SPRING 2022
THE NEWSLETTER
Erin E. Berg, Marcus C. Miller
headmaster
The Roxbury Latin St. Theresa Avenue Roxbury, MA 02132 617-325-4920
School 101
Michael T. Pojman
photography
Kristie Dean, David Krakauer, Marcus Miller, Mike Pojman, Adam Richins, Evan Scales
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Thomas R. Guden ’96
associate headmaster
editorial & design
the newsletter
Kerry P. Brennan
assistant headmaster for advancement
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change of address? Send updated information julie.garvey@roxburylatin.orgto. alumni news Send notes and correspondence to alumni@roxburylatin.org cover Photo by Adam Richins ©2022 The Trustees of The Roxbury Latin School
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The Roxbury Latin School publishes The Newsletter quarterly for alumni, parents, and friends of the school.
director of external relations
Erin E. Berg
The Newsletter SPRING 2022 | VOLUME 95 | NUMBER 3 6Features A Trip Two Years in the Making | Glee Club tours Austria and the Czech Republic over spring break 16 A Convocation Honoring Faculty | Dr. Bryan Dunn is installed as Deane Family Dean of Faculty, and Peter Hyde as Charles T. Bauer Professor in Science, during Opening of Spring Term Hall 40 Smith Visiting Scholar, Dr. Brian Purnell | Interview by Erin E. Berg 50 A Retrospective | RL’s Winter Art Exhibit honors the work and service of Brian Buckley 62 Habitat for Humanity has a Home at Roxbury Latin | by Mike Pojman 4 News 26 Hall DepartmentsHighlights26ADistinctlyRL Tradition: Exelauno Day 2022 28 Danny Morris ’86 of I Have a Dream Foundation Helps Honor MLK Jr. 34 The French Family Band Brings Country Music to Smith Theater 36 Careers in Art History: A Panel Hall With Three Experts 38 Committed Change-Maker John Gabrieli ’12 Delivers Wyner Lecture 52 RL Presents Catch Me If You Can 54 Three RL Students Earn Scholastic Art Awards 44 Athletic News 48 Art News 64 Class Notes 72 In Memoriam: Ken Conn and Steve Ward 78 Ramblings from the Archives
In his announcement of this news, Headmaster Kerry Brennan shared the following with the community: “Andy Chappell’s contributions to Roxbury Latin are peerless. Having come to RL in 1997 fresh out of the University of Virginia, he has gone on to fill virtually every role an adult can at Roxbury Latin. A fine teacher of Latin and Greek, Andy served a stint as an effective Chair of the Classics Department. He went on to become the Director of Admission, the Director of Studies
4 Spring 2022
“For me personally, Andy has been a reliable, inspiring partner eager to engage with new ideas, new projects, and new people in service to creating the finest school community we
Andy Chappell Named Head of The Derryfield School
and, for the past two years, the Assistant Head for Program. Andy has been an energetic, successful coach of baseball and soccer teams, and served as Class Dean over the years in Class V, Class III, and currently in Class II. He is a dedicated, loving advisor. Every evolutionary program we have launched over the past decade bears Andy’s distinctive fingerprints, from the junior class experience with RL@Work, to the imagining and building of the new athletic facilities, to systems for faculty assessment and curriculum development, to the expansion and deepening of our summer programs, to the establishment of RL’s Penn Fellows Program.
in 1964, The Derryfield School is a day school serving 400 students in Grades 6-12. Recognized as one of the top schools in the region, Derryfield attracts boys and girls from more than 50 different communities in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Known for its ambitious academic standards and its effective outreach in the community, Derryfield represents an admirable example of aspiring independent education.
Andy Chappell, Roxbury Latin’s Assistant Head for Program, has been elected the Head of School at The Derryfield School in Manchester, New Hampshire, a role he will begin on July 1,
“Andy is a bright, energetic, catalytic schoolman who has been dedicated to the realization of this old school’s distinctive mission. His leadership talent has been in evidence in all sorts of ways and in all sorts of places. He gives freely of his gifts and represents the very best combination of regard for tradition and eagerness for progress.
Founded2022.
// “Andy opportunities.”toaheadthatwill.himpeerless...RoxburycontributionsChappell’stoLatinareIwillmissgreatly,asallofusButIamconvincedhewillbeabrilliantofschoolbringingmasterfulsensibilityhisnewdignitiesand
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“Weyears.will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate Andy, to thank him for all that he has meant to RL, and to wish him well. For now, though, please join me in offering him our congratulations.”
could imagine. I will miss him greatly, as all of us will. But I am convinced that he will be a brilliant head of school bringing a masterful sensibility to his new dignities and opportunities. Lucky Derryfield for having chosen Andy to lead their fine school. We have benefitted from having Andy with us for 25 years, and he and his wife, Kate, and son, Brady, have all contributed magnificently to our quality and dynamism. They and daughter Samantha will delight in moving to New Hampshire, to Derryfield, from which Kate graduated, and her father, Marcus Hurlbut, himself a former RL teacher and Dean of Students, served as Headmaster for 11
6 Spring 2022
by MARCUS C. MILLER
The Roxbury Latin Glee Club Embarks on a Memorable, Moving, and Musical Spring Break Abroad
A Trip Two Years in the Making
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When COVID-19 forced the Roxbury Latin Glee Club’s spring break trip to be canceled in March 2020, no one knew when students might return to school, much less travel the world. But RL’s singers finally went back on the road for the first time since spring break 2019, arriving in Munich on March 11 to begin a longawaited adventure through Austria and the Czech Republic. The Glee Club’s first stop was Obdach, a small village 220 miles southeast of Munich in central Austria.
“W
Today Marco Riha runs the tour company MusArt, founded by his mother, Aranca (Ushi). And on the first night in Obdach, the group dinner coincided with a venerable townswoman’s 80th birthday party. The boys were invited to sing for the guests in between sets by a traditional oompah band—an authentic introduction to Austria.
“I joked with the boys that they transitioned from being local celebrities in a small village to typical tourists in a big city,” says Mr. Opdycke. “Vienna was great to see—the center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the center of so
much great German music, so many composers. Our hotel was right near Schönbrunn Palace, which is the summer home of the Hapsburgs. Some boys would go on morning runs just in the gardens of Schönbrunn. It was a wonderful Inopportunity.”Viennathe
“We’re talking tuba, accordions, and clarinets. It was awesome. Pints of beer were flowing (not for our boys, of course, but in the bar), and the boys were encouraged to sing along to German songs they didn’t know. And in turn, they offered their singing—everything from Glee Club songs to Sweet Caroline.”
Glee Club had two chances to perform, first for Mass in the city’s renowned Saint Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom) and again the following day during Mass at St. Peter’s Church (Peterskirche), a smaller but no less stunning Baroque church nearby, where they had a special guest in attendance, U.S. Ambassador Victoria Reggie Kennedy.
e red-eyed on Friday, to Munich,” said RL’s Director of Music Rob Opdycke. “So the real rough day was Saturday, March 12, because we had a six-hour bus drive to Obdach. Some boys slept; some boys took in the scenery and all the strangely shaped church steeples and skylines.”
“Obdach is not typically on anyone’s itinerary,” says Mr. Opdycke. “We go there because it’s the childhood home of our tour guide, Marco, and his mother, Ushi. Kerry Brennan met Marco and Ushi 45 years ago on an Amherst Glee Club trip. At the time Ushi was the tour guide and Marco was five or six years old.”
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Obdach, a village of fewer than 4,000 people, is not a tourist destination in the mold of Vienna, Salzburg, or even Český Krumlov—all subsequent stops on the tour—but the town has a unique tie to Roxbury Latin.
“We’re talking tuba, accordions, and clarinets,” says Mr. Opdycke. “It was awesome. Pints of beer were flowing (not for our boys, of course, but in the bar), and the boys were encouraged to sing along to German songs they didn’t know. And in turn, they offered their singing—everything from Glee Club songs to Sweet Caroline .”
The next morning the boys sang for Mass at the Parish Church, where Peter Bacher, the mayor of Obdach, welcomed the group, while the local newspaper, Obdacher Gemeindenachrichten, covered the concert. From there the tour traveled 137 miles northeast to Vienna.
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10 Spring 2022
On March 16 the group departed Vienna and made their way toward the Czech border, stopping first two hours west at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp. The visit was a profound experience for everyone, and several boys offered prayers of mourning and remembrance—some in Hebrew, some in English, many in silence. Mr. Opdycke remarked that so much of the tour celebrated the best of human society: artistic, architectural, cultural. Mauthausen presented an example of the worst.
“I had brought boys there 14 years ago, as well,” said Mr. Opdycke. “It was somber. It was profound. It felt important to bear witness. The boys spent a good two hours—mostly in silence, some in a state of prayer. And that was an important aspect, as well. So much of the tour was about the high end of music-making—for worship or for concerts, for audiences—but paying witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust and seeing that place? I think that will be a major takeaway for the boys on this trip.”
An hour and a half later, the group reached the medieval Czech town of Český Krumlov, stopping off at a bus park and walking beneath a centuries-old viaduct into the town. They also received a two-hour tour of Český Krumlov, ending in the top courtyard of the second largest castle in the country (just shy of Prague).
The Glee Club’s final stop was in Salzburg, 150 miles southeast. There the group enjoyed a city tour, after which the Latonics held court busking in front of Mozart’s birthplace.
“With the Latonics, there’s a long tradition of finding opportunities to busk,” said Mr. Opdycke. “To sing on the street for the public, to put out a hat. It’s not as much about collecting the money as it is about interacting with passersby. They did that in both Vienna and in Salzburg. In Vienna they got a nice crowd in Stephansplatz, and in Salzburg they picked the spot right in front of Mozart’s birthplace and got an impressive crowd. I think they made 175 Euro, which was a pretty good clip. They gave some of it to a homeless person, and they’re using the rest to buy some Latonics swag.”
Busking is just one of many RL traditions being rekindled as school life and spring break trips return to pre-pandemic normalcy, but Mr. Opdycke was impressed by the boys’ ability to maintain continuity in the face of unprecedented interruption.
“Český Krumlov hadn’t really opened up yet, so we were the only tourists in town,” said Mr. Opdycke. “That Thursday night was our only concert that wasn’t in a church, and we had
a piano so we were able to do our pieces with accompaniment, and we were able to perform not only our sacred songs, but all of our pop stuff that wasn’t necessarily appropriate for a church setting. All told, the boys performed about an hour and 15 minutes’ worth of music before they went off to a postconcert dinner. That was a great visit. Our 54 boys slightly outnumbered the audience, but not by much. The opportunity was much more about the singing than the audience.”
“Ambassador Kennedy sat with Mr. Brennan,” said Mr. Opdycke, “and then delivered some remarks to the boys afterward. She even took some questions—just like a Hall speaker would take questions. It was wonderful. Her message was that the type of diplomacy the boys were doing, in being American tourists, performing music, and coming with goodwill was as important as any diplomacy she can do from her embassy.”
Later that evening, across the Vltava River at the Jesuit Hall, the Glee Club presented its longest concert of the tour, performing all of the Glee Club and Latonics repertoire for the locals who attended.
“There is something significant about being able to perform wonderful choral music that was originally composed to be part of a church service. It is typical to perform beautiful, sacred music in concerts, but to have the opportunity to perform it as part of a worship service—as we did for the Mass in Obdach and the Mass in Vienna—was powerful. For some of the boys who are Catholic, that was part of their Lenten worship. For other boys who are Protestant, it was the same. For boys who are of other faith traditions, or don’t practice a faith tradition, it’s still meaningful to be able to contribute. The beauty of music is helping a congregation to be part of a state of worship. I told the boys whether you are of this faith or not, you are contributing to a process of worship that should make it more meaningful than just singing the song to an audience at a concert.”
Twenty of RL’s French-speaking Fifthies headed north for spring break in March, to Quebec—along with Mme. White and M. Diop—to experience the language and culture, dog-sledding and ice hotels, architecture and history of one of Canada’s oldest cities. This Class V French language trip has been taking place during spring break annually since 2014, disrupted only by COVID these past two years.
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Je me souviens de Québec
12 Spring 2022
“This
The cooperation of the 54 boys made relatively easy work for the four faculty members on the trip—Chris Brown, Michael Beam, Kerry Brennan, and Rob Opdycke. The group returned from its tour on Sunday, March 20, weary from jet lag and 10 days of intense travel and performances, but energized and restored by the opportunity to share its music once again with a global audience.
their rooms for bed check. They were incredibly positive about the whole experience. I was so pleased that they all brought a good attitude.”
“It wasn’t lost on me that this was the first Glee Club trip in two years. All the institutional memory of boys being in the routine of doing this had to be restarted. There were only two students on this trip, Eli Bailit and Ale Philippedes, who had done a Glee Club trip previously—to Los Angeles as freshmen in 2019. And here they were as senior leaders on this trip. The boys were impressively cooperative, patient, and punctual. I was very pleased that they seemed to understand that while it was a chance to have fun and kick off the spring, it had certain parameters and school rules in effect. They didn’t push the envelope; they were where they needed to be when they needed to be there. They were in was the first Glee Club trip in two years. All the andcooperative,boystriphadstudentsTherethisinmemoryinstitutionalofboysbeingtheroutineofdoinghadtoberestarted.wereonlytwoonthistripwhodoneaGleeClubpreviously...Thewereimpressivelypatient,punctual.”
“In all of its travel programs, RL is trying to help boys think of themselves as global citizens,” said Mr. Opdycke, “not just as citizens of greater Boston, or even of the United States. I hope they take away from this experience a sense of a common humanity, of seeing other cultures up close and realizing that there’s so much we have in common, even if our languages and customs are different. The boys saw quite a few blue and yellow flags, a lot of solidarity with Ukraine being expressed. In fact, there were a couple of Ukrainian refugees who were making their way into Český Krumlov when we were there. We obviously didn’t know while planning this tour that there’d be a global conflict just to our east, but the boys saw how real that is for Europe. For the students to be on the other side of the Atlantic and see how intertwined that continent is with the world’s geopolitics was significant.
“Finally, from a musical perspective, bringing your repertoire outside of the friendly, ‘home court’ audience, and performing for an audience that’s just there out of curiosity—not rooting for you because they know you—is so important. The boys stepped up nicely to present and be proud of how they sounded, of the music they were making. We’re proud of sharing this music in a part of the world where music has a high level of traditional excellence— Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mendelssohn. So much of the height of music-making—especially in the 18th and 19th centuries—happened in that part of the world. And here we are, representing it to the best of our ability. It was such a memorable, worthwhile experience.” //
Williams (I)
VEX Success!
Four of RL’s VEX Robotics teams—which each competed in the year’s Southern New England Regional championships—duked it out in the Smith Theater on March 9 in one of the most anticipated Halls of the year. RL’s veteran VEX team—consisting of seniors Vishnu Emani, Josh Krakauer, Jacob Tjaden, Max Williams, Oliver Wyner, and Krishan Arora—qualified for, and competed in, the World Championship competition this spring in Dallas, for their success in the skills-based element of the competition.
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Jacob Tjaden (I), Josh Krakauer (I), Oliver Wyner (I), and Vishnu Emani
Max(I).
On the evening of April 7, Roxbury Latin’s students, faculty, and staff had the rare opportunity to attend—as an entire school—a professional theater production at Boston’s Citizens Bank Opera House. Broadway’s acclaimed touring production of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird brought to life, for the school community and fellow theater-goers, the long-time staple of RL’s English curriculum.
Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of the novel—combined with exceptional acting and stage design—told the story of summer 1934, in the life of Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and friend, Dill; of Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch defending the falsely accused Tom Robinson; of Calpurnia; of Arthur “Boo” Radley; and of a town—and a nation—plagued by racism. In Sorkin’s adaptation, the call of “All rise” was not simply a charge issued by Judge Taylor during the dramatic courtroom scenes, but also a call to action for audience members, to rise up in the face of injustice.
Black characters in the book, namely Tom Robinson and his family. Mr. Cervas urged students to pay attention to the character arc of Atticus and how he was portrayed, and to the roles of the various townspeople in the narrative.
Afterward, Mr. Nelson spoke about the film and stage adaptations of the story—specifically, of what’s involved in condensing a 300+ page book into a performance-based work of art. He shared details about the acclaimed 1962 film, adapted by Horton Foote, which won three Oscars and is considered one of the best American films ever made. Mr. Nelson mentioned, as well, some of the challenges that Aaron Sorkin faced in adapting this well-known and powerful 60-year-old story for the theater, in the year 2022.
