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Honors Bio Students Investigate Life Science Questions, With Help From the Pros

Does sugar water have an effect on ants’ learning? Are the heart rates of Daphnia magna affected by alcohol exposure? How does isolation alter the dietary habits of cockroaches? How does sound affect plant growth? This year, the Honors Biology students in Dr. Peter Hyde’s class answered these questions and more, with help from medical professionals and research scientists.

For the eighth year, Honors Bio students spent the winter term immersed in Independent Research Projects (IRP). Posing questions of their own scientific interest, the boys developed experiment proposals and turned to the professionals for realtime feedback, honing their approaches all the while. Even before the winter break, the students met with their IRP mentors—RL parents and alumni who are also research scientists, surgeons, hematologists, oncologists—virtually. With the feedback from those sessions, the boys refined their experimental plans, and in January and February they collected their data. The IRP mentors then met with their mentees again to discuss the data and findings, and worked with the students on developing compelling presentations. In a typical year the students’ work culminates in a science fair-style event, in which faculty, staff, and fellow students can walk around perusing project posters and asking questions of the budding scientists. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the students instead submitted videos as the culminating presentation of their hard work.

Other research projects included the effects of dissolved oxygen on yeast respiration and CO2 production; the effects of changing soil pH on the growth of Wisconsin Fast Plants; whether hyperoxia improves learning in fruit flies; and how the concentration of potassium ions affect the heart rate of Daphnia magna. //

Special thanks to our generous mentors, who include:

Sirisha Emani P’17, ’22, PhD, Department of Surgery, Boston Children’s Hospital

Andrew Eyre ’02, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Ephraim Hochberg ’88 P’25, MD, Departments of Oncology and Hematology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Matthew Hutter ’87 P’21, ’23, MD, Departments of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital

Julie Lin P’17, PhD, Clinical Development, Rare Diseases and Rare Blood Disorders, Sanofi-Genzyme

Cynthia Morton P’10, PhD, Department of Cytogenetics, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

David Wilkinson P’21, ’23, ’25, MS, Department of Systems Engineering, Vicarious Surgica

Scot Wolfe P’15, ’18, PhD, Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Emose Piou, mother of Hansenard ’14 and Noah ’16; Ousmane Diop, chair of the Modern Language Department; and José Flores (II) shared their stories of becoming U.S. citizens by way of various paths.

Exemplars of Real-Life Civic Engagement, for Class V

Each spring, Class V students convene—led by Stewart Thomsen and Christopher Heaton of the History Department, and Headmaster Kerry Brennan—for a series of lessons in what it means to be responsible, engaged, informed citizens of the United States. This Civics mini-course, conceived of by Mr. Brennan, has been a hallmark of the Class V program since 2011. It provides students early in their RL tenure with a lesson on the inner workings of the United States government, their own civil rights and responsibilities, and the many forms that service to country and commonwealth can take. Happily, this year all Class V boys were able to participate in the Civics curriculum together, in person, in their “neighborhood” of the Gordon Fieldhouse gymnasium. While many of the impressive guest speakers and presenters were able to speak with the boys on campus, several presented remotely, given travel and safety restrictions. Boys dove into topics such as the American election process; our branches of government; immigration and naturalization; military and diplomatic service; misinformation and democracy; voting rights; and incarceration. Students had a taste of the experience that individuals seeking United States citizenship face, as they attempted to answer questions posed in the American citizenship test. Subsequently, boys heard from three members of the RL community who were born outside of the United States and became U.S. citizens by way of three very different paths. Ousmane Diop, chair of the Modern Language Department, has been a member of the RL faculty since 1994. Born in Senegal, West Africa, Mr. Diop came to the U.S. originally as a student at Phillips Andover. Emose Piou—mother of RL alumni Hansenard ’14 and Noah ’16—grew up in Haiti with 12 brothers and sisters, and came to America as a young adult to pursue higher

education, enrolling at New York Technical College to study engineering. Finally, José Flores of Class II was born in Guatemala City, where he was adopted at age three by his mother and father, who were born in the U.S. Virgin Islands and in El Salvador, respectively. José gained full U.S. citizenship in 2011 but only received his official documents and citizenship ceremony since coming to Roxbury Latin. These three individuals shared not only their personal stories, but also similar challenges, such as overcoming language barriers, facing discrimination, and maintaining their own cultures while also trying to acclimate to America.

During a class on the judicial system, and the critical role of jurors, faculty and staff members Erin Berg, Erin Dromgoole, and John Lieb spoke about their experiences serving as jurors on both civil and criminal trials. In a class session dedicated to military service, alumni Chase Gilmore ’12 and Martin Buckley ’15 spoke to students about their active duty service in the U.S. Army and Navy, respectively. The two provided an overview of the structure of the U.S. Military; the extensive training that is required to join; the reality of active duty; and the different paths that can lead to military service.

From Bob Thomas—a managing member of the law group known as the Whistleblower Law Collaborative— students learned about how we as a nation can’t be “both ignorant and free,” and that citizens armed with facts and the truth are critical to the functioning of a democracy. Mr. Thomas is a former federal prosecutor who has worked in law in both the public and private sectors. He has also taught at Boston University Law School and served on the Board of the ACLU of Massachusetts. Boys also heard from Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist and RL parent Gareth Cook about the important role of the media and how they can be discerning news consumers, rejecting “fake news” in all forms.

It is fitting that the Class V Civics course relies on the insights, skill sets, and perspectives of so many teachers. To rely on the collective efforts of many individuals is in itself a lesson on the American government and civic responsibility.

Peter Martin ’85, pictured with his son Xavier (V) and Kerry Brennan, spoke with students about his 20+ year career as a member of the United States Foreign Service. Zach Heaton (right) emerged victorious in the Civics “May Madness” competition, which tests students’ knowledge in the U.S. Citizenship test. Krish Muniappan was the competition’s runner-up.

In one of the final sessions of the course, RL alumnus and parent Peter Martin ’85 shared his experience as a member of the foreign service for more than 20 years. He spoke about the logistical process of becoming a member of the foreign service; his experience of living abroad as an American citizen; and about the many valuable lessons that he learned throughout his career as a diplomat. He also shared stories about the life and work of his father, Gordon Martin, RL Class of 1953, who pursued racial justice as a lawyer and judge in the 1960s, working in the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in Mississippi.

On the final morning of the course, Fifthies heard from seniors Eric Auguste and Edozie Umunna, who reported on their work and findings from their Independent Senior Project titled “Restorative Justice and Deflection in Chicago.” Both Edozie and Eric worked closely over the course of a month with professionals in Chicago who have committed their lives to making changes to the law enforcement and legal systems that disproportionately impact people of color. The two seniors shared the findings of interviews; the results of their research; and what the experience meant to them, as well as how it will affect their education and career decisions in the future.

It is fitting that the Class V Civics course relies on the insights, skill sets, and perspectives of so many teachers. To rely on the collective efforts of many individuals is in itself a lesson on the American government and civic responsibility. //