PB and J: A Lot More than a Sandwich
by Eric Tull
At York Prep, “PB and J” stands for “Police Betterment and Justice”. It’s not a club as much as a it is a community-minded political activity, prompted by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Order 203. Last summer, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and others, and the resultant outrage and mass protest, Cuomo issued a challenge to every city and town in New York State: Gather input from your community as to the kind of policing reform they need, and write it into law by April of 2021, or risk losing your annual funding from Albany.
Taking our cue from the governor, a library full of York students and teachers have met [since mid-summer!] to trade stories of encounters with police, propose areas of investigation, and synthesize ideas about necessary changes in law enforcement policy, training, and community engagement toward a more equitable and less violent future. Facilitating student discussions, History teacher Mr. Sam Gordon has coordinated sharing of stories and generation of essential questions, English teacher Dr. Sarah Davis has distilled those questions into key issues and organized small groups to address them, and History teacher Dr. Charles Kaczynski has provided copious sources and the expert guidance needed to help students research their areas of greatest interest. These include police training, community relations, and transparency.
At this writing, each small group is compiling ideas to submit to the entire team, which will result in a proposal to present to the proper city authorities. We have been in correspondence with the Legislative Director of our District City Council’s office, who will keep us apprised of the time, place, and venue to let our voices be heard. "Making the world a better place has been something I've been passionate about for a long time now," says sophomore Rome Kadi. "When I got word of Mr. Tull, Mr. Gordon, Dr. Davis, and Dr. K holding a meeting about how we could make changes in the police system in New York City, I was more than willing to do it. I felt like I could leave my imprint on not just making this city better, but the world better as well."