All-School Trip to Experience To Kill A Mockingbird
Thank you to the many Roxbury Latin adults who made this adventure possible, especially Mrs. Driscoll and Mr. Reid. And thank you to the remarkable cast and crew of this national touring production. Boston audiences—and RL boys!—were among the first to experience this important and criticallyacclaimed play outside of New York City, as it begins a tour of cities across the U.S. //
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Finally, Headmaster Brennan—who put into action this all-school trip to take in the traveling Broadway production—reminded students to be aware of the ways in which art can communicate important messages, and how different modes of storytelling can reach audiences in distinctive and important ways.
First, Mr. Cervas reminded students and adults about Harper Lee’s iconic novel—the context in which it was written; the success of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book in the United States and abroad; its various storylines, characters, and themes; and finally critiques of the novel, especially of Lee’s thinly-drawn representations of
Before boarding buses to travel from Roxbury Latin into Boston’s Theater District, students enjoyed dinner and a preshow presentation by Josh Cervas, English Department Chair, and Derek Nelson, Director of Dramatics.
At the annual Kingswood-Oxford Debate Tournament on February 6, Roxbury Latin brought home the Googins Cup for the seventh year in a row! Earning that first place award were Jamie Drachman (II), Vishnu Emani (I), David Sullivan (I), and Ethan Dhadly (II). Vishnu earned first place in Persuasive Speaking, and David placed in three ways—first in Interpretive Reading, tied for second in Impromptu Speaking, and as the tournament’s third place Overall Speaker. Vishnu’s first place persuasive speech addressed encroachment on personal data by tech companies. David’s first place interpretive reading was from Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin. Thanks to their team efforts, and the leadership of Mr. Thomsen, the Googins Cup remains safe and secure in the Farnham Room for another year. //
Jamie Drachman (II), Vishnu Emani (I), David Sullivan (I), and Ethan Dhadly (II), along with faculty advisor Stewart Thomsen
Raj Saha (IV), Jayden Phan (III), Dennis Jin (III) and Theo Coben (III)
Teddy Glaeser (I), Ethan Dhadly (II), David Albrechtskirchinger (II), Carter Crowley (II)
RL Debaters are on a Roll
The winter season of virtual debate tournaments was a busy—and successful!—one for Roxbury Latin’s debaters. At the Loomis Chaffee Debate Tournament, held on January 23, RL boys earned a number of individual and team awards, including the Best School Award. Contributing to that first place effort were Raj Saha (IV), Jayden Phan (III), Dennis Jin (III) and Theo Coben (III) of the Novice Team, and Teddy Glaeser (I), Ethan Dhadly (II), David Albrechtskirchinger (II), and Carter Crowley (II) of the Advanced Team. Carter and David earned third place in the two-person advanced competition, and the Novice Team earned first place in their own division with a perfect score of 6-0. Receiving individual awards in the Novice division were Jayden and Theo earning first place in the two-person events, and Dennis and Raj earning second place in the same. Theo earned second place speaker in the Novice division overall, and Jayden earned third. It was an exceptional showing for RL’s Novice Debate Team.
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16 Spring 2022
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A
when he was fresh out of Stanford’s PhD program, Dr. Hyde has served as an impressive science teacher, coach, and advisor at RL. His scholarly credentials were consistently formed during his years as a student at Deerfield Academy and as an undergraduate at Yale, at which he earned cum laude distinction in biology. Dr. Hyde has leveraged his athletic interests and talent by being an effective coach of soccer and tennis at RL. From his earliest days in our midst, Dr. Hyde has been a committed collaborator—working first and ever after at honing the Sixie science offerings in order that they
Dr. Peter Hyde, member of the Science Department since 2001, was installed as the Charles T. Bauer Professor in Science, and Dr. Bryan Dunn, Dean of Faculty and chair of the Science Department since 2020, was installed as the Deane Family Dean of Faculty, during a convocation in Rousmaniere Hall, with their colleagues and students, family, and friends present.
HonoringConvocationFaculty
today, a passion for the beauty and complexity and utility of science.”
“Today we honor the faculty,” began Headmaster Brennan, “the faculty writ large and two individual members of the faculty who in their good work are representative of all of their colleagues’ commitment to the boys in their care; to knowledge of and enthusiasm about their given disciplines; to marshal diverse pedagogies—or classroom approaches—in service to students mastering content and developing skills; and, finally, to represent a passion for teaching and learning, and in the case of our two honorees
Between the communal singing of For the Splendor of Creation and a surprising, delightful rendition of Tom Lehrer’s The Elements—performed by Mr. Brennan, Mr. Opdycke, Mr. Nelson, and Mr. Piper—both Dr. Hyde and Dr. Dunn delivered powerful and poignant remarks, about the discipline of science, about the gifts and lessons of life—both big and small, and about their gratitude to the many people in their own lives who have contributed to their growth and Sinceblessings.2001,
Roxbury Latin officially opened its spring term on March 29 with a celebration honoring two faculty members whose commitments to the craft of teaching, the study of science, and the care of their students and colleagues are exemplary.
Opening of Spring Term Hall
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expose new boys to the scientific method and the excitement of utilizing the campus as a laboratory. Dr. Hyde has been generative in imagining an Honors Biology course in which working researchers and physicians interact directly with RL students, as our boys accomplish real research on behalf of sophisticated, challenging scientific propositions. He has championed an inquiry-based approach to scientific endeavor, and many of his own students have gone on not just to study science in college but to make their life’s work in laboratories and on behalf of causes that will improve humanity’s fate.
Dr. Dunn began at RL in 2020 as Dean of Faculty, teacher of physics, Chair of the Science Department, and head coach of Varsity Cross Country. The extent of his leadership responsibilities speaks to his talent, commitment to school life, and capacity for hard work. Prior to RL, Dr. Dunn served at Xaverian Brothers High School at which he taught nearly every course offered in their science curriculum. Dr. Dunn also served as head of the science department and founded the diversity committee there. A fine musician, he directed various ensembles and productions at Xaverian, a natural outgrowth
of his extended stint as the piano accompanist and musical director for Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe. A fine runner, Dr. Dunn served as a highly successful cross country and track coach there, as well. After attending William and Mary, he went on to earn a master’s degree, focusing on curriculum and instruction, at Boston College and a doctorate in curriculum, teaching, learning, and leadership from Northeastern. Despite his joining RL at the height of the pandemic, it was immediately obvious how effective Dr. Dunn was in his various roles. As Dean of Faculty, he has quickly earned the trust and admiration of his colleagues for his clear, empathic, kind leadership and deep commitment to the school’s mission. He stunningly embodies all the virtues one would hope to see in all faculty—deep commitment to scholarly pursuit, care for all kinds of students in all kinds of situations, and passion for the transformative potential of work in schools.
Peter Hyde
We are grateful to Ted Bauer and to the Deane family for their generosity toward the school and for the ability their gifts afford us in honoring our faculty in meaningful and important ways.
Why
Dr. Peter Hyde’s Remarks
Your brain has managed to make sense of your world and to somehow conjure every thought, feeling, emotion, and idea you have ever had from the electrochemical interplay of tens of billions of interconnected neurons. It has also constantly reshaped itself, and continues to relentlessly learn and adapt as you make your way through the world. Its ability to do this has made our shared enterprise here at RL worth the time and is the fundamental substrate for all human cultural and societal progress.
am I here? I am here because you are incredible. I know this statement has made some of my veteran colleagues extremely uncomfortable, as they wait for Mr. Jarvis to strike me down for offering such unqualified, high praise to a roomful of RL boys from this stage—so allow me to quickly qualify that statement. I am not speaking only to the boys when I say this. I am speaking to everyone in this room. Each and every one of us is absolutely, mind-blowingly amazing in a way that strains all credibility. We all arrived in Rousmaniere Hall today having somehow managed to transform, independently and unconsciously, from a solitary cell into an organism composed of trillions of cells, of hundreds of different types all exquisitely arranged into organs and organ systems which precisely manage and control a bewildering web of chemical reactions and enable us to navigate, to survive, and to thrive in an unrelentingly harsh and unforgiving world. If this isn’t incredible, I don’t know what is.
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“
My fascination with all living things and how they do what they do—fostered lovingly by my parents, who gave me a microscope when I was 12 (so, yeah, I have always been this cool) and by inspiring teachers like Mr. Harcourt and the Melvoins, whom I am honored to welcome to this Hall today—is what has brought me to this stage.
Now, to keep everyone in this room from feeling too proud of themselves, I need to remind you that every other living thing you've ever seen (and all of those that you haven’t)—from the bacteria covering your body and vastly outnumbering your own cells, to the critters the Sixies look at in drops of RL pond water, to the blades of grass you stomped on the way in this morning—are all just as amazing as you are. Like each and every one of us, every organism alive today sits at the end of an unbroken four-billion-year-long reproductive winning streak that has driven their evolution and brought them into existence. To be a living thing is to be awesome.
This fascination with life drove me to study the brain, that three-pound lump of gooey protoplasm between your ears that is currently sorting through a relentless torrent of multisensory
Charles T. Bauer Professor in Science
inputs and managing to somehow create for you a stable and coherent perception of your surroundings. In this case, it paints a picture of a charming, devastatingly handsome masked man hurling witty truth bombs from the stage. At least that is what my brain is doing—yours might be creating a slightly different image.
Although my seven years of graduate work were difficult, they taught me that even though science can be daunting and disheartening, it is also an intensely creative, collaborative, and thrilling process that works, and it can be a joy. Meticulous observation, rigorous, unflinchingly honest, and skeptical questioning, and unceasing revision of ideas and experimental approaches ultimately yield better understanding. The proof of this is all around us, as this approach has provided the foundation upon which our conception of the world we live in is built, and has made possible all of the technological conveniences we enjoy and depend upon every day. I believe that science is a true human superpower that emerges from the combined effort of our brains over generations and drives us ever forward.
“Boys, I encourage you to listen to your brains when they give you that spark of elation when you learn something new, when you are around someone you admire, and when you do something that feels right to you. Evolution has equipped our brains with goodrightweabilitysuperpower:anotherthetodetectwhendothingsthatareforourselvesandforothers.”
At this point, it is important to remind ourselves that, in our universe, as in the Marvel Universe, “with great power comes great responsibility.” All scientific knowledge can be used for good or ill, and it must be interpreted and applied appropriately if it is to be the boon to humanity that I claim. We need only look at our harrowing experiences with the coronavirus over the past two years to see how incredibly powerful the
My work as a neuroscientist was incredibly challenging and rewarding, and it changed how I thought about the world and about myself. First, it opened my eyes to the true nature and power of science. I learned that science ain’t easy. As I tell my students, science is not hard because you have to memorize a lot of stuff. Science is hard because you have to apply limited knowledge to design experiments that somehow trick nature into revealing what is really going on, and most of those experiments fail. Appreciating the finished puzzle is easy. Putting the puzzle together is not. My early, halting steps as a scientist were not pretty, and I realized quickly that none of the scientific understanding we have, even of the “simplest” concepts, has been yielded easily or cheaply.
My research before RL focused on how the brain learns, and that study started with sea slugs in college before I moved on to training monkeys in my first job. Some might be tempted, at this point, to draw parallels between this journey and the one I will take later today transitioning from a class full of fourthmarking-period seniors to a group of Sixies—but I am better than that.
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Peter Hyde
you will not become scientists, but you will undoubtedly engage in such debates and be required to make decisions that impact your life and the lives of those that you love that can be critically informed and impacted by science. Having moved out of the lab, my life’s work has become—in collaboration with my colleagues here—to help students prepare to make these critical decisions so they can make a positive impact on our world.
To use science well, you must understand how it works. You must also develop and apply all of the skills you are learning here at RL. You must be a critical thinker who asks good questions and insists on honest and complete answers, even when they are not what you want to hear. You must be able to learn lessons from the past and from others with different perspectives who speak different languages. You must be able to characterize and clearly express your understanding of our world mathematically, artistically, and in the written and spoken word so you can vigorously and honestly apprehend, debate, and chart our best paths forward together. Most of
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The other great realization I had in my time as a scientist, is that we can trust what our brains are telling us about ourselves. In graduate school, I had the opportunity to start teaching. And when I did, I noticed that even as my experiments started to work, and my life in the lab became more rewarding, I found myself spending more and more time looking forward to and preparing my lectures for the neuroanatomy course for which I served as a teaching assistant. Whenever given a choice between collecting and crunching data and teaching, I chose to work on my teaching. I listened to my brain (as a trained neuroscientist I can tell you unequivocally that our gut has very little to do with these kinds of choices) and left the path expected of a newly minted PhD in biomedical science and landed here.
application and misapplication of science can be. It has also reminded us that science is a human endeavor limited by the observations that can be made, and that it does not produce immediate answers because it is built gradually by a series of iterated, sometimes radical, revisions as new data becomes available. Scientifically based recommendations about how to respond to the pandemic changed not because science failed, but because it worked just as it is supposed to! Much of the controversy around science we have seen of late stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of this fact. Science may be a superpower, but it is not magic.
That day, I experienced a paradigm shift: when everything that you have believed and assumed to be true up until that moment changes in what feels like an instant. A paradigm is a set of beliefs, or a model, for how we as individuals, or as a group, expect the world to be. A paradigm shift is when we are presented with evidence or experiences that change that expectation. Paradigm shifts can happen to an individual, like to me in Kenya; to a community, like during our collective experience with COVID; or in a discipline, and they happen all the time. In science, for instance, we have Copernicus around the year 1514 arguing that the Earth was not the center
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college I wanted to continue running, and I found a training group in Boston with worldclass Kenyan runners. My plan was to keep up with them as best I could. After about a year, FILA, our sponsor, wanted to see if American athletes could live and train in Kenya, so I was fortunate enough to go. I hadn’t expected that this training trip would have such a profound impact on my life. One of my Kenyan friends, Douglas, invited me to his house, which was about a quarter of the size of this Hall, and where he lived with his wife, his two children, his sister-in-law, and her three children. (Douglas’s brother had died the year before, and the tradition in his tribe was to take in your in-laws until they found a new situation.) Outside his house were fields of all sorts of food and space for cattle. That evening, Douglas’s sister-in-law asked me what I farmed in Boston. I didn’t farm, obviously, so I explained that I live in the city and that we buy our food at grocery stores whenever we need it. I’ll admit, I was feeling pretty superior, and I felt sorry for her that she couldn’t fathom the idea of grocery stores. She thought for a bit and said, “So any time you want to eat, you have to go to the store and buy it? I should thank God that I have everything I need right outside my door!” I felt my worldview shift right then and there.
The life of my brother, Drew, offers a similar example on a very different path. He was the kind of guy who could not sit still, and who always did just what he felt like with no apologies. When he was a kid Drew parked a bike outside the window of his bedroom so he could sneak out at night. (I didn’t even realize that was something one could do.) He loved doing anything and everything outside with friends—playing soccer, hockey, and lacrosse, skiing, biking, camping, canoeing, rafting—and after college he worked incredibly hard to make a life in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where he could pursue and share these passions with others. My time this past week among the enormous group of amazing people who loved, respected, and admired him for his commitment, his skills, his work ethic, and his generosity of spirit made clear that by listening to what his brain was telling him, Drew found his unique place in the world and left it better than he found it for those lucky enough to know him. This has provided me and my family great solace and even joy in the face of his loss.
I quickly learned that teaching, like science, was a lot harder than I thought—just ask the survivors of my classes in the early 2000s—but I continue to work hard to improve and have never regretted that decision. Teaching here has given me a calling, constant challenge, a community, and a life that I truly love and am deeply grateful to be a part of.
After
Boys, I encourage you to listen to your brains when they give you that spark of elation when you learn something new, when you are around someone you admire, and when you do something that feels right to you. Evolution has equipped our brains with another superpower: the ability to detect when we do things that are right for ourselves and good for others. It is not easy for anyone to find their path through this world. Like the pursuit of science, the pursuit of our best personal paths is never finished and is fraught with false starts and dead ends. However, if you are willing to try lots of things and to work hard, you will, from time to time, strike those sparks that light the way. If you think critically and honestly about when and why your brain is giving you those jolts when they happen, and follow where they lead—especially when it is off the beaten track—they can and will guide you on the path to find your own unique purpose and place in the world. I thank my brain for leading me to my place here and this life with you. I look forward to the remainder of my journey and wish you the best of luck in yours.”
That moment with Douglas’s sister-in-law made me realize that the life I had grown up in—all that I had come to know and expect as normal—was not the same experience that everyone has, and that people around the world were living happy lives very different from my own. Though I had certainly understood this logically, to experience it viscerally was a different matter.
