happy day, now forever stained as the anniversary of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that claimed the lives of 17 students and faculty. The surviving students took to social media to express their sorrow, igniting the #NeverAgain movement which culminated on March 24 with the March for Our Lives rally in Washington D.C. Over 800,000 attended in the nation\u2019s capital, with hundreds of thousands more marching across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n Katherine Ragon, a senior electrical engineering major at Bradley University, helped organize the Peoria March for Our Lives event. She is also the youngest member of the nearby Creve Coeur school board.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAfter the Stoneman shooting, we came together at our next meeting to talk about it. . . . we just knew we couldn\u2019t let something like this happen at our school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ragon felt called to action and, through Facebook connections, organized the march alongside Diane Brown and two students from Dunlap High School. <\/span><\/p>\n The day of the march did not go entirely as planned. A massive snowstorm, not uncommon for late March in Illinois, closed many roads or made them unnavigable. Still, Ragon was pleased with a turnout of 250 people.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEven in the snow, I think it says a lot that people were willing to turn out,\u201d she said. \u201cIt shows how important this issue is to people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Ragon serves as a mentor to a number of high school students from the Creve Coeur district, where she herself was a student. That made the tragedy of the Stoneman attack all the more impactful.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cImagining something like that happening to someone I know, someone that I care for, it\u2019s really more than anyone can bear to think about,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we aren\u2019t seeking radical solutions. It\u2019s common sense.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n What may seem common sense to some is highly divisive to others. She said her own relatives and acquaintances at Bradley responded negatively to the viewpoints she shared online.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPeople say things on Facebook or Twitter they would never actually say in person,\u201d she laments. \u201cWe just need both sides to listen to each other. Liberals are guilty of it too \u2014 it\u2019s not just conservatives who need to be more open-minded.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Stoneman shooting and the #NeverAgain movement changed the conversation on gun violence, at least temporarily. The students-turned-activists reignited the grief and frustration of Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook and so many others. And for a brief time afterward, as seen after any mass shooting, there was hope that maybe real change was finally possible, even in the Trump administration.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am no fan of Donald Trump,\u201d Ragon said, \u201cbut I was really happy to see him support a ban on bump stocks. Now with the midterms coming up, we need to elect more people who support that type of legislation and take it a step further.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n At the state and national level, she remains somewhat hopeful the effective changes are coming. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf anything, it\u2019s starting a conversation. We can\u2019t make change without starting a conversation.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n When asked about the incident at Bradley, her optimism visibly faded. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if I should say this. . . I know they want to show the university in good light for parents and prospective students. But I\u2019m disappointed in their response to what has happened here.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n Dear Campus Community,<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n Bradley University has suffered a tragic loss. A shooting overnight has claimed two lives, one of which is a student of ours. Nasjay Murry, a freshman Biomedical Science (Pre-Med) major from Chicago, died overnight at an off-campus residence located in the 1800 block of Bradley Ave (at the intersection of Bradley Ave and Western Ave). The second victim is not known to have an affiliation with Bradley.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n The above statement was emailed to students at on the morning of April 8, ten hours after the 1:41 a.m. safety alert notifying campus of a shooting and shattering the infamous Bradley bubble. <\/span><\/p>\n Even after being stripped of his position at PCAV just three days prior to the shooting, Terry Burnside promptly pulled together community leaders and clergy to hold a vigil in her honor on the same day she died. <\/span><\/p>\n Burnside did not have much interaction with Bradley community prior to the incident. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy heart goes out to the family of the young lady who died. I discourage violence in any form and in all groups. And the response to her death shows the tension in this community,\u201d Burnside said. \u201cThey [city officials and law enforcement] are so focused on the Bradley student. Council members immediately lashed out to condemn the shooting. Where was this when people in the streets are killed? They\u2019ve taken a blind eye to what happens in their own communities.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n As stated in the email from the university, there was a second victim in the homicide, with no affiliation with Bradley. <\/span><\/p>\n Burnside was not to say that the difference in response is not necessarily racially motivated. He merely said it is \u201cbiased.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n But the unspoken answer lingers in the air: law enforcement cares more about white lives than black lives. And their response to Nasjay\u2019s death, a black student, suggests black lives have more value when they are being educated at a private university. <\/span><\/p>\n Soon after the shooting, five Bradley buildings were vandalized, each with a single word in black spray paint. Putting together the sentence was like a scavenger hunt, eventually forming a simple but powerful statement: Gary. Roberts. Hates. Black. People. <\/span><\/p>\n Gary Roberts is the president of Bradley. The graffiti was scrubbed away almost immediately and the artist is still unknown. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think there will be people who criticize anything \u2014 no one is perfect. I think it\u2019s important that university finds out who spray painted it, because if it\u2019s someone from the campus community, they need to help them. But you also can\u2019t vandalize school property. It was difficult to see,\u201d said Jalyn Prewitt. <\/span><\/p>\n Prewitt is a senior at Bradley and works in the admissions office as a student representative and tour guide. She is also black. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair to say President Roberts hates black people. In fact, he was with the Bradley University Black Alumni Association when they came to campus just a few weeks ago. He met with them throughout their weekend reunion,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n The Black Alumni Association came to campus on the same weekend as Nasjay\u2019s funeral. <\/span><\/p>\n Prewitt believes Bradley did the best they could in their response to the shooting. The administration, she said, did a good job of supporting the student groups that organized events to honor Nasjay, including the student-led vigil. <\/span><\/p>\n From a public relations standpoint, she admits it has been tough. Other student tour guides have come back from their tours confused and concerned about how to address parents and prospective students who want to know more.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPR is important. . . We need to protect the case and to protect the university. Rumors spread and makes things worse. Then you need damage control and it\u2019s not fair to the people who are trying to heal and survive,\u201d Prewitt said. <\/span><\/p>\n Nasjay\u2019s death happened nearly two months after the Stoneman Douglas shooting and three weeks after Ragon proudly marched on the Riverfront to end gun violence.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAfter Parkland, I just felt so sad. I had to delete social media for a few days because I couldn\u2019t bear to read about all of it,\u201d Ragon said. \u201cBut after Nasjay died, I just felt angry. We just had this march to show that we are all going to stand up to gun violence and it was filled with so much hope. And then something like this happens.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n So why did Mayor Ardis and the rest of the PCAV board remove Burnside in the first place?<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI suspect they were offended by some of the things I said, like when I told them that we needed to be separate from law enforcement to have any credibility,\u201d he said plainly. \u201cBut like I said, I\u2019m not here for a title. I will support PCAV always.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Diane Brown said Burnside posted a video on Facebook with his son. The two performed a PSA-style rap together about what to do when approached by the police. She suspects this is the reason the board pushed him out, but Burnside did not confirm nor deny this.<\/span><\/p>\n PCAV will hold elections within the next month to determine their new leadership board, after finally freeing itself from the problematic governance of law enforcement. Mayor Ardis evidently approached another candidate to fill Burnside\u2019s position, but the candidate turned down the role because \u201che had too much respect for Terry.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Burnside plans to run for the now-open chair position on the PCAV board. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf people want me to remain part of the organization and have that title, I will happily do so,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m dedicated to this. I want to see PCAV succeed and grow our membership. I see the potential it has.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n \u2026 <\/span><\/p>\n None of these events paint an optimistic picture for reducing gun violence in Peoria, which continues to top Illinois\u2019 list of most violent cities year after year. The Bradley double homicide broke down the barrier formerly separating the university from its surrounding troubles. <\/span><\/p>\n Mikki Tran, the student body president for the upcoming 2018 school year, said Nasjay\u2019s death shed light on aspects of campus safety that need improvement. She believes the relationships between the surrounding community and Bradley University is still strong. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI do think that the Peoria community and Bradley still has a great relationship despite the incident because there has been a long-standing relationship before and we hope to continue it after the fact. I hope for cooperation and to work past the tension that was once there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For Terry Burnside, the tension that \u201cwas once there\u201d never quite went away. In fact, it has only just begun.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Megan Lamont As graduation season approaches, students at Bradley University reflect on their time on the so-called Hilltop. The school sits literally atop a hill, separated from the rest of Peoria by a number of steep inclined roads. On the edge of campus sits Moss Avenue, a historic street with elegant homes and the kinds of trees that flower in the springtime. Yet just miles away lie some of Peoria\u2019s most marginalized and crime-ridden neighborhoods. South Arago Street sits two miles from Bradley\u2019s campus, a street that suffered the murder of a 12-year-old girl who was sitting at home watching television during the summer of 2016. Even with violence so close, the idea of the \u201cBradley bubble\u201d endured for years: that students at Bradley were generally immune from the violence of the surrounding neighborhoods. Sure, there was gun violence in \u201cthose\u201d neighborhoods, but at Bradley, you can walk home from the library at night or go to a party and not have to worry, right? The bubble was burst in the early hours of April 8, 2018. \u2026 In 2011, a man named David Kennedy published a book called \u201cDon\u2019t Shoot.\u201d It detailed a radical new approach to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1917"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1936,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1917\/revisions\/1936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}