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A brand new musical in Brooklyn will highlight the tales of scholars navigating policing in New York Metropolis public colleges.
Written and directed by Jess McLeod, an artist-in-residence on the New York Civil Liberties Union, “SAFE” can have two June 1 performances on the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The roughly 50-minute present relies on interviews with college students from throughout the 5 boroughs, and can comply with college students throughout a single faculty day. “SAFE” goals to display the potential harms of extreme policing within the metropolis’s colleges.
Debates over New York Metropolis faculty security might be divisive. Some college students argue police are ill-equipped to defuse pressure and conflicts in colleges, as tensions between college students and officers can typically be fraught. Advocates have additionally lengthy pointed to information exhibiting Black and Latino college students might be disproportionately subjected to police interventions within the metropolis’s colleges.
However proponents of college security brokers and different measures, like metallic detectors, have argued they’re important for sustaining order. Prior to now, college students, dad and mom, and educators have usually reported on annual faculty surveys that the brokers assist hold colleges secure and respectful, although youngsters at predominantly Black colleges had been much less more likely to agree.
Some college students and advocates have additionally criticized using metallic detectors in colleges — arguing the know-how might be invasive and detrimental to college students. It’s a difficulty that the musical will deal with, giving viewers members perception into pupil views on how these machines affect their time at college. About 100,000 college students within the metropolis encounter metallic detectors at college every day — a majority of that are college students of colour — in line with the NYCLU.
The “SAFE” forged and manufacturing staff characteristic an array of theater veterans, together with McLeod, who beforehand labored on “Hamilton” and different stage productions.
Tickets to the occasion can be found free of charge, however those that want to attend one of many two Saturday performances should RSVP on-line. Seats will probably be distributed on a first-come, first-serve foundation, and people who want to attend ought to plan to reach 45 to 60 minutes previous to the three p.m and seven p.m. begin occasions, in line with organizers.
Though solely two performances are at present scheduled, McLeod is hopeful there could also be future curiosity in extra productions — probably even in colleges.
Chalkbeat spoke with McLeod, in addition to NYCLU Middle for Schooling Coverage Director Johanna Miller, in regards to the upcoming musical.
This interview has been edited for readability and size.
Speak to me broadly about “SAFE.” Why had been you interested by telling this story? How does the format of a musical lend itself to this challenge?
Miller: Our purpose is to convey the coed expertise to life for adults — dad and mom, academics, and particularly policymakers — who fairly often see metallic detectors as both a small inconvenience or a essential evil. However what college students inform us is that the metallic detector expertise is neither minor nor essential. It’s not a factor that makes them really feel secure, however it’s one thing that provides an enormous quantity of complication into their day. And it’s actually not the identical expertise of an grownup going by a metallic detector in an workplace constructing or within the airport. It’s a really completely different expertise.
So by utilizing this creative medium, we will actually put you within the footwear of an adolescent in a manner that me, as a lawyer on the NYCLU, I can by no means actually get you to inhabit that house.
McLeod: I’m all the time thinking about artwork that provides the mic to whoever appears to not have the mic, and on this specific challenge, it actually looks as if so many selections are being made about pupil security in colleges, however none of these selections embody the scholars. Nobody is asking them what they want.
This was a chance to spend a yr doing interviews and focus teams with college students from all 5 boroughs who attend New York Metropolis public excessive colleges with a big police presence, and ask them to outline security. How does having metallic detectors and college security brokers make you’re feeling? Does it make you’re feeling extra secure? After which to make that query open-ended, and say, “What would make you’re feeling secure?”
One thing we did in these focus teams was take large Jenga blocks and have the scholars every take one and write down a constructing block of their dream faculty. They are saying issues like: “One-on-one comply with ups,” a number of social employees,” “jobs,” “meals,” “well being care,” “early postsecondary planning,” “group occasions.” They are saying issues like: “Consideration,” “steerage counselors,” “breaks between courses” — wants that I might name somewhat primary, and bodily, in addition to psychological and emotional.