Dr. Bryan Dunn’s Remarks Deane Family Dean of Faculty “
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Today, however, I would argue we are in the midst of another paradigm shift in education, due to the changing nature of our world. Because we all have access to an exorbitant amount of information at our fingertips, students no longer need to
memorize the same facts as they did years ago; you can look those facts up quickly and easily when you need them. Most, if not all, of you will have more than one job and work for many organizations over the course of your career. Your future job may not even be conceived of yet! So it doesn’t make sense for educators to teach you in the same way as was done 50 or 60 years ago, in that assembly line model. Instead, we need to teach you how to think in different ways; how to collaborate well; how to conduct thorough research; how to effectively discuss topics even when you disagree—especially when you disagree; and how to ask good questions, to learn what you don’t know. Over 377 years, Roxbury Latin has had to shift
There is a paradigm shift currently happening in the world of education. Historically, there have been a few shifts in this field. When our society was based largely around farming, education was something done within a family or a group of families. Later, this became a neighborhood schoolhouse where all students, regardless of age, were taught in one room. There were some other schools around—like Roxbury Latin— and a few colleges available to the few who wanted to pursue advanced degrees in areas like law or medicine. Most people, however, just received an education allowing them to do basic math and reading—skills needed to function in a largely rural society. This paradigm shifted with the industrial revolution. As the assembly line became popular in factories, it also became the approach for most schools. The goal of schools became to ensure that everyone who graduates from high school had the same basic, agreed upon, knowledge. In order to do this effectively, students were placed in classes based on age and then taught the content and skills for that year. Since most people would end up in jobs that they would keep for life, companies could train workers for specific tasks, and all seemed to work well.
of our solar system, but rather that all planets revolved around the sun. In 1859, Charles Darwin published On the Origin of the Species, which presented the idea of natural selection as the mechanism for how evolution occurs; this was a new paradigm for explaining how living things came to be so diverse. Before the Wright brothers, the idea of people flying seemed like a far fetched dream. Who in the 1980s could have imagined that one day computers would talk to one another over something called the “Internet”? It took Rapper’s Delight by the Sugarhill Gang—the first hip-hop song to break into the Billboard top 40—for many to realize that hip-hop could be its own genre of music. It took another 35 years for it to be the featured musical style of a Broadway musical in Hamilton. Each of these instances served as “Aha!” moments and changed the collective expectations of what could be done. They allowed us to think bigger and move forward as individuals and as a community.
There is another thing about paradigm shifts that I haven’t mentioned yet: Despite what we think, they don’t actually happen in an instant. There is usually a slow and gradual process at work that leads up to that “Aha!” moment. It takes time for lived experiences and information to be gathered in order for paradigms to change, whether for an individual or for a group. Take Copernicus: He wasn’t the first to suggest that the sun was the center of our solar system; he just provided more information and actually published it. Darwin’s ideas took fifty more years to be widely accepted by the scientific community, and he based his ideas on the
Bryan Dunn
its paradigms a few times to keep its doors open and remain viable. But how is that done? Well, that answer is simple: It is through the commitment and hard work of dedicated faculty and staff. Faculty and staff, who themselves are reflective and constantly looking for ways in which they can be more effective in their work. This is what makes my particular role as Dean of Faculty so rewarding. I get to work with this group of educators and help facilitate their growth as they work to prepare you for the world outside of RL’s walls.
“Maybe that ‘Aha!’ moment won’t happen until you are in college, or in your first job, or your second job, but I guarantee that if you put in the work you will experience a shift in the way you view yourself, your capabilities, and your potential.”
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As Dean of Faculty, a lot of my work is helping to find support and resources for faculty that will help them accomplish their goals: providing you with unique and varied opportunities to further your learning; pushing you to see things from another’s point of view; helping you to grow as an individual. In order to do this, they need to constantly work to create lessons, units, and experiences that will educate each of you as you individually need. What you experience is developed with intentionality and thought and hours of work by your teachers, coaches, and advisors to lay the groundwork for your future paradigm shift. I feel fortunate to work with this group of educators and to help them in some small way to continue the great work they do.
work of previous scientists whom he openly credited with starting him thinking in a new way. The Wright brothers were not the only people working on flying machines, and it took years of work, tinkering, and redesign before that first fateful day in Kittyhawk, North Carolina. Hip-hop had been a part of the cultural fabric in New York City throughout the 1970s, but Rapper’s Delight just happened to be the first to break into the mainstream. Hamilton certainly was groundbreaking, but definitely not the first time hip-hop was used in the theater. It took the writer of that show, Lin Manuel-Miranda, years of trying before he arrived at the Broadway phenomenon.
It’s the same in education: Shifts in how we learn, in what we believe we can do, and how effective we are don’t happen with one class, one assignment, or even in one year. It takes many small steps forward—and even some backward—to get us to that “Aha!” moment. There is a question I always get in physics: Am I ever going to use this in real life? The honest answer is probably not. I doubt you will ever be in a situation where you will have to remember all of the kinematic equations perfectly. However, what you are learning—the process of how to approach problems in physics, how to write essays in English and history, how to think about an issue, how to work with your peers, and on and on—are those small steps leading to your personal paradigm shift, in the belief of your own abilities as a student, as a learner, and ultimately, in how you use your gifts to contribute to your community. Maybe that “Aha!” moment won’t happen until you are in college, or in your first job, or your second job, but I guarantee that if you put in the work you will experience a shift in the way you view yourself, your capabilities, and your potential. That, to me, is the key to what we as educators do. We provide those experiences for you to slowly come to a new realization of yourself and, hopefully, as a community.
As I look back at that experience in Kenya, there is one other thing that was needed for that shift to occur—for any paradigm shift to happen for that matter. I had to be open to that new experience, and to what others had to teach me. That involves being uncomfortable and unsure at times; it involves taking risks and having empathy, and putting yourself in someone else’s position to understand where they’re coming from. That is another strength of this school
and of this faculty: to challenge you to see things from different perspectives, to not let you get too comfortable; and to push you to extend yourself and try new things. Hopefully, as you do this, you know that you are supported as you strive to understand new ideas, and you will be picked up by the community if you stumble along the way. This is not something that happens by accident; it is an intentional part of Roxbury Latin. In order for you to get the most out of this education, you have to approach things with an open mind.
Obviously that trip to Kenya was life-changing for me. It was where the idea of becoming an educator was solidified for me. But I will leave you with one more thought: My path to Kenya was unlikely. The entire reason I began running was because I got cut from the baseball team in high school. Fortunately, I had people around me—my parents, friends, teachers—who pushed me to be open to other experiences. Luckily, that made me willing to see what running was all about. That led to my running in high school, college, after college, and eventually in Kenya. I often think of how things would have been different if I had never tried cross country in high school. So here is my message to you: You never know how your life’s experiences will affect you down the line. But if you are open to trying new things, to working to get better, and to internalizing your experiences today and down the road, you will have your own paradigm shift that will not only change your life, but possibly the larger community, as well. Like Douglas’s sister-in-law, you have everything you need right outside your door. The question is, will you take advantage of it?” //
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On March 4, Roxbury Latin students and teachers celebrated a tradition that is uniquely RL: Exelauno Day dates back more than 130 years, when Classics faculty member Clarence Willard Gleason inaugurated a celebration of the Classics, in which Greek students would be exempted from homework. Today, the event allows for the singular annual pleasure of hearing from boys of every age and level of exposure to Latin and Greek. (It is worth noting that the day continues to be one in which Greek and Latin students are exempted from homework!) Gleason chose March 4th as a punny reference to Xenophon’s Anabasis and its use of the verb “exelauno,” meaning “to march forth.”
During a special Hall, boys in Class VI through Class I competed in this year’s David Taggart Clark Competition in Greek and Latin Declamation—reciting the stirring words of Ovid and Cicero, performing the resonant fables of Aesop, and bringing to life the words of Vergil himself. This year’s winners were Simba Makura of Class V (Lower School Latin), Marc Quintanar of Class II (Upper School Latin), and Matt Hoover of Class II (Greek).
A Distinctly RL Tradition
Matt Hoover (II)
Marc Quintanar (II)
Exelauno Day 2022
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Simba Makura (V)
Classics Department Chair Jamie Morris-Kliment served as master of ceremonies, and the judges, to whom RL extends its heartfelt gratitude, were Dr. Todd Alexander Davis ’91, Chair of Classics at Belmont Hill; John T. Hamilton, Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Harvard; and Sally Hatcher, teacher of Latin at The Winsor School. //
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Ben Kelly (I)John Paul Buckley (I)
Leo Bene (III) Justin Shaw (II)
Jamie Morris-Kliment, Sally Hatcher, Dr. Todd Alexander Davis, Marc Quintanar (II), Matt Hoover (II), Simba Makura (V), John T. Hamilton.
On January 13, Danny Morris, Class of 1986, delivered a rousing, personal, and powerful address at Roxbury Latin’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration Hall. Danny serves as Director of National Programs for the I Have a Dream Foundation, an organization working to ensure that all children have the opportunity to pursue higher education. The foundation’s name is, of course, derived from Dr. King’s famous speech delivered during the March on Washington in 1963. In his role, Danny oversees the effective delivery of support and services to the network of the foundation’s affiliates.
Danny Morris ’86 of I Have a Dream Foundation Helps Honor MLK Jr.
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In addition to being a talented and prolific musician and performer during his years as a student, Danny “served as a role model, tutor, and guide for younger Black students as they made the difficult transition from public and parochial schools to the rigors of Roxbury Latin,” Mr. Brennan recalled. “He was courageous and stood up to people and prejudices that were contrary to his values and precocious sense of self. This latter investment of his time, talent, and energy turned out to be indicative of his life’s calling.”
That calling was to serve and support young people from under-resourced communities, by providing the tools and resources they need to achieve their dreams of going on to and graduating from college—a career Danny has been committed to for three decades. He began that work with Teach for America as a kindergarten teacher in Inglewood, California, and continued it most recently as the Director of Educational Initiatives at United Way NYC, where he was responsible for creating an arts initiative that included a city-wide essay contest and annual talent showcase at the Public Theater as well as at the world-famous Apollo Theater. //
Headmaster Brennan began Hall by saying, “We pause to recognize the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King and to consider anew the principles of justice, equality, and brotherhood—principles he pursued ardently and about which he spoke eloquently. The prejudices and hatred that Dr. King worked so hard to eradicate remain in too many heads and hearts, even as laws and social policy have been advanced that protect and affirm the rights of all Americans. In these recent years, many headlines have focused on high profile cases involving race, violence, discrimination, activism, and, thankfully in many cases, hope.”
we come together in this space, this has been a trying time, and any day that I open my eyes and can proceed on my own will through this world is a happy day. I am thrilled to see you all because we have gone through hell these past couple of years, and I know you may have been impacted personally in some way. So it is with gratitude and humility that I come to you today.
I often wonder, what if Dr. King hadn’t given that speech? What if Mahalia Jackson hadn’t encouraged him to go off script? What if Mahalia Jackson hadn’t been given the opportunity to say those words? Because quiet as it’s kept in the Civil Rights Movement, Black women were not given a place of prominence. They were not allowed to take center stage, to speak, to further the movement. So, what if? Well, I might not have been at the I Have a Dream Foundation. The Foundation might not have existed. I Have a Dream Foundation was founded in 1981 by Eugene Lang, an entrepreneur who amassed his wealth as the president and CEO of REFAC Technology, which made its money through holding patents for things like LCDs (liquid crystal displays, which you see on the front of televisions), for ATMs, for barcodes, for scanners and camcorders.
It’s been a little over 35 years since I was on this stage receiving my diploma. The stage has changed a bit, and the people in the seats have changed a bit, and seeing all these changes, it’s like an alternate reality. Speaking of which, any Marvel fans here? I'm a DC guy, but I appreciate Marvel, and the reason I ask that is because those of you who’ve been watching the Marvel films—especially the recent Spiderman—know about the multiverse. I’m fascinated by these alternate timelines, alternate versions of reality, manipulation of time, especially in movies.
I’m going back in history now, but REFAC held patents for VCRs and cassette players, and they made more of their money by filing lawsuits for infringements of those patents. They would bring those lawsuits against photography companies, like Kodak, and retailers, like Radio Shack. Mr. Lang grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan during the depression. He was a great student, graduating from high school at the age of 14, entering college at 15, majoring in economics at Swarthmore, and, in 1940, earning a master’s degree from the Columbia School of Business.
The story goes that Mr. Lang went back to his middle school, P.S. 161 in East Harlem. Now, you all hear a lot about Harlem—home of the famed Apollo Theater. It’s the home of Black culture and creativity. East Harlem also exists. It’s a place of great poverty, mainly Latinx in demographics. But at that time, the demographics were different. So, Mr. Lang went back to P.S. 161 to give the commencement speech for the 61
Dr. King’s speech writer was Clarence Jones—Jones was also his advisor, his lawyer. They had worked together on speeches for many years, and for that particular speech, Mr. Jones had a summary of what could be used as a speech with different points. Those points related to this promissory note that had not been fulfilled, had not been paid by this country to African Americans. That is what Dr. King was going to speak about, and if you look at the footage, you’ll see that Dr. King from time to time looks down because he’s referencing that speech. What happens is that at one point Mahalia Jackson—who had been known as the Queen of Gospel at that time—from about 50 feet away shouts, “Tell them about the dream, Martin. Tell them about the dream.” Now, Ms. Jackson had been the opening act, if you will, for many of Dr. King’s speeches.
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As
This morning, I want us to think about What if?—I want us to explore these alternate realities, parallel timelines, different versions of people. As Mr. Brennan mentioned, I work today at the I Have a Dream Foundation. As you all know, those words, “I have a dream,” are inextricably linked to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Are you aware, however, that Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech was not originally supposed to happen at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom?
She had heard him talk about his vision for social justice, his dream of social justice for this country. And so she encouraged him to talk about that dream. So Dr. King moves aside the papers that contained his planned-for speech, and he goes into the I Have a Dream speech, his vision for this country, and for the world, and the rest—as they say—is history. And what he talked about, Mr. Brennan told you—social justice, brotherhood—for me it really was about community: building community, creating community, serving community.
“
students graduating from his middle school. He was going to give them the usual commencement speech—go get them, try hard, and you'll get rich, and things will be great. But before he went to the podium, he spoke to the principal. The principal told him that three quarters of the students graduating were probably not going to graduate from high school. So he’s got his speech and he’s feeling very uneasy. Why am I going to go and talk to the kids about “try hard, get rich” when that may not happen?
Mr. Lang and Dr. King have played an important part in my life—what they stand for, what they’ve accomplished, is part of what I’ve been doing on my road of building community, creating community, and serving community. Now, if you’re a movie fan, this is the part where the screen would get wavy, gauzy, and there’d be a caption that reads “Circa 1980,” because we’re going into the past.
I was born in Montreal, Canada, and I grew up in Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury. I was raised by a strong, Black woman from Barbados. She was not given the opportunity
So he hired a coordinator who looked at the social and emotional life of those students. That coordinator provided
So he ditched the speech and spoke to the kids about dreams—having dreams, fulfilling dreams—and he told them one of his most memorable experiences was listening to the I Have a Dream speech by Dr. King. And on impulse he told all of those graduating sixth graders that he would provide scholarships in the amount of $500 for every year of college. So that’s $2,000 he was going to provide to each of them toward their college tuition if they graduated and were accepted to a four-year college. In addition, he told them he would add to that each year that they fulfilled their schooling from seventh grade to 12th grade. So, of course everyone’s sitting there in stunned silence, and then the room erupts into applause. Mr. Lang fulfilled that promise. But what he learned was that there was much more going on in the lives of those students than what was happening in the classroom.
tutoring and mentorship, and connected with families. By the end, of those 61 students, 11 of them had moved out of the city, and of those remaining 50, one got into trouble. Three had major academic challenges that prevented them from receiving that commitment Mr. Lang had made. But the rest went on to graduate and to contribute to society, to build community, to create community, to serve the community. I often think, “What if Mr. Lang hadn’t said those words? Hadn't been told by the principal what might happen to those young people? The lives of thousands of students may have been very different. I might not have been at the I Have a Dream Foundation. My life’s trajectory might have put me in a different direction.
called n—s and being told we didn’t belong here, having things thrown at us, crossing the street and having cars rev their engines as though they were going to hit us. Needless to say, this was not a place that I wanted to be on a regular basis, and I made that known. It was tense, and we didn’t feel supported by the administration at that time. I did have Mr. Brennan, fortunately, who was my advisor—my primary person, and I’ll talk more about that—but it was tough going. Fortunately, when I left these hallowed halls, I left West Roxbury, and went to Roxbury to the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts.
for education because she was a girl. So, education was always something that she appreciated and craved, and she made sure that I was going to get the best education possible. She sent me to parochial schools, because she believed that parochial schools gave a great education, with structure, which was very important to her. She also made sure that I was engaged in activities outside of school. I was enrolled in dance and music and drama from the age of three.
The Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts was an afterschool program born out of the Civil Rights Movement. There we often learned about Dr. King; I learned his speech and recited it around Boston and in New York and on the local PBS station. We also learned about Malcolm X. We learned about—and had—pride in ourselves. When I went back to Roxbury, I was told that my skin was beautiful, that I was beautiful, and that was different from what I heard here. On one occasion, a classmate felt emboldened to call one of my classmates a n—r. One of my classmates felt emboldened to ask me if I burned up in this skin, because he had learned in science that dark colors conduct heat.
We spent just about every week being chased up and down St. Theresa to Centre Street to take the bus out of town, being
At my dance class, she met a woman named Adonica Chaplain whose son, Jimmy, was attending Roxbury Latin. This was around sixth grade, and I attended St. Angela’s in Mattapan at the time. My mom learned about this school, made the arrangements, made sure it happened, and I entered Roxbury Latin. My mom was thrilled; she knew about Roxbury Latin’s prominence, and she was very excited. I was, as well. But things took a turn, because I was a Black boy in a predominantly white school, in a predominantly white neighborhood, and that was told to me and shown to me just about every day for the first four years that I was here. Andy Thompson and Dana Chandler (who were the two other Black boys in my class) and I had to take about three buses to get here and back home.
A pivotal point for me was when I worked at the Urban Improvement Corps, which is where I got a sense of working in education. Urban Improvement Corps was a tutoring organization run solely by college students. I began as a tutor, became a department head, and by junior year I was co-director. I got a taste for education and working to help younger children excel academically, but I was also interested in what was going on beyond the classroom and trying to fill that gap—that social, emotional need.
After Yale, I went to Teach for America. I was assigned to Los Angeles Inglewood—home of the Great Western Forum where the Lakers play, and also home of the Bloods gang. I was deep in the heart of Bloods territory, teaching Kindergarten. I was the only Black, male Kindergarten teacher at the time. Though I didn’t have an education background, Teach for America was recruiting recent college graduates, especially people of color, males, to go into the classroom in underserved, urban and rural areas. I loved my time as a Kindergarten teacher with Teach for America.
I had a passion and a commitment—to building community, to creating community, to serving community. Another pivotal point of my journey included being a director in East Harlem for the Hope Leadership Academy. On 9/11, when the towers fell, teenagers were especially affected by those terrorist attacks. The Hope Leadership Academy came out of the desire to serve teenagers and help them cope with the violence that had been going on in this world. Young people came in as peer facilitators and learned the skills to facilitate workshops on
“The I Have a Dream Foundation... has served more than 20,000 dreamers, as we call them. We currently have 4,000 dreamers from kindergarten to college: 92 percent identify as Latinx or African American. They qualify for free lunch; they will be the first in their families to go to college.”
But again, I left these halls and went home to Roxbury, and I had that balance. I had that sense of pride that I could come back into this building with. I also had people around me there who encouraged me, who told me that I needed to fulfill that journey. Many people had sacrificed and died so that I could have this opportunity to go to school with white people, to shop, to go to a pool, to dine. What I experienced at Roxbury Latin was horrible to me. Even talking to you now, I still tense up thinking about it, at my age. The trauma was real. However, it was nothing compared to what others had gone through before me, and what was going on in the city at that time, and what other African Americans were experiencing.
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So what if I had simply quit Roxbury Latin? Or I’d done something so horrible that they said, “Time to go”? Where would that trajectory have taken me? But because of my village at Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts, I toughed it out, and I thought about community. They told me about building community, being part of the community here to take advantage of the resources here, to then go back into the community and to serve others. Finally, the lessons took hold: By junior year, a switch flipped, and I became more involved in school and wanting to build community here. I took part in plays and in Glee Club, because being involved was the expectation. I took that mentality to Yale—that sense of wanting to build myself to then go into underserved communities.
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The second thing is finding a primary person. Kerry Brennan mentioned that he was my advisor while I was at Roxbury Latin. He was more than an advisor—he was my primary
It’s my passion, my mission, to make sure that young people have the resources and the will to continue moving on, moving forward. You all have the cognitive abilities and physical abilities. But what about the social-emotional aspect? When I talk about that, I’m talking about intestinal fortitude—adaptability, the ability to cope with life’s challenges. That is what I’m focused on.
So my first message to you is about refining your brand. Brands, we know, have value. I’m not talking today about brands in terms of products, but in terms of intrinsic value. You may not know it, but your brand already exists within this school. Is it a brand that you have created, or is your brand a result of something you’ve been doing? I want you to think about your brand: What are your values? What do you stand for when you walk in this building? Is your brand apparent? When you talk, when you just stand still, is your brand visible?
I had another primary person at the Elma Lewis School of Fine Arts; his name was Vernon F. Blackman, and he was the Director of Drama. Both of these men were like surrogate fathers: they knew my story, they provided me with the resources to succeed, they were interested in my growth. They were also the people that others would come to if I was mucking it up to say, “Hey, make your boy straighten up and fly right.”
It is so important that you have a primary person. As teens, you’re going through a lot, and it is important that you have someone to talk to. This has been a challenging time. Adolescence is a challenging time. I’ve served as a primary person for many young people, and it was so important that they had that outlet, that resource so they could then go on to build community, and create community, and serve community.
I wish you much luck. I am envious, especially of you seniors. You have great things in store. As you develop—and you get this board of directors and these primary people—I am more than willing to be a part of that village. I did leave this school for quite a while, but I’m back. I’m ready to be back, and I’m willing to be back, and I thank you for allowing me to be back. //
The final strategy that I’m encouraging you to use is having a board of directors: those could be your mentors, but they are, again, looking out for your best interests. Boards of directors help guide companies to make sure they are on the right paths. Your board of directors should do that for you, but it should be a diverse board of directors, representing different races, nationalities, sexes, sexual orientations—it should be reflective of the world, because that is the perspective you will need increasingly as you get older. That is the perspective that Dr. King wanted all of us to have: a global perspective, a perspective of brotherhood, of community.
I thrived there. I loved it. I was in the heart of an underserved community, working with students to give them the skills to go out into the world, to build community, create community, and serve community. Later I was a community school director at Fannie Lou Hamer High School in the Bronx. The South Bronx is one of the poorest congressional districts in the country, and Fannie Lou Hamer High School bore the name of a civil rights maverick. I was proud to be there because we were providing resources to students, especially tending to the social-emotional needs of those students, building community, creating community, serving community.
That is what I’ve been trying to do in my journey. The I Have a Dream Foundation, which just celebrated its 40th year, has served more than 20,000 dreamers, as we call them. We currently have 4,000 dreamers from Kindergarten to college: 92 percent identify as Latinx or African American. They qualify for free lunch; they will be the first in their families to go to college.
person. Primary person is a term used in social work; it means a caring adult who knows your story and is going to provide you with the resources to be successful. I told you about my rocky experience here. This man was my primary person. He knew my story.
things like violence, violence prevention, healthy relationships, and financial literacy.
The French Family Band Brings Country Music to Smith Theater
The group not only performs impressive renditions of others’ songs, but they have met much acclaim by writing their own. Camille and Stuie are parents to three children, and their high school son, Sonny, has been the musical force that transformed a successful duo into The French Family Band. Sonny began singing at age three, and even then he could sing on pitch, his mother recalls. By the time he was six or
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“Country music just sounds better when a family sings it,” began Headmaster Brennan in Hall on February 11. “That’s where it all began: mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all huddled together, picking and singing on a porch in the twilight. Camille and Stuie French—now settled with their family in Nashville—have been making music together for nearly 25 years, oceans away from their childhood worlds of New Zealand and Australia where they both fell in love with and mastered country music.”
This year’s Berman Visiting Artists—joining RL’s students, faculty, and staff not only for a rousing morning performance in the Smith Theater, but also in master classes, workshops, and jam sessions throughout the afternoon, and also performing at the February Flurry—were The French Family Band, made up of singers and guitarists Camille, Stuie, and 15-year-old Sonny French. In a special mid-morning Hall, the group performed a number of songs and styles—from Johnny Cash to poignant, original songs about family and growing up, including Not Too Young and Little Years. Camille even performed a traditional song and dance from her native Maori roots, to the crowd’s delight.
As a duo, Camille and Stuie have earned three Australian Golden Guitar Awards—the equivalent to America’s CMAs— namely, in 2013, an award for Best Alternative Country Album of the Year and, in 2017, Stuie received Best Instrumental Album honors for Axe to Swing. Two of the pair’s original songs—Gone for All Money and Pretty Katalina—were featured on the popular Australian television drama A Place to Call Home. Stuie’s skill led to high-profile sideman gigs with Australia’s top touring artists, and to touring and jamming with his idol Merle Haggard on Haggard’s Australian tour as a member of the opening band. And Nashville noticed. The Grammy-winning Time Jumpers invited Stuie and Camille to sit in on the group’s 3rd & Lindsley residency.
seven, he was singing harmony. Since then, Sonny has picked up the guitar as well, inspired by some of his favorite country artists Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, George Jones, and Glen Campbell. The industry has taken note: USA Gibson Guitars invited Sonny to be part of an international mix of promising young musicians dubbed the Gibson Generation Group.
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On stage at RL, Camille, Stuie, and Sonny were joined by drummer Gregg Stocki and bassist Joe Reed who, between them, have played with international music stars from Willie Nelson to Keb Mo, Sheryl Crow to Johnny Cash, Beck to Merle Haggard.
In 2005, Ethan Berman ’79 and his wife, Fiona Hollands, established—in honor of Ethan’s mother—the Claire Berman Artist in Residence Fund. This endowed fund brings to the school annually a distinguished figure or figures in the arts. Since 2006, the school has been honored to welcome actors—such as Christopher Lloyd in Death of a Salesman, Tovah Feldshuh, and the troupe of The American Shakespeare Center; as well as poet laureate Billy Collins; jazz artist John Pizzarelli; the rock-and-roll performers of Beatlemania Now; singer/songwriter Livingston Taylor; and renowned jazz singer Jane Monheit. We were lucky to have with us in Hall both Claire Berman and her daughter, Eve. //
Careers in Art History: A Panel Hall With Three Experts
Dr.layers.Sue
his passion and talent for art and learning as a technical art historian and research coordinator in the Scientific Research Department of Sotheby’s—the famed marketplace and auction house for fine art and luxury items. In that role, Myles coordinated analytical examinations of artworks worldwide, and executed technical imaging and infrared photography of artworks, resolving disputes about authenticity and condition. In Hall he spoke about that work through the example of a famed Botticelli painting that he and his colleagues worked on, revealing what they found in the painting’s centuries-old
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“In your art classes, and in this space, we often focus on art from the perspective of the artist—what someone creates, and why, and how,” began Headmaster Brennan in Hall on February 15. “Between the artist and the viewer, however, there is often a complex tapestry of activity, informed, shaped, and stewarded by experts such as those on our stage this
Myles majored in art history at Yale after graduating from Roxbury Latin, focusing his thesis on the multidimensionality in Mikhail Vrubel’s paintings and ceramics. He conducted his primary research in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, and this work earned him Yale’s Goodyear Fine Arts Award for excellence in his senior thesis. Until recently, Myles applied
McCrory—Roxbury Latin’s inspiring teacher of history, Art History, and Technology & Art—gained experience as an academic and historian in several different facets prior to arriving at RL. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Duke and her doctorate in History of Art and Architecture at Harvard, Dr. McCrory served as a teaching fellow at Harvard; as a historical guide in Rome, leading visitors through the Vatican Museums and Basilica of St. Peter; on the curatorial team of Harvard’s Fogg Art Museum;
Themorning.”morning’s
panel of Hall speakers included three professionals who earned degrees in art history and have since taken that skill and passion in various directions. From the Smith Theater stage, Myles Garbarini ’13, Sue McCrory, and Paul Provost ’83 shared their experiences, trajectories, and insights with students and faculty.
Paul Provost ’83 Myles Garbarini ’13
The three art historians stressed for students the importance of paying attention to what you’re good at, and what you gravitate toward; the importance of visual literacy—of looking closely and decoding images; and, finally, the importance of following your passions, even when the trajectory ahead isn’t clear. //
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 37
Sue McCrory
and as a consultant designing highly-specialized art-focused tours from Philadelphia to the Netherlands. In Hall she discussed some of the joys and challenges of pursuing a higher degree—both generally and in art history; what an advanced degree means experientially; and the variety of roles and opportunities available to an art historian.
Paul Provost—RL Class of 1983 and a member of the Board of Trustees—has more than 25 years’ experience in museums, businesses, and foundations. In 2019 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Art Bridges, an arts foundation with net assets of $1.5 billion and a mission to expand access to American Art across the country. Prior to this role, Paul served more than two decades in various management and executive roles at Christie’s—the premier American art auction enterprise. As Deputy Chairman at Christie’s, Paul served as an art world ambassador and lead negotiator for high-value art-related transactions and financial services. He has also been closely involved with World War II Holocaust and Restitution matters and other cultural property claims. He has lectured widely on art as an asset and international
art market dynamics—topics on which he expanded in detail during the Hall, and in response to students’ questions afterward in Dr. McCrory’s AP Art History class as a guest later that afternoon. The focus of Paul’s portion of the presentation was multivalence—the value of artworks in various contexts. He walked students and faculty through this concept using the example of the 1863 Winslow Homer painting Home, Sweet Home, which Paul shepherded from the context in which it was created, to the home of a private collector in New Jersey, through auction at Christie’s, to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it now lives. Paul earned his bachelor’s degree from Middlebury; his master’s in art history from Williams and the Clark Art Institute; and his doctorate in History of Art from Princeton.
“My work on Every Voice began when I was a college student myself, almost eight years ago now,” John began in Rousmaniere Hall. “Coming into college, I had seen the headlines, and I had read the statistics: According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one in ten college students will experience rape or sexual assault before graduation. It’s one
Committed Change-Maker John Gabrieli ’12 Delivers Wyner Lecture
thing to know the statistics on sexual assault, and it’s another thing to find out that it has happened to a friend, family member, or loved one.
On April 11, Roxbury Latin welcomed alumnus John Gabrieli, Class of 2012, as the year’s Wyner Lecturer—a series featuring individuals committed to solving big problems for social good.
“Most people I know who have been impacted by sexual violence have never reported. The few who did choose to report often faced drawn-out, sometimes years-long legal struggles that were often re-traumatizing but rarely resulted in any kind of justice. For me, there was a sense of powerlessness that came from seeing people I cared about being impacted, and not feeling like I could do anything about it… I knew that the vast majority of perpetrators would never be held to account, and that the cycle would continue to repeat itself, year after year. Because while you may have heard the statistics—1 in 5 women, and 1 in 16 men will be impacted by sexual assault on college campuses—what you might not know is that these rates have held largely constant now for almost 50 years, as far back as we have data. Widespread sexual violence had seemingly become the norm on our college campuses; as students, we weren’t willing to accept that.” He and seven other college students got together, in the basement of a friend’s home, and got to work.
Until recently, John served as co-chair of the Every Voice Coalition—a grassroots movement to combat sexual violence on college campuses and support survivors—which he founded and which he now serves as board chair. Since 2016, the Every Voice Coalition has brought together students and survivors, community organizations, and universities to combat campus sexual violence by passing student and survivor-written legislation on the state-level. The organization is currently active in 12 states with five bills already passed into law.
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A lifelong and devoted reader, with a fondness for history and languages, John was awarded deturs in English, French, and History during his senior year at RL. He was a National Merit Scholar and a member of the Cum Laude Society, and he stood out as a member of the Debate team, for which he served as president, earning international accolades, including a fourth place finish at the World Public Speaking Championship in Brisbane, Australia. He went on to graduate from Harvard, with a degree in economics, where he earned several prizes for his excellence in scholarship and his thesis.
“John discovered at a young age that history—and its effects— can be deeply personal, and that the only forces with the potential to drive political change for good were human compassion, investment, and hard work. Already in his young career as an activist and civic-minded change-maker, John Gabrieli has walked the walk, leveraging his skills, and his gifts, and his humanity, seeking out solutions to problems that help individuals in need. John is the very embodiment of our persistent admonition that RL grads go on to lead and serve.”
John continues a tradition of esteemed Wyner Lecturers who have been committed to societal change for good in various facets of life, and who have shed light on important social issues for Roxbury Latin’s boys. The series was established in 1985 by Jerry Wyner, Class of 1943, and his sister, Elizabeth Wyner Mark, as a living memorial to their father, Rudolph Wyner, Class of 1912. Past speakers in the lecture series include historian and author Doris Kearns Goodwin; “Schindler’s list” Holocaust survivor Rena Finder; Billy Shore, founder of Share Our Strength and the No Kid Hungry campaign; Mark Edwards, founder of Opportunity Nation; Dr. Iqbal Dhaliwal of MIT’s Jameel Poverty-Action Lab; alumnus Bo Menkiti ’95, who transforms underserved communities through real estate development; and, last year, Juan Enriquez, whose fascinating foray into imagining the future through an ethical lens was insightful and memorable.
//
“We didn’t have funding or official status, but we made a website and some flyers and gave ourselves a name. All of a sudden, we weren’t eight random college students, we were The Every Voice Coalition, and legislators started meeting with us and taking us seriously.”
“John’s academic record is stellar, but it’s not the most admirable part of his story,” Headmaster Brennan said in introducing John. “For four summers John put his painstaking scholarly skills to good use in a neuro-science lab at MIT, where, he says, ‘What I learned about the importance of hard work, self-control, and an open mind challenged my preconceptions about the central role that natural talent plays in determining outcomes, and this has permanently altered my beliefs about success.’
Today, John is co-founder and managing director of Trio New College Network, an organization aimed at providing underserved students across the country access to an innovative, hybrid-college degree program that works for them. After teaching middle school through Teach for America, John went to work expanding access to college for non-traditional students as a research associate at Southern New Hampshire University’s Sandbox Innovation Center. There he became convinced that the hybrid college model had the potential to transform higher education. He is passionate about building an equitable higher education system that gives every student the opportunity to lead a choice-filled life.
“Widespread sexual violence had seemingly become the norm on our college campuses; as students, we weren’t willing to accept that.” He and seven other college students got together, in the basement of a friend’s home, and got to work.
During his remarks, John urged students to persist in the face of inevitable setbacks; not to rely on others to come up with solutions to the problems they see; and to remember that no one is too young to make a difference.
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Interview by ERIN E. BERG
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Smith Visiting Scholar, Dr. Brian Purnell
When Dr. Brian Purnell—professor of Africana Studies and History at Bowdoin College—joined the Roxbury Latin faculty this year as the Smith Visiting Scholar, he was not entirely new to the school. In February 2021, as recommended by alumnus Ahmed Abdelrahman ’18, Dr. Purnell delivered a powerful Hall (via Zoom) to students and faculty titled “The Fierce Urgency of Now,” focused on the history of racial injustice in America. Dr. Purnell’s research, teaching, and writing has focused in particular on race relations—as well as related laws and urban development—throughout the boroughs of New York City, though he has taught and written extensively about the place of racism in both the North and the South throughout our country’s history.
Thoseenforcement.twothemes
are related, and they covered different periods of the course, but they appeared several times over the fourteen weeks, and the students did a magnificent job of taking this topic seriously—as a historical issue and as a contemporary one.
We also talked quite a bit about the significance of police and the role that police play in communities—the need that Black people in the United States have regarding equal protection of the law, through law enforcement, and the damage that tense relationships between Black communities and police departments can have on civic life. We talked a lot about that, and I appreciated how the students took the study seriously, from the history of the unit on the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The students were able to understand why the Black Panthers considered policing the police such an important part of life in Oakland and in Chicago, and also how some of the Panthers’ tactics of romanticizing guns contributed to their ineffectiveness in long-term political monitoring of law
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 41
Yes, two come to mind. The students wrestled in very serious ways, at a very high level of thinking, with the protest strategy of non-violence and the debates that African American activists had about self-defense. The Roxbury Latin students took all sides of that part of the course seriously. They wrestled with the questions about nonviolent tactics versus the need for self-defense, from the inside out. They looked at it with 360 degrees of complexity. I appreciated how some of the conversations would result in students arguing that armed self-defense made logical sense when citizens did not experience protection from law enforcement—police, or prosecutors, or courts. And that it proved an ineffective strategy for building a protest movement. That was the kind of analytical strength the class produced, and that’s just one example.
What was compelling to you, about teaching the history of civil rights to students here, at this particular moment? I’ve always wanted to teach high school students in an academic sense. I’ve taught this material to college students, and I was eager to see what would stick with younger students—what they would care about and be most interested in, what connections they would make,
On campus this winter and spring, in addition to teaching the Class I history elective titled History of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Purnell delivered two Halls. The first, in January, was titled “Education of a Patriot,” in which he described his conflicted decision about military service—a path he’d always imagined for himself—and his ultimate determination that studying and teaching American history was a valuable way in which to embody and express his own strong patriotism. Dr. Purnell delivered his second Hall, titled “Dr. Purnell’s Guide to African American History,” in February, which focused on the history behind the celebration of Black History Month, and the issues that it aims to address: problems of omission, distortion, and elision.
what they would grapple with, and how. I guess that’s a way of saying I wanted to see how this curriculum would land with a motivated, younger group of students.
Dr. Purnell immersed himself in the Roxbury Latin community this year, as he served as Smith Scholar, and here he talks about some of what was most meaningful, surprising, and resonant during that experience.
And what did you find? Were there any units, events, or topics you discussed with the boys that they regarded as particularly powerful or important?
ROXBURY LATIN INTERNATIONAL SMITH FELLOWS
oxygen out of the room. It was natural. It was real. I've never had a teaching experience like that. The students really had the freedom to be themselves, and I don’t think that’s common.
What were some of the highlights for you in teaching this course this year?
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GUILAIN DENOEUX MOORE MOMAR DIENG AKIN AVINASH SINGH ANDREW BACEVICH
It seemed to me that all of the students became much more comfortable and confident talking about contentious issues. The challenge of a class like this is that it’s always blending the historical aspects of things—which, to a degree, can be safe, because it’s in the past—with what’s happening in our country and our world right now. People have different levels of comfort in making those
2013 GARY URTON DAVID CARRASCO MARIA VICTORIA MURILLO SERIES ROBERTO GOIZUETA
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The students know each other very well here. The culture of the classroom was quite singular in my experience, because some of these students have been with each other since the seventh grade. They had a level of trust and understanding of each individual member of the class that made the teaching experience, for me, unique and enjoyable. It meant they were able to challenge each other respectfully and directly. They were able to both appreciate and, at times, express gentle reproach with each other’s eccentricities and personalities. Most important, they had a level of comfort and, I would say, trust. If a student expressed a contrarian point of view, it never sucked the
What growth did you see in the students—either individually or as a class—over this course?
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Considering the long and impressive list of individuals who have served as Smith Scholar, it seems clear to me that the role’s mission has to do with connections between America and the broader world. There’s so much of that in the history of the Civil Rights Movement; it wasn't just a domestic history—it connected the United States, and the people of the United States, to people all around the world and to so many global issues. //
GLOBAL MAGUBANE
CLIMATE CHANGE SERIES 2019 ZINE
What do you hope the boys will take away from the course? My primary hope is that the students become lifelong enthusiasts for serious history. More specifically, I hope they come to understand how important the struggle for civil rights was in the past, how difficult it was, and not in the ways that we assume. People are often aware of the prejudice and violence that individuals faced, but I don’t think people have an understanding of just how long it took to bring about gains in civil rights. Moving the ball inches took generations. We talked about the strategy that resulted in the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954: On the short end, that was a 20-year process to bring that case to court and be successful. In the longer term, it was 50 years between the Plessy v. Ferguson decision and the Brown decision. The architect for Brown, Charles Hamilton Houston, died at 55 years old, never living to see the fruit of all of the work he did to make Brown happen. The struggle for civil rights in the United States is a generations-long history. People had—and continue to have—so much invested in it. It’s an important part of our country’s history that's exciting to learn about and, I hope, inspiring.
If you were to assign these students a Part II, or an extension of the course, what would you tell them to read, or study, or do? What would be next? I would encourage a couple of things. I would want them to pick something that they learned in the course,
like a method—the legalism strategy, or community organizing, or the vote—and I would have them look into that method’s applications in the decades that followed the Civil Rights Movement. We finish the coursework in the late 1960s, and I would encourage students to take something that really interested them or motivated them and to study it in more detail in the years after the Civil Rights Movement and see how things changed over time.
A student might also be really excited about some particular person or event. For example, we studied a bit of economic development and learned about Whitney Young, whose whole approach to civil rights was to bring American industry and businesses into the Civil Rights Movement on many fronts—employment, marketing, products, equity in the workplace. That story might inspire and intrigue a student who’s an entrepreneur, or who’s interested in marketing. My hope is that they might say, “How did this intersection of business and civil rights continue to develop after Whitney Young, and where are we now in American commercialism, and business practices, and employment practices?”
Is there anything about the role of the Smith Scholar that you feel is important to share?
2013 JUNOT DÍAZ 2014 JAY SAMONS 2014 ANDREW GOLDMAN CLASSICS SERIES 2017 MICHAEL MCELROY 2017 GINA MCCARTHY 2017 MARIA IVANOVA 2017 ANTHONY LEISEROWITZ 2015 MICHAEL NEIBERG 2016 ILAN STAVANS 2018 EVAN MCCORMICK
connections and talking about them in robust ways. Doing that well was not hard for these Roxbury Latin students. Each student became more comfortable and confident making those connections, debating those connections, and asserting their analyses about how issues of racial discrimination and inequality from the past connected to the present.
The Graves-Kelsey Tournament was named in honor of Gibby Graves and Bert Kelsey in 1966. Bert was Roxbury Latin’s wrestling coach from 1937 to 1966, earning 24 winning seasons and numerous individual championships. A teacher of English and debate, his energy and good nature endeared him to hundreds of students. Gibby Graves was a long-time coach at Buckingham Browne & Nichols and was a pioneer in developing the league tournament. Roxbury Latin has earned the title of Graves Kelsey Champion 20 times since 1966.
Twelve members of RL’s wrestling team went on to compete at the New England Championships, including Navid Hodjat, Benji Macharia, Noah Abdur Rahim, Declan Bligh, Dovany Estimphile, Justin Shaw, Justin Lim, Aydin Hodjat, Nick Consigli, George Humphrey, Krystian Reese, and Aidan Gibbons. The team finished sixth in New England out of 39 teams. Three of RL’s wrestlers—Navid Hodjat, Benji Macharia, and Justin Lim—qualified to complete at the National Tournament at Lehigh University.
Perhaps most impressive, the team also went on to earn the ISL Wrestling Sportsmanship Award, an honor they also received in 2019-2020. //
2nd place: Benji Macharia (IV), Justin Lim (IV)
RL Places Third in Annual Graves Kelsey Tournament
4th place: Dovany Estimphile (III), Justin Shaw (II), Nick Consigli (III)
On February 12, Roxbury Latin’s wrestlers headed to Thayer Academy to compete in this winter’s Graves Kelsey Tournament—the Independent School League wrestling championships, named for long-time and legendary coaches Bert Kelsey of Roxbury Latin, and Gibby Graves of Buckingham Browne & Nichols.
3rd place: Declan Bligh (V), Aydin Hodjat (III)
Rounding out the RL team were tournament representatives Aidan Gibbons (II) and Thomas Savage (II).
Earning a highly respectable third-place finish overall in a field of 13 teams, Roxbury Latin’s wrestlers exhibited dedication and toughness in a collective effort, with the following wrestlers placing in their respective weight classes:
1st place: Navid Hodjat (V)
5th place: Noah Abdur Rahim (IV), George Humphrey (I), Krystian Reese (II)
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6th place: Alejandro Rincon (III)
Spring Varsity Teams
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 45
Justin Lim (IV)
Dovany Estimphile (III)
Aydin Hodjat (III)
Varsity Track and Field — First Row: Jedidiah Nelson (Captain), Armando Walters (Captain), Rami Hayes-Messinger (Captain); Second Row: Ryan Miller, Bruno Kim, Robbie Sun-Friedman, Tommy Reichard, Mark Anderson; Third Row: Nick Frumkin, Bobby Zabin, Mathias Why, Michael Allen, Marc Quintanar, Matt O’Connor, Kayden Miller, David Sullivan, Ryan Lin, Dominic Landry, Jayden Phan, Dennis Jin; Fourth Row: Paul Wilkinson, Miles BaumalBardy, Brendan Reichard, Max Williams, Sunil Rosen, Carter Crowley, George Madison, Joseph Wang, Ryan Peterson, Erin Dromgoole (Head Coach); Fifth Row: Arturo Solís (Coach), Josh Krakauer, Alejandro Philippides, Josh Hua, Jacob Tjaden, Jose Flores, Dovany Estimphile, Chris Heaton (Coach); Sixth Row: John Austin, Alejandro Rincon, Devan Rajagopalan, Luke Wilkinson, Christo Velikin, Alex Nahirny, Emmanuel Nwodo, Zak Bashir, Colin Herbert, Austin Kee, Ezra Liebowitz, Tyler Duarte, Zach Heaton, Quinn Thomson; Seventh Row: Akhilsai Damera, Levi Harrison, Nahum Workalemahu, Michael Thomas, Adam Kuechler, Liam Finn, Rian Finn, Ehtan Dhadly, Jack Tompros, Matt Hoover, Thomas Savage, Kofi Fordjour, Taylor Fitzgerald (Coach). Missing: Eli Bailit, George Humphrey, Heshie Liebowitz, Andrew Sparks, Arjun Bose, Brandon Clark, Edgar Torres, Isaac Frehywot, Ezra Klauber, Benji Macharia, Aiden Theodore, Jamie Morris-Kliment (Coach), Bruce Lynch (Coach).
Justin Shaw (II)
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Varsity Baseball — First Row: James Henshon, Antonio Morales, Aidan Brooks, Mark Henshon (Captain), James Birch, Oliver Wyner, Patrick Schultz, Justin Loo; Second Row: Dave Cataruzolo (Head Coach), Thomas Pender, Ryan Conneely, James Gibbons, Matt Golden, Will Matthews, Hunter Stevens, Sam Seaton, Caleb Meredith, Matt Taglieri, Bryce Ketchen, Shawn Heide (Coach). Missing: Harry Lonergan, Liam Grossman, Andy Chappell (Coach).
Varsity Tennis — Justin Yamaguchi (Manager), Tanner Oberg, Eric Zhu, Daniel Stepanyan, Cole Oberg, Tait Oberg (Captain), John Fazli (Captain), Eric Diop, Akshay Kumar, Jiho Lee, Frankie Gutierrez, Ousmane Diop (Head Coach).
Varsity Lacrosse — First Row: Mark McGuire, Brendan St. Peter, Jake Novak, Sean DiLallo, David Sullivan, Kieran McCabe, Robby O'Shaughnessy, Taylor Cotton, Henry Hochberg, Parker Collins; Second Row: Chris Brown (Coach), Brodie Lee (Manager), John Thomas, Michael Strojny, Reid Spence, Johnny Price, Zach Donovan, Hayden Cody, Jake Popeo, Nolan Walsh (Captain), Angus Leary, Riley Stanton (Captain), Drew Streckenbach, Chris Weitzel (Captain), Thomas Connolly, J.P. Buckley, Luke Devito, Will Silva, Vincent Jaeger, Dom Cuzzi, Will Anderson, Aidan Gibbons, Cam Carr (Manager), Matt Bastardi, Mike Higgins (Head Coach). Missing: Andrew Bingham (Manager).
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On March 6, Winsor School hosted a joint choral concert with the Roxbury Latin Glee Club and the Latonics. The combined chorus performed Rutter’s “Gloria.” //
All Together Now
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On April 1, for the first time since 2019, Roxbury Latin hosted its annual A Cappella Fest in the Smith Theater. This year, RL welcomed Brandeis VoiceMale, featuring alumnus Richard Impert ’20, and Similar Jones, featuring Rob Opdycke and Nate Piper. The Latonics took the stage after intermission with a rousing pop set. //
A Cappella Fest Returns!
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"
Winter Art Exhibit of the Work of Brian Buckley
On the evening of January 13, more than 200 members of the Roxbury Latin community—students, alumni, faculty, parents, and friends—helped to celebrate the opening of this year’s winter art exhibit, featuring the work of veteran faculty member and long-time Arts Department Chair Brian Buckley. Having served for 36 years on the Roxbury Latin faculty, Mr. Buckley is retiring. He has led the Arts Department for 33 years and has positively affected thousands of RL students over nearly four decades. In honor of his talent and dedication, and in celebration of his retirement, RL hosted Brian Buckley: A Retrospective—an exhibit of Mr. Buckley’s artwork from 1977 through 2021. //
A Retrospective
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Roxbury Latin’s production of the play—written by Terrence McNally, with music by Marc Shaiman—included a cast and crew of nearly 40 students. Under the superb direction of John Ambrosino, musical direction of Rob Opdycke, and choreography of John Crampton, the company avidly tackled a challenging script and score, and delighted audiences two nights in a row. //
52 Spring 2022
Roxbury Latin and the Winsor School presented this year’s winter musical production—the 2011 Broadway hit Catch Me If You Can—February 25 and 26, in RL’s Smith Theater.