We took all of the gadgets on these Jenga blocks and we made them right into a track known as “Dream College.” That’s how we finish the present. It’s only a group of scholars sitting and playing around with a guitar, speaking about what a dream faculty would possibly appear to be.
New York Metropolis is residence to the nation’s largest faculty system, and college students can expertise the college system in vastly other ways. How do you deal with that within the musical? Are you able to discuss additional in regards to the sorts of characters you selected to convey into this efficiency?
Miller: There’s a big range in New York Metropolis public colleges and a huge spectrum of experiences. Nevertheless, police and the police equipment are closely concentrated in not that many faculties. There are 1,800 colleges in New York Metropolis, we consider about 110 of them have metallic detectors. So already we’re taking a look at a really small proportion of the whole district, and in these colleges, there are about 100,000 college students — nearly completely these are college students who’re Black and brown.
It’s merely not the way in which that we deal with white college students in New York Metropolis or frankly, anyplace. So we really are coping with a really pervasive expertise amongst Black and brown college students in New York Metropolis, however inside the bigger district, it’s a fairly small proportion of scholars.
McLeod: In creating the characters, that is the place the analysis a part of it was each qualitative — we did a day of focus teams and interviews and picked up anecdotes and tales from college students — and in addition quantitative. We had 700 college students from all 5 boroughs reply questions to have the ability to gather some information as properly.
Taking all of that and synthesizing it, we’ve constructed a present that follows two principal protagonists, Zyniah and Fredo, and so they each get pulled out for pat-downs of their respective colleges on the high of the day, after which we comply with them by their days. They get handled in very other ways. One among them will get encouragement and care and help from a trainer that shapes their day in a sure manner. One among them will get handled harshly, and that pupil finally ends up lashing out. So we watch the domino impact of that pat-down on these two particular person college students’ days.
Whereas that’s taking place — as a result of we wished to point out as broad a swath of scholars as potential — we additionally reduce to this group of 4 college students. We get to know them in between principal scenes, and they’re speaking by headlines, and about the way in which they’re being portrayed. And so they’re asking one another questions, like: When did the college security brokers present up? What number of do you have got in your faculty? What’s really happening? They’ll typically ask questions that the following scene solutions.
And we’ve got a really numerous forged. Now we have a half Black forged, as properly Latinx actors. So we’re guaranteeing that we’re being true to who attends the faculties which have probably the most important police presence.
What do you hope audiences will take away from this efficiency?
Miller: I hope that audiences will stroll away with a greater understanding of how non-police interventions might be profitable. There’s typically numerous skepticism that an grownup within the faculty constructing a wholesome relationship with a child and checking in with them in a relational or restorative manner might really work. However really, the analysis helps that it does.
Actually, there isn’t any analysis supporting that metallic detectors made colleges any safer. I would like individuals to stroll out the door considering, “Have we requested the appropriate questions on police equipment?” Have we really requested, “Does this have a adverse affect on youngsters? And are we doing sufficient to spice up up the issues that we all know work?”
The play does a tremendous job of exhibiting how constructive interventions work and why they work. You get to see it really taking place on stage — and it’s straight out of the main target teams — how that kind of intervention works to make a child have a greater, safer, and calmer day.
McLeod: I hope dad and mom and adults and everybody who works in a faculty walks away fascinated about whether or not or not they’re permitting college students to be a part of the answer.
We’re all in a form of common psychological well being disaster post-pandemic, however I believe particularly the general public highschool college students of New York are in a really particular post-pandemic psychological well being disaster the place they expertise numerous whiplash in studying kinds, of their atmosphere switching round. Plenty of them modified colleges, or went to highschool, or had been leaving highschool throughout that point. A lot of their extracurricular actions skilled cuts.
Typically, I believe they’ve returned to a stricter, extra militaristic faculty atmosphere, and that’s one thing we must always query.
Julian Shen-Berro is a reporter overlaying New York Metropolis. Contact him at jshen-berro@chalkbeat.org.