The story is about skilled con artist and imposter, Frank Abagnale Jr. (played by Tommy Reichard, Class II), who worked fraudulently as a doctor, a lawyer, and a co-pilot for Pan Am—all before his eighteenth birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill gave him his first real claim to fame: At the age of 17, Frank became a wildly successful bank robber, sought ceaselessly by FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (played by Ale Philippides, Class I), who makes it his primary mission to capture Frank and bring him to justice. But Frank always proves himself one step ahead.
RL Presents Catch Me If You Can
Production photos by Mike Pojman.
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 53
Several talented Roxbury Latin students earn regional honors for their art and writing in the Scholastic competition each year. For nearly 100 years, the Awards have empowered creative teens and celebrated their voices. The Scholastic Awards continue to champion and support teens’ originality and creativity, as well as bolster their artistic and literary futures through opportunities for publication, exhibition, and scholarships. The Awards encourage students to build confidence as creative individuals and to trust that their voice is important. //
54 Spring 2022
Three RL Students Earn Accolades For Their Creative Writing
Kevin Wang (II), Eric Zhu (III), James McCurley (II)
Two other RL students found success in this year’s Scholastic Regional competition: James McCurley (II) earned a Gold Key for his flash fiction writing submission titled The Old Forest and an Honorable Mention for his science fiction/ fantasy submission The Old Well. Eric Zhu (III) earned two Honorable Mentions, one for his short story submission The Victors Write History, and another for his poem Did Anything Change At All?
Each year, the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, in partnership with more than 100 visual and literary arts organizations across the country, accepts submissions from teens in grades 7 through 12 for their Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Hundreds of thousands of art and writing submissions across 28 categories are judged based on originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice. Roxbury Latin junior, Kevin Wang, not only earned Gold Key recognition in the regional competition for his personal essay/memoir submission titled Jab, but his writing also earned him one of only five nominations in the country selected to compete for the 2022 American Visions Award. This award is one of the highest honors presented annually by the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers, exceeding even the expectations of Gold Key honors. Kevin’s personal essay, Jab, grapples with the family dynamics at play in considering whether or not to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Old Forest
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 55
There is a forest near my house that could fit the whole world beneath its branches. Mapmakers say it isn’t even five miles wide, or five miles deep, but I, who know the forest’s paths, say otherwise. It’s an old forest, and old forests have little regard for human ideas, for measurements and miles. It stretches on as far as it wants to, and one can walk through it and never reach its end, as perhaps there is no end—just trees going on forever. People get lost in there sometimes, if they don’t know the way; and once the way is lost, most can never find it again. My neighbors, who know little of the forest and understand less, wonder if a bear got those who disappeared, or if they were kidnapped, for how could someone get lost for so long in a forest not even twenty-five miles square. But I, who know the forest’s paths, know that the lost still wander among the great trees, along paths that never end, through days that never pass. It’s an old forest, and old forests have little regard for human ideas, for hours and days and the people who measure them. //
by JAMES McCURLEY, CLASS II
56 Spring 2022
Nobody in the town liked to talk about it, but the old well in the park scared people stiff. The well was just a little thing, an inconspicuous amalgamation of worn stones. It was covered with boards, and nobody, as far as anyone could remember, had ever fallen into it, but almost no one liked to go near it. It was probably the sound. From the depths of the well, one could hear moaning. According to the more scientifically-minded locals, the water running deep underground flowed in such a way that it created the faint sound. But most people just cared that it gave them goosebumps.
Leroy Muria was known to check the boards over the well every day. The consensus among the townspeople was that he wasn’t quite right in the head, and hadn’t been since almost ten years ago. He’d always liked to take walks through the park, and on one of them, late at night, some kind of wild animal had attacked him. A huge chunk had been bitten out of his left arm; the doctor said that he was lucky to be alive. No one had been able to figure out what had attacked him though. Leroy Muria had been entirely unwilling to recount what had happened, and didn’t actually speak much at all anymore. Animal Control concluded that it was some type of bear, but the more superstitious locals had other ideas. They thought that, whatever it was, it had to do with that well.
The Old Well by JAMES McCURLEY, CLASS II
(The Old Well, Cont.) Ever since then, Leroy would take a folding chair out every day, sit down, and watch the well. He’d stay like that for hours upon hours, his eyes glued to the well, alert for any sign of a disturbance. Every once in a while he’d stand up and test the boards once more, hammering any nails that had come even slightly loose deep into the stones. Then he’d sit back down and keep watching and listening. Sometimes he’d bring a flashlight or spend all night there. One time he’d even stayed out in a blizzard and been half covered by snow. But still he sat there, keeping watch.
She walked briskly away, sparing one more glance over her shoulder to see Leroy, who had sat back down in the chair, staring at the well. She gave a little shudder, then hurried home. Best to leave things like that alone.
She let out a sigh of relief when she spied him sitting where he had been before. “Hello, Leroy!” She called.
“Listening for something, Leroy?” Ms. Lars had never been particularly superstitious, but she had lived in the town her whole life, and the well had always given her the creeps.
But that whole evening, she couldn’t put it out of her mind. She kept glancing out of her window, and was vaguely reassured to spy Leroy Muria still sitting in vigil, a silent shadow watching the well. Every few minutes she’d glance out again, almost expecting him to have vanished, but he was still there as always. After a few hours it got so dark that she couldn’t see him anymore, no matter how much she strained her eyes. Eventually, she grabbed a flashlight and went out to check on him.
“Leroy?” She approached him slowly. “Are you okay?”
“Listen,” he whispered, his voice shaking. Ms. Lars glanced up at Leroy, surprised. Leroy never spoke much— in fact, Ms. Lars couldn’t remember the last time that she’d heard him speak. He was shaking slightly, his white knuckles clenching the hammer. His breath came in and out in rapid gasps.
Ms. Lars strained to hear anything beyond the moaning, but couldn’t. She was just about to give up listening when she heard something else. A soft scraping, like something sharp sliding across stones. It came at intermittent intervals, only for a few seconds at a time, and was barely audible. Ms. Lars was amazed that Leroy had noticed it. But then again, he had spent countless days listening to the well. Even the tiniest variance in the sound couldn’t go long without him noticing it. “I hear a scraping sound,” Ms. Lars whispered.
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Leroy didn’t answer, just sat there, still.
Late one autumn afternoon, Leroy seemed far more jumpy than normal. He was muttering to himself as he stared at the well, and every minute or two he’d get up, check it again, and hammer the nails furiously into place despite having done so the last time. Then he’d put his ear to the boards to listen carefully. Ms. Lars, a middle-aged woman whose house bordered the park, stopped to watch him.
He glared at her. “Listen!”
“Are you okay?” She asked. “You don’t seem well, Leroy.”
“What am I listening for?” She could hear the familiar, faint moaning through the wood, but nothing out of the ordinary. “Is that… sound a bit louder than usual?” Indeed, the moaning wasn’t usually so audible, but Leroy shook his head.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” she said, trying to reassure herself as much as him. “Well, I had best be going. Can’t be late.” She didn’t really have anything to be late for, but she didn’t want to stay there any longer with the half-mad man and that well.
Leroy nodded and beckoned for her to approach. She did so cautiously, not sure if she was scared of the well or the man. Leroy gestured for her to put her ear to the boards and she did so after a moment’s hesitation.
Leroy nodded rapidly, almost frenziedly. He lifted his ear from the boards and hefted his hammer, bashing the nails deeper into the worn rocks. If Ms. Lars wasn’t so rattled herself, she’d complain about the racket. Instead, it made her feel more than a bit reassured that the well was safely sealed. She paused to collect herself for a minute.
58 Spring 2022
Leroy shook his head. “It’s quiet,” he repeated, as if struck “Idumb.know,”
Ms. Lars said.
His face was ashen, as though he’d seen a ghost. He gestured wildly at the well.
by ERIC ZHU , CLASS III
let out a long, ghastly moan, and for a second, Ms. Lars feared that it would come back for her, but it continued downwards. Then the darkness swallows the beast, and it was gone.
She had almost reached her house when she heard a crash behind her, like something smashing through wood. She spun around.
“It’s nothing,” she said. “The water’s just at a low ebb, or something.” Still, her heart was racing. “You had better get inside,” she added firmly.
The Victors Write History
They never taught me to swim. Swimming was forbidden for ordinary citizens. This year arrived too soon, and with it came the chance of getting drafted—a chance to finally learn the art of water. Father never gave up the idea of me, his son, becoming a marauder. The last four years before my eighteenth birthday passed quickly, and every other guardian felt the same rush of hope for their own sons. For me, these four years were a painful reminder of how vulnerable I was to the marauder draft. I dreaded the slick gray suits, the angular helmets, and the strict insignia of the Estate.
“It’s never quiet.” He didn’t make any move to head inside.
A few days later, Ms. Lars went outside and stared at the well for a while. She hadn’t told anyone what she had seen. She wasn’t sure what good it would do, even if they believed her. But she stood there and said a quick prayer that maybe, somehow, Leroy was okay. Then, she went inside and grabbed a few planks and a hammer, before nailing the wood into place over the hole. She lugged a chair from inside and sat down next to the well. She stared at it, and listened. And just at the edge of her hearing, she could hear the faintest of moans, echoing up from deep inside the earth. //
Somebody“Leroy?”screamed.
The next day, there was quite a bit of head-scratching among the town officials, who had to explain the broken planks and a man’s disappearance. Eventually, they decided that the planks must have been loosely secured, and Leroy Muria had fallen through one night when he was trying to check them. An attempt to recover the body had been cut short when the well proved to be far deeper than expected. A tragic end for Mr. Muria, all agreed, but nothing too abnormal. Of course, that didn’t explain the blood, or the fact that the planks had evidently been smashed from the inside, but people have a remarkable propensity to overlook the truth when it doesn’t fit their story. There were, of course, superstitious whispers, but there always are.
“I’m leaving,” said Ms. Lars. She turned to head back to her house. “You really shouldn’t stay out here,” she yelled over her shoulder. “You’ll catch a cold!” Although, if she were honest, it wasn’t the cold that she was worried about.
“What is it?” Ms. Lars asked. The well looked fine, and she couldn’t hear anything
The light flashed across the empty seat by the well. Ms. Lars’ footsteps echoed in the now-silent night. The well’s top was smashed, bits of wood lying scattered around it. Leroy’s hammer lay abandoned in the dirt. Drops of crimson glinted in the flashlight’s beam. The well lay open. Broken planks ran around the outside, crooked teeth on a gaping maw. And down, in the darkness, something large and white, something just at the edge of sight, was climbing downwards, its long claws scrabbling on the well’s crumbling stones. As Ms. Lars stared downwards, she saw huge, dark eyes, eyes that had never seen the sun but only a world of darkness, staring up at her from the well’s depths. The creature
“It’s quiet,” he murmured. And indeed it was. For the first time in her life, Ms. Fars couldn’t hear the moaning sound coming from the well. She leaned down and put her ear to the boards but still couldn’t hear anything. She paused, then shook her head.
Today was the day of the draft. Even the street signs stood straighter than usual and seemed to show reverence for an honored guest. The streets exhaled with life, and crowds gathered as if there were a circus. Two-by-ten formations of young men marched down the street, their limbs stiff against the cold air and their every movement precisely calculated. With the Estate’s insignia emblazoned on their charcoal uniforms, their eyes gazed forward, as if latched onto a distant destination on the horizon.
“Yes sir,” I numbly uttered in response.
To me, the duty of the marauders was none other than pillaging and murdering—the very prospect made me gag in disgust and horror. The Estate made no effort to conceal the atrocities committed by marauders, and so all the citizens knew of their misdeeds. The sole purpose of the marauders is to collect tribute from the Underwater Conquered Colonies, a confederation that had rebelled against the Estate centuries ago. Ever since their failed attempts, the Estate destroyed their capability to wage warfare and imposed heavy tributes on them. Since these colonies were now powerless and had abundant resources lying around, the opportunistic Estate made the definition of “collecting tribute” increasingly loose. The result was the marauders diving to the depths of the Underwater Conquered Colonies where they freely ransack the populace, taking whatever and murdering whomever.
The marauder draft didn’t select just anyone, only those who were “deemed proper to take up the role of defending the honor, well-being, and legacy of the Estate.” I never understood the true meaning of this statement, but the Law is better left unquestioned. The marauder draft was one of the rare occasions that saw the Estate’s populace congregate. Almost everyone flocked to the city for this special day and its festivities, complaining about the urban air heavy with soot and sawdust. This was the life I knew, and this was the air that filled my lungs each day.
To me, the blur of marauder uniforms appeared no different than the dark fog that covers a battlefield before a firefight. Regardless, Father always stated that donning such a uniform is the highest honor possibly bestowed upon any man of fighting age.
“Son, this world is harsh for a reason; it reminds us to prioritize our country’s needs. Your own needs come after. The unfortunate pawns caught up in the process are negligible. Remember this, I will tell it to you many more times.”
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“Those are proud men who’ve done a great service for our country,” Father mused, nodding in approval as his eyes followed the formation.
“Should you have the honor to be chosen, you have twentyfour hours to pack necessities. After this time, you are obligated to report to marauder headquarters.”
That evening, the whole population of the Estate tuned into the government radio station, eager to find out who the Estate Council had chosen as the new marauders.
Summertime was upon us, which meant that the days were longer. The streets breathed and sighed heavily, like a working man. At the corner of every sidewalk, dreadfully pale lamp posts were stationed, their drained faces staring off into the distance.
“What?” I cried.
* * *
“What are you ‘yes sir’-ing me for? Put some sense into your words, and look at me when I speak to you! Do yourself a favor, and stand up straight. At least pretend you’re enthusiastic. At this rate, you will never deserve to don that uniform.”
Father had his own intentions for me. He saw my incompetence as a disappointment, which secretly filled me with relief. I dared not give this away—when Father made up his mind, that was that, and nobody could tell him otherwise. Naturally, someone as stubborn as him would find the concept of marauding to be unquestionably beneficial.
I didn’t make the effort to hear what Father had to say, for I had little interest in his patriotic fanaticism. I wearily eyed the marauders marching down the street, wondering if they were like my Father, or if they sometimes had the thoughts I did.
All I recall was that Father exploded into laughter, which quickly became tears of joy. Suddenly, I was furious. And then I was sobbing. My dread, horror, and hatred conjoined into one dark blue waterfall gushing from my eyes.
in his seat, Father made no effort to hide his hopeful excitement. Sitting opposite him, my thoughts were clouded and my mind was racing. Every crackle of the sleek, silver radio made me flinch.
“Congratulations to the chosen men. It is mandatory to follow the given instructions, or else severe punitive action will be taken. Remember, the only thing we have to fear is incompetence in serving our country. All hail the marauders and long live the Estate they nourish!”
voice of the radio suddenly sliced through my thoughts.
What did the man expect me to say? That my laughter was because of excitement, joy, or even adrenaline? For just a moment, I no longer felt resentment towards Father, but rather pity—pity for the man himself, and pity for his love of the Themarauders.cold,monotone
The radio cut out and crackling static filled the living room. I was so greatly distressed that I unintentionally ignored the latter portion of the announcement. The names of the South and West County marauders were unbeknownst to me, but it was of little importance. Twenty-four hours later, we would train and prepare ourselves for what lay far below the sea’s surface. In the end, we would all surely succumb.
“My son, my son, it’s happening! You are a marauder, my son! Oh, how you shall carry on the honor of our family name! My son, my son, my Fatherson…”clearly did not understand. The real history associated with our surname was already enough to despise. Any remaining pride was now consumed by the disgust of becoming a marauder. Centuries ago, during the rebellion of the Underwater Colonies, General Abram Turner led the Estate
“Five men of fighting age have been selected from each county. We shall commence with North County. Ellis, Reed, Inman, Collins, and Zimmerman. Congratulations, marauders.”
60 SpringLeaning2022forward
My heart was pounding, and the radioman’s humdrum voice seemed to tease me. East County would be announced within seconds and the possibility of being chosen lurked in the back of my head. I had no clue who these young men were, yet I dreaded the possibility of serving the Estate alongside them.
“Next is East County. Gilbert, Robinson, Allen, Nichols, and Turner.”
in its counter-attack. For Father, the family name evoked the utmost blazing pride, fame, and glory. But for the residents of the Conquered Colonies, the name would cause them to shake in fear and spit in disgust; they would spew unforgivable curses upon this family of plunderers.
Father cast a surprised look on me. “Why do you “Ilaugh?”couldn’t say,” I shrugged. I stifled a chuckle and stared down at my feet.
“Oh.” The disappointment was evident in her voice, though she tried hard to hide it. “You don’t really believe any of that, do you?”
“Couldn’t say. That’s all that there is to this old book, I suppose that was the end.” He awkwardly looked down at his perfectly polished shoes.
“Well.” She gazed thoughtfully at the red book and took a deep breath. “To me, the whole thing is outright ridiculous. How can swimming be forbidden to the ordinary citizen? And what, it’s only taught to people who are then forcefully sent off as pillagers? Think about it—it’s silly to think that a basic human skill can effectively be made illegal.”
“I wouldn’t call it pillaging, necessarily. I mean, they learn to swim for the purpose of—”
“Murdering innocent natives, taking their belongings, and then they call it a resource expedition necessary for a
She shot up and stormed out of the attic, leaving him all alone. He was about to call after her but thought better of it. He sighed contentedly and stretched out his legs onto her now vacant chair.
“Only time will tell if it’s possible to change people like her—it’s a father’s duty, after all. How shockingly close, though, I was to doubting myself. How often is it that one comes across someone that makes even the unquestionable seem questionable?” The captain grimly smiled as he talked to the empty room, his only audience the cobwebs. In his right hand, his pencil had been pocketed, and in its place was a sable black badge imprinted with the insignia of the Estate. //
make any sense to you—there’s no reason behind it. But you’re over scrutinizing… everything eventually comes to the point where you have to believe! Have faith—”
The Captain gaped at his daughter, speechless, turning over her fuming words in his mind. He had never come across someone like her before—no one else seemed to interrogate him as she did now. He was supposed to be the one in control; his leg bounced furiously, and suddenly he realized how uncomfortable he was in his rough uniform. His left hand subconsciously shook, and in his right, he twirled a pencil. The two sat in silence for a while, neither willing to carry on the conversation. He glanced up at her only to see her furrowed brow and large frown, her eyes intense and “Idistracted.see.Itdoesn’t
“It’s quite the story, isn’t it? And it was only, what—100 or so years ago? It’s quite marvelous to see how far humans have changed…” He quickly added, “For the better, of Sittingcourse.”across from him was his daughter, who shared his sharp eyebrows and piercing gaze. He realized that even the way she sat emulated him—her presence was felt in the room, in a way that was almost disconcerting. She sat there for a moment, not saying a single word. Her eyes blazed with the youthful freedom of curious thought. “What happens in the end?”
thriving economy. It’s old news, and I know the truth. Am I really supposed to believe that this is how people lived just a few generations ago?”
“So be it! I’ve had enough! I’ll not tolerate this anymore; this rubbish is ridiculous and hardly skims the surface of reality. You read me this foolish story and expect me to believe it—you might as well call me a fool if you decide to treat me like one!”
“ A Letter to Posterity: Swimming. Well, then,” Captain Das said, gently closing the soft leather book. The dust on the cover shook off onto his neatly tailored black pants, which would have been overly formal on anyone else. His dress elegantly reflected his demeanor; after all, nothing less would be expected of a marauder captain.
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 61 * * *
“What do you mean?”
62 Spring 2022 Roxbury Latin’s Habitat chapter was founded in 2007 by thensophomore Jason Sandler ’09, with the encouragement of his teacher and faculty advisor Brian Buckley. Jason’s idea for an RL-based organization quickly took hold, with enthusiastic support from students of all grades, who were eager to pitch in on a “build” (Habitat’s term for a construction project) at the first opportunity. Our first build was in Randolph; over the years since, we have worked on projects in Millis, Roslindale, Needham, Dedham, and, most recently, in Malden, Roxbury, and Mattapan. These days Jamie Morris-Kliment is the faculty advisor to the group, with seniors Liam Grossman, Sunil Rosen, and Drew Streckenbach serving as student leaders. Juniors Will Anderson, Matt Hoover, and Will Hutter are ready to assume the mantle next year. Because only 16-year-olds or older are allowed on a worksite, the younger boys must wait until they come of age before going out on a build; in the meantime, they help to run regular “brownie sales” at lunch, earning money to support the organization and raising its profile throughout the school.
Habitat for Humanity has a Home at Roxbury Latin
by MIKE T. POJMAN
Founded in 1976, Habitat for Humanity is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to the mission that “everyone, everywhere should have a healthy, affordable place to call home.” Typically, local chapters, with the help of adults and student volunteers, build modest but comfortable homes which are then sold to eligible families—often single mothers—at rates far below market value. In order to qualify, potential residents must be willing to help with the construction of their future homes by investing hours of “sweat equity” throughout the many months it takes to go from ground-breaking to completion.
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 63
It is a tradition at Habitat builds that volunteers autograph a rafter or joist as a nod to posterity, their John Hancock re-exposed only if and when the structure is one day demolished. At the signing ceremony pictured here, we suggested to the homeowner that she might wish to leave our names uncovered in her finished home, framed behind glass as an attractive element of the living room décor. She politely declined. And I can’t say that I blame her. However, just knowing that our signatures will be there, hidden behind the drywall—as they are on Habitat houses throughout greater Boston—is satisfying enough, a lasting reminder that at every build in which we participate we give a little, leave a little, and take a lot from the experience. //
The accompanying photos give a sense of what a build is like, with the boys pitching in wherever they are needed—painting, caulking, sanding, hauling lumber, measuring and cutting (alas, only 18-year-olds may use the power tools), and nailing up “strapping” (1"x3" wood strips nailed across ceiling joists—although our brawny RL boys prove themselves to be strapping, too). The Habitat site supervisors are incredibly patient, as their young apprentices—often clumsily at first—tackle whatever task is put before them. But their lack of experience cannot be held against them; they are eager to learn, and they are always a quick study. Still, you have to smile when you see a 220-lb. football lineman “woodpeckering” a 16-penny framing spike with a wimpy tap-tap-tap rather than the sturdy thwack necessary to drive it in properly. And maybe he is right to be cautious, since the business end of a 32-ounce carpenter’s hammer doesn’t know the difference between the head of a nail and a thumb.
Hal Bernsen recently moved from Virginia Beach to a continuing care and retirement community near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is in good health and enjoying his “new 1968digs.”
2015 Christian O’Connor, Josh Racine, Philip Balson, Alan Balson, and Oliver Hermann hiked and skied together at Tuckerman's Ravine, on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington, on April 24, 2022. Missing from the photo is John Balson ’21 who evidently did the final ascent and ski shirtless! //
1954
1981
John Kenney ’s “Tom Brady’s Time with the Family” humor piece was published as the “Shouts and Murmurs” article in The New Yorker on April 4, 2022. Check it out for a good 1987laugh.
Brent Powers and Anna Sparks of Epsom, England, celebrated their wedding on October 30, 2021, having been married in a 10-person ceremony between COVID lockdowns in August of 2020. The couple was married at St. Giles’ Church in Ashtead, England, and they live in London. Claudio DeBarros, Jamie Kirchick, Mark Powers, and Bob Powers ’66 were in attendance. Brent remarked, “I am very proud to report that all of the RL attendees knew every word to the final hymn, ‘Jerusalem,’ by heart at the service!”
Top: John Mulligan ’68 (second from left) and Marc Binder ’67 (third from left) race a Columbia alumni boat at the Head of the Charles Regatta. Middle: Powers wedding—Alicia Powers, wife of Mark Powers ’02 (holding son, Grant), Elena Raileanu, fiancée of Claudio DeBarros ’02, Brent Powers ’02, Anna Sparks, Bob Powers ’66, Jane Powers, and Jamie Kirchick ’02. Bottom Left: Kevin O’Regan ’03 and his wife, Carrie, welcomed their third child, Liam, pictured with big brothers Patrick and Joseph. Bottom Right: Christian O’Connor, Josh Racine, Philip Balson, Alan Balson, and Oliver Hermann—all Class of 2015—at Mount Washington.
2003
Kevin O’Regan and his wife, Carrie, welcomed their third child, Liam, on February 16, 2022. Big brothers Patrick (4.5 years old) and Joseph (2.5 years old) are thrilled.
Alexei Helmbock recently experienced his “first Tech Week since I was at RL! I have a small part in Guild Opera’s production of Rigoletto. Being in Tech Week brings back a lot of memories.”
Alamada generates an additional 7 to 50 percent annualized depending on the asset. Sam, a former competitive Scrabble player, studied computer science at MIT, where he met the Alameda co-founder.
Just prior to publishing his latest novel, Unwelcome, in February 2022, Quincy Carroll and his wife, Mandy Au Yeung, “published” their first child, Lin Au Carroll, on August 17, 2021. The family resides in Oakland, 2011California.
64 Spring 2022
class notes
See photo on opposite page.
2002
Sam Trabucco was recently named as a Forbes “30 Under 30” with his colleague Caroline Ellison. In August 2021, Alameda founder Sam Bankman-Fried promoted the traders to co-CEOs so he could focus on his cryptocurrency exchange. By investing the company’s $3-4 million daily income into blockchain platforms like Uniswap and Compound that connect lenders and borrowers with little overhead,
John Mulligan is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in fiction writing. He still rows, though under a new banner (Narragansett Boat Club, America’s oldest!), and is planning to race with his old Columbia crewmates this summer “in the geezers’ edition of the Henley Royal Regatta, to commemorate our trip to Henley 50 years ago.” The photo included shows John (second from left) and Marc Binder ’67 (third from left), racing a Columbia alumni boat in the Head of the Charles Regatta several years ago.
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School 65
In the year 2000, Peter Gomes—Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at the Harvard Divinity School, and minister at Harvard Memorial
Church wrote—“The Reverend F. Washington Jarvis and The Roxbury Latin School, over which he presided for a quarter of a century, are each anachronisms and proud of so-being; and in the crowded field of private secondary education in North America, both stand out because neither fits in.” “The not fitting in,” writes Hawley, “is a beautiful and inspiring story.”
Mr. Hawley’s personal and researched account of Tony’s life, work, and impact—based in the longtime friendship and professional collaboration that the two men shared—is rich with detail chronicling Tony’s Roxbury Latin years, his scholarly pursuits at Harvard and Cambridge, his teaching at Yale Divinity School, and his experiences as rector of All Saints in Ashmont—his beloved Episcopal parish for more than 40 years.
Remembering Tony Jarvis is available for purchase through all major online booksellers.
“The not fitting in is a beautiful and inspiring story.”
Rick Hawley’s New Book, Remembering Tony Jarvis
“Tony Jarvis may have been the most distinctive private school headmaster of the past half century, if not in the history of American schooling,” begins the description of Rick Hawley’s recently published book Remembering Tony Jarvis: Portrait of a Headmaster. For thirty years Tony Jarvis was headmaster of The Roxbury Latin School, “the oldest school in continuous operation in the United States, founded in 1645 by the Puritan divine John Eliot, Apostle to the Indians. Roxbury Latin today is a school of 300 boys in grades seven through twelve, and it is annually ranked among the best, and sometimes the best, scholastically performing school in the United States. But its scholastic performance, though impressive, is probably the least interesting thing about the school, which states its mission to be a place where ‘every boy is known and loved.’”
66 Spring 2022
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School Exelauno Day Pub Night March 3: Clery’s, Boston
Alumni Investors Night D.C. Reception April 19: University Club of Washington, D.C. Palo Alto Reception April 27 March 2: New York City
Newsletter of The Roxbury Latin School Los Angeles Reception April 28: Jonathan Club Alumni Luncheon April 13: Del Frisco’s, Boston, featuring speaker Peter Martin ’85
Thank you for helping to make Roxbury Latin’s fourth annual Giving Day a resounding success. With your help, we raised more than $695,000 for the Annual Fund—including $150,000 in challenge money—with 1,258 gifts, in 24 hours. Your generous support— in dollars and in words of love for teachers, advisors, coaches, mentors—went above and beyond our expectations for the day and proved that “we’ve always been in this together.”
More than $695,000, from 1,258 gifts, in 24 hours. 3. 4. 2022
GIVING DAY BY THE NUMBERS 1,258 TOTAL NUMBER OF GIFTS 579 TOTAL ALUMNI GIFTS 288 TOTAL PARENT GIFTS 95% TOPPARTICIPATIONFACULTY/STAFFALUMNIGIVING BY CLASS 2014 69% 2015 55% 2016 49% TOP ALUMNI GIVING BY DECADE 1945 1956 1967 1974 1989 1991 2008 2014 CLASS III TOP PARENT GIVING $695,664 TOTAL DOLLARS RAISED Thank you to all who have already made a commitment to the 2021–2022 Annual Fund. If you have not yet contributed, please consider supporting Roxbury Latin this Everyyear.gift helps RL maintain tuition that averages $17,500 less than that of other local independent schools. Every gift helps bridge the $26,734 gap between the cost of tuition and the actual cost of an RL education. Every gift supports the admission and enrollment of qualified boys, regardless of their family’s ability to pay, and every gift helps retain and attract a faculty that is second to none. Gifts, large and small, from each and every donor, make a tremendous difference to the talented young men who study here. Please join your classmates, fellow parents, and friends by making a gift today. Thank you for doing your part to ensure that Roxbury Latin can preserve its distinctive quality and character. // Annual Fund Update
Ken represented an inspiring model of the teacher-coach and the fully invested schoolman throughout his time at RL. He was as respected by his colleagues as he was by the boys. Below is what Headmaster Kerry Brennan read to the community on the occasion of Ken’s retirement from RL in 2009:
“Great schools are the result of the work of great teachers. For some of those, their greatness is measured by brilliance, or by a consistently unreachable standard, or by the versatility of their contribution. For the greatest of the great, however, their impact is the result of doing that hard, but obvious, thing well: loving the boys in their care. No one in my time at RL has so consistently and effectively loved the boys in his care as has Mr. Ken Conn. If our motto on the street is that we ‘know and love every boy,’ then Ken Conn ought to be on the poster advertising it.
Long-time and beloved Roxbury Latin teacher Ken Conn died on Saturday, March 12. Ken taught at RL from 1973 until 2009, and though Ken principally taught French—and chaired the French Department, the inaugural holder of the Stanley Bernstein Professorship in Modern Languages—he was also an enthusiastic and iconoclastic teacher of English and history. During his years at the school, Ken dynamically coached varsity football and, for many years, coached our youngest boys in lacrosse. Ken was the longtime Class Dean for the junior class, and he served with good judgment and distinction as a member of the Admission Committee.
Credentials aside, Ken’s greatest contribution was to the boys of the school, whom he loved and served. Ken had a magnificent understanding of the teenage male psyche and generously offered counsel and support to everyone, but especially to those who were encountering difficult challenges, and those who were out of the mainstream. Ken’s room was a magnet for all kinds of kids and, over games of Boggle, boys came to know Ken and each other—coming to know “home” within a larger context. Ken advocated fiercely for those who deserved a second chance, and they loved him for it.
“No one in my time at RL has so consistently and effectively loved the boys in his care as has Mr. Ken Conn. If our motto on the street is that we ‘know and love every boy,’ then Ken Conn ought to be on the poster advertising it.”
Ken Conn: Beloved Teacher, Coach, and Advisor
Mr. Conn was hired in the spring of 1973. A graduate of Stoneham High School and Middlebury College, Mr. Conn came to RL after some seasoning as a teacher at Melrose High School and at the Lycee Albert Ier in Monaco, to which he went after a year of graduate studies at the University of Nice. Though he was principally a teacher of French, given his
In his 36 years at RL, Ken Conn has given himself, heart and soul, to the simple mission of caring about kids and inspiring them to care about ideas, about the world, about each other, about pursuing their better, more ranging, more fulfilling selves. Mr. Conn is a great, optimistic, loving bear of a mentor who has changed the lives of hundreds and saved the lives of many. We will always be grateful for his steadfast commitment to all that is right and good about this work; for the model of his devotion to the lucky boys in his orbit; and for the friendship that he has extended so freely and selflessly to so many of us over so many years.”
Those who have been privileged to study French with Mr. Conn know well what kind of teacher he is. Utterly engaged by the language and the culture, he is gently ferocious in his insistence that all who enter his welcoming classroom become similarly excited. Under his leadership as a model teacher, supportive colleague, and attentive department head, the French program became one of the most respected in the school. During an era in which teachers of modern language have been encouraged to move away from the reading and writing emphasis that had marked the curriculum in the past to one in which communication was paramount, Mr. Conn has led the charge enabling his French students to express themselves beautifully and often to have the wherewithal not just to study French in college but to tackle other languages as well. Given his effectiveness and commitment, it was only logical that, in 2004, Mr. Conn would be named the inaugural Stanley Bernstein Professor of French.
squads consistently dominated their opponents earning him the respect and puzzlement of countless coaches on the circuit.
While not a lacrosse player himself, Mr. Conn helmed the junior lacrosse program for more than thirty years. While he had different coaching partners in this enterprise, Mr. Conn’s formula has always been the same: ensure that RL’s players know what they’re doing, that they try hard, that they are supportive as teammates, and that they have fun. Along the way, Mr. Conn’s lax
Ken is survived by his wife, Peggy. He was predeceased by his son Tim, Roxbury Latin Class of 1999. //
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For the better part of his time at RL, Mr. Conn also served as the Class II master. In that capacity he guided hundreds of boys through the rough shoals of junior year with their dignity, academic standing, and emotional stability intact. A gentle, persistent advocate, Mr. Conn had the rare capacity to make every single person feel respected and cared for. On behalf of countless junior classes, he helped them to grow more cohesive, even as he was quick to celebrate the individual gifts and quirks of its members. While an affectionate mentor to many, Mr. Conn has a special devotion to those who were experiencing tough times, or those who might not be noticed as easily. Mr. Conn was an especially good listener, and, in his capacity as a loving advisor, he has provided space and time and counsel for boys to be themselves, to betray insecurities, to grow into men. When Ken Conn wraps that big paw around your arm, you know that you are safe; you know that you are cared for.
Mr. Conn’s most prodigious output as a coach, however, came as a result of his role for 36 years as the coach of the RL varsity football line. Everyone knows that the linemen are the workhorses of any football team—unheralded but absolutely essential. Mr. Conn’s success in motivating all those RL linemen over all those years is because he is one of them. I don’t mean that he was one of them because he did his duty on behalf of his own high school line or the ferocious forces at Middlebury. I say that because that is Mr. Conn’s approach to life. One of RL’s greatest schoolboy athletes put it this way: ‘Mr. Conn used to remind all of us linemen that the fans would always view the quarterback as the hero and star of any football team. Linemen would never get the same attention or fame that the quarterback would, even though a quarterback’s success depended wholly on his linemen’s protection and support. He encouraged us to take pride in the role that we played on our team, as it was a most important one. He never allowed us to forget how special we were, nor how little we needed any outside recognition of this fact. A true lineman did his job to the best of his ability while only seeking the satisfaction of achieving the team’s goal: a victory on the playing field. To him we were all stars.’ Like his linemen, Mr. Conn eschewed the spotlight, conceding it gracefully to others. And, like his linemen, Mr. Conn has during his time here endured a few solid hits and the occasional broken play. No one, however, in the RL of which we are so proud, has done more to support individual boys, to champion the underdog, to imagine a happier ending when all signs signaled otherwise.
history degree from Middlebury and his love of literature, it was understandable that in his early years at Roxbury Latin, Mr. Conn taught both history and English, as well.
74 Spring 2022
Celebrating the Life of Steve Ward
Remembrance by Kerry Brennan
A school rises or falls depending on the commitment of faculty to realize its mission. Roxbury Latin is clear in its pledge to know and love each boy in our care. For some of us, that priority is learned over time by noticing our colleagues and the way they go about their business. For some, like Steve Ward, the knowing and loving seems to come naturally. In other words, the school’s mission perfectly jibed with who he was and what he cared about. He cared deeply about kids. They fascinated him. They amused him. Occasionally, they infuriated him. But mainly, Steve found them worthy of his full attention. All kids in Steve’s orbit knew his care, his vast knowledge about a range of topics from wars to baseball, his relentless, often quirky, sense of humor. And his willingness to meet them halfway. Steve was a kid’s advocate. Like others of us, he often had special affection for the rascal. And he relished the opportunity to buck up the underdog, to try saving the kid who others might have given up on. Often he succeeded.
On Sunday, April 10, more than 400 people—family and friends, former students and colleagues—gathered in the McNay Palaistra to honor the life, teaching, and kindness of Steve Ward. Nine important people in Steve’s life offered remembrances throughout the ceremony—stories filled with humor, poignancy, and love. Those speakers included Steve’s older brother, Rob Ward; college roommate and lifelong friend, Peter Evans; RL colleague and dear friend, Mike Pojman; former student and wrestler, JP Jacquet ’01; sister-in-law Megan Rogers Miller; and beloved daughter and granddaughter, Barrett and Ophelia Ellis. Steve’s younger brother, Bruce Ward—donned in Red Sox cap—offered a song, and invited those in attendance to join in on the singing of Joni Mitchell’s “The Circle Game.” After Steve’s loving wife, Pat Rogers, and Headmaster Kerry Brennan processed into the ceremony to a recording of Luciano Pavarotti singing “Nessun Dorma”—one of Steve and Pat’s favorite songs— Kerry welcomed guests and offered his own remembrances of his friend and colleague.
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And today we gather to celebrate Steve. Over the past four decades, there was no more beloved teacher at our school. As is true of all transformative teachers, Steve’s impact will go ever on through the boys he taught and coached and advised. They have had modeled for them a life well-lived. May they continue to channel Steve Ward’s effectiveness, concern, engagement, responsibility, enthusiasm, industry, and sense of humor.
“Generous, irascible, committed, talented, Steve Ward gave his all to this good work. Teaching and coaching and advising amounted to a vocation for Steve. In that regard, as the sages would contend, because he loved what he did he didn’t work a day of his life. It was all a joy.”
the wall to my right reflect the success of Steve’s teams—at least as they were measured by the world. But Steve’s biggest victories were individual and personal. Boys he loved. And whose lives he changed for the better.
Remembrance by Mike Pojman
Generous, irascible, committed, talented, Steve Ward gave his all to this good work. Teaching and coaching and advising amounted to a vocation for Steve. In that regard, as the sages would contend, because he loved what he did he didn’t work a day of his life. It was all a joy. Much has been made of Steve’s success as a wrestling coach. For years in this very place, Steve forged team after team after team in what was by its nature an individual sport. He knew what each kid needed. One an arm around the shoulder. Another refuge for a few weeks in the Wards’ home. Another a kick in the pants. For his long run of success in the ISL and beyond, Steve was seen as a formidable foe, a spirited, motivated competitor. The banners you see on
It is a great honor to speak today on this special occasion, in this special place—this wrestling “Palaistra”—where Steve so memorably worked his magic over so many years.
Steve and I were good friends. As a young teacher, I admired and liked Steve—and especially Pat. And as a Headmaster I was grateful for the ongoing, consistently positive impact Steve had on our boys. Occasionally, he and I would disagree. But whatever disappointment didn’t last long. My predecessor, who had a slightly different style than mine, inspired Steve to proceed in a well-honed fashion. As Steve would occasionally cheekily tell me after an initiative that rankled, “Ah Kerry, you know it’s always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
There are doubtless some of Steve’s students here today who correctly will assert that he saved their lives.
Despite Steve’s acclaim in the athletic arena, he would always say that his heart was in the classroom, in which he was an inveterate teller of tales. Believing that history was simply an ongoing chronicle highlighting humanity’s foibles and its miracles, Steve insisted on telling a good story. Some of them were told with the same punchlines year after year to the delight of his young charges and here in this place for 38 years. Steve arrived at RL in the fall of 1976. This was newly minted Headmaster Tony Jarvis’s most dramatic opportunity to reimagine the faculty. That year eight new faculty joined the ranks: Pam Lippman, Carol Melcher, Marc Hurlbut, Dave Costello, Chuck Farrington, Joe Kerner, Mo Randall, and Steve. Only Mo remains in the traces.
It’s no secret that Steve could be strong willed and stubborn, and that he liked to do things his way, especially when he could get under Tony Jarvis’s skin. He and Tony butted horns fairly regularly, but they were devoted to each
That was true of his coaching, too. Countless boys of limited athletic ability grew to be better-than-decent wrestlers or football or baseball players under Steve’s patient tutelage. He was a brilliant coach, but he did not wish to be defined by his amazing records. He was first and foremost a teacher, the quintessential school man—and coaching, of course, is teaching. So too, he refused to allow any boy to define himself as just an athlete—or, for that matter, just an academic. He understood and supported the aspirations of the superstar, but he hated specialization. And he inspired many a non-athlete to give sports a try because, as he’d say, “You might just find out that you like it, and that you may even be good at it.” It almost makes me wish I was a student here during Steve’s heyday. I could have been a helluva
76 Spring 2022 advisor. You don’t talk sports.” “Steve,” I replied, somewhat indignantly, “I actually think he picks me because I don’t talk sports.” Of course, that was just Steve being Steve. He knew the answer to the question before he’d asked it. No one had a greater interest in the whole boy than he did, and that was the essence of his genius: He understood that the unathletic brainiac also dreamt that someday he just might win a wrestling match—and he inspired him not to give up until he had. So too, he could sense that the bottom-ofthe-class football star would give anything to get a straight A on a Randall English essay (well, maybe a B), and he encouraged him to go for it.
It wasn’t long after I had arrived at Roxbury Latin that Steve said to me, “Mike, you’re very popular.” I didn’t know Steve well at the time, so I was taken aback, because I certainly did not feel popular, especially since earlier that week my entire Chemistry section had cut my class to play “tennis court soccer” when they were supposed to be in the Chem Lab worshiping at my feet, learning about stoichiometry. I was flattered by his saying so, if also somewhat disbelieving, but it did prompt me to consider why Steve himself was so genuinely popular.
Certainly, he did not “play” kids in the way that a less secure teacher might curry their favor in a misguided attempt to win their affections. Steve won them over by affirming in his students those things that he valued most: their curiosity, their determination to better themselves, their healthy skepticism, their fundamental goodness. He had the innate ability to meet each boy where he was and to inspire him to go farther, farther than he would have otherwise. He was especially devoted to those for whom managing the RL workload was a daily struggle. And with Steve’s encouragement they almost always rose to the challenges facing them.
“For most of us, it won’t be until our own passing that we may find out how much we are loved and appreciated, and alas we won’t be around to savor the applause. But Steve was fortunate to have felt that love and admiration throughout his life, and he returned it in kind.”
Roxburywrestler…Latin boys choose their faculty advisors, and they do so at the beginning of the school year. One September when the lists had just been published, Steve said to me, “I don’t know why Adam keeps picking you to be his
Steve was a great listener. I can still picture the way he cocked his head, scrunched his eyes, and leaned a little forward while nodding as you spoke to him, repeating the word “Yeah… Yeah…” as he took in every syllable. His ability to listen intently—thoughtfully—formed an immediate connection with the most reticent adolescents, as he brought them out of themselves and engaged them in real conversation. Far too often we teachers switch into lecture mode before giving a boy a chance to speak. Steve never made that mistake.
I believe in an afterlife so I’m sure that even now Steve is singing with the heavenly choir, no doubt conducted by Tony Jarvis. Picture that! And Steve, of course, is front rowcenter, belting it out, probably singing a little off-tempo just to keep things interesting. Whatever your own beliefs, I think you will agree that we are Steve’s afterlife—all of us here, and all of the scores of students and colleagues and friends like us who loved him, who learned from him, and who so greatly miss him. //
us, it won’t be until our own passing that we may find out how much we are loved and appreciated, and alas we won’t be around to savor the applause. But Steve was fortunate to have felt that love and admiration throughout his life, and he returned it in kind.
Please join us immediately following the service for a lunch reception in the Bernstein Tea Room. The School is grateful to those who have made gifts to the Steven E. Ward Professorship in History Fund.
He had an amazing gift for friendship, too. By my definition, a true friend is someone who would give me a ride home from a colonoscopy. Steve would give me a ride home from a colonoscopy. “Sure, when is it?” He was that
Pat and Barrett would like to thank friends, family, and the Roxbury Latin community for its outpouring of love and support over these past few months. Steve was moved by all of the emails, letters, text messages, expressions of love that so many sent his way. Pat would read them to Steve each evening: “We would laugh, and cry, and bask in the warmth of the loving embrace.”
Steve loved Roxbury Latin, and Roxbury Latin loved him.
other. “Tony doesn’t really need to control everything,” he once said. “He just thinks he does.” But in another moment of candor he told me, “Every so often I need someone to tell me when I’m full of it. Pat tells me when I’m full of it.” So did Tony. Still, Steve was fundamentally in tune with Tony’s vision for the school, and he was a major factor in shaping that vision throughout the many years that they worked together. They believed in each other.
I looked forward to it every year, even though I rarely knew who was playing. It didn’t really matter who was playing. I’m a football dullard, but I loved Steve’s play-by-play analysis. He would patiently replay for me what had just happened, and accurately predict what was about to happen even before the next snap. He could see something that I could not, and that inspired me to watch more closely, even though I never managed to see what he did. But it gave me a sense of what it must have been like to be in one of Steve’s classes, and why he was such an effective and beloved teacher.
At half time, whatever the score and no matter who was ahead, Steve would say, “Well, this game is going nowhere,” as if to give me permission to leave—or perhaps to urge me to. I treasured those Superbowl get-togethers, although I’ll never appreciate football, and I don’t even particularly like Forcornbread.mostof
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kind of friend. He was also the kind of friend who’d invite me to join him and Pat to watch the Superbowl over a dinner of his homemade chili and cornbread.
The Federalists, 1949
78 Spring 2022
One2015.informal
The United World Federalists, which had a student chapter at RL in 1948 called, simply, Federalists. The 1949 Tripod “Graduation Issue” notes that those members were “student members of a national movement, who are working for the establishment of a world government endowed with those powers necessary to preserve the peace.” Whether a world government would be a good thing is up for debate, and perhaps that debate was debated by the Debate Club, which started in 1938. Unlike most new varsity sports, during its first two seasons, the Debaters were undefeated. Those interested in a model world have been involved in Model UN since 1983. That club was led for nearly 40 years by just two teachers, Phil Hansen and Stewart Thomsen. Today Daniel Bettendorf gathers the gavels which are often awarded as prizes. Another group seeking to build a better world is the Robotics Club, which vexed non-participants when its name changed to VEX in club worthy of note from a hundred years earlier is the Furnace Club started perhaps in 1914 or 1915 when “raspberry jam sandwiches cost 2 cents a piece”
You Can Find Them In The Clubs
While it may have been founded earlier, the earliest record I can find of the Orchestra Club is from an 1898 Tripod. Eight years later, La Esperanto-Klubo komenciĝis en 1906. I’m guessing you all correctly translated that the Esperanto Club commenced in 1906. That’s a year after the Mandolin Club started. (I don’t know if any of the boys strummed their eight strings while serenading in Esperanto, but I do know that Marc de Fontnouvelle, Class of 2018, had all of Rousmaniere Hall stomping softly to his fine Bluegrass mandolin playing during a senior year Recital Hall performance.)
This edition of Ramblings focuses on the history of some of Roxbury Latin’s student clubs. It is not an attempt to cover all clubs, so I offer apologies to the Almost French Club and the Club Joiners Club who, due to space restraints, won’t get the coverage they deserve. (Or maybe that was already too much!)
from the archives
by CHRIS HEATON
Over the next hundred years, two strings were lost and today there’s a Guitar Ensemble, which meets on Tuesdays. Esperanto, a constructed language, was designed to foster peace and international understanding, a goal shared by
Debating Club, 1964 VEX Robotics, 2020
As my antediluvian attitude might make others think I’m from another era or planet, maybe the Neptune Club, which started in 1936, would have been for me. It wasn’t about future planetary exploration but for those interested in rowing and sailing. Perhaps in an effort to provide calming waters during a tumultuous year, the Debate Club became the Debate Society in 1968. Similarly, the Drama Club upped its status in 1975 becoming the Drama Society. Another club with lofty aspirations is Film Society, which started in 2014.
and students gathered around the old coal furnace on Kearsarge Avenue to prepare for Latin while “Sully the janitor smoked a pipe and the students had an occasional cigarette.” The Furnace Club did not survive the move to West Roxbury in 1927, but in the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Gleason’s First Class Latin course was informally called the Gentlemen’s Reading Club. This librarian wonders what club would get boys to read more. Perhaps the Put Down the Damn Phone Club!?
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One club that was formed shortly after the move to West Roxbury was the Glee Club, founded in 1931. With more than a third of the student body involved today, it deserves the title of the oldest and largest club in continuous existence….
Environmentally concerned students have been doing their part to get us to do our part for 30 years; the RL chapter of ECOS was founded in 1991 with an emphasis on recycling. Today, Elizabeth Carroll and Peter Hyde help us to recycle and compost, and to make the most of bike racks and reusable water bottles, both gifts of ECOS over the last several years. //
Like most book groups are really a drinking club with a book problem, the Classics Club might be viewed as a doughnut club with a classics problem. After fueling up on treats, they could benefit from some early morning ventures into their environs like those done by the Outing Club in the 1970s and 1980s, led then by Dr. Rick Dower (a member of the faculty from 1977 to 2015).
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