This fall season has proved an excellent showing for the Roxbury Latin Debate Team. Early in September, David Sullivan (II) competed in the World Individual Debate and Public Speaking Championships. His After-Dinner speech—a hilarious depiction of a time traveler from the future speaking to a group of tech executives in the present—propelled him to the finals of the competition. The pandemic, of course, poses a new challenge for David and his fellow RL debaters this year. “I had planned to be in front of a live audience in Shanghai,” David said. “Instead, I was in front of my computer screen in my living room.” While the lack of audible and visual reactions made the competition more challenging, David did say recording his speech mitigated some stress. “Plus,” he added, “I loved wearing pajama bottoms with my suit jacket.”

Later in the month, RL hosted the Interscholastic Parliamentary Debate (virtually, of course), which yielded even more good news for our boys. RL’s team placed second overall with eight wins. Theo Teng and Vishnu Emani (both of Class II) delivered particularly strong performances, placing third in Advanced Speaking (Theo) and Advanced Team (Theo and Vishnu). In the recent virtual debate tournament hosted by the Hotchkiss School, Alex Nahirny (III) earned a second-place finish in Impromptu Speaking and a respectable third place overall in the Novice Speaker category.

On September 27, at the Stoneleigh-Burnham Debate and Public Speaking Tournament, RL came out on top with a first-place finish out of twelve participating teams. Senior Edozie Umunna was named top individual overall, as well as earning a first-place finish in Interpretive Reading. For the latter event, Edozie chose the poem “Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point,” a piece that, given the current racial tensions in our country, he said, “felt more pertinent than ever.” His overall performance qualified him for Worlds. For Edozie, the virtual format meant even more rigorous prep work. “It is so much more difficult for people, in general, to focus on your speech through a screen,” he said. “It has required extra focus from me to maintain their attention; my job is to make it easier for them.”

David Sullivan also did well at Stoneleigh-Burnham, placing third overall, and tying for first place in Impromptu Speaking. His prompt was an Albert Einstein quote: “The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.” David used the quote as a jumping-off point to discuss Einstein’s theories, his own exploration of mathematics, and the importance of voter open-mindedness in contemporary American politics. “Often, in Impromptu Speaking, your performance depends on the topics you receive,” said David. “I was grateful when this quote appeared on my Zoom screen.”

There is much for RL debate fans to celebrate, and we look forward to seeing Edozie speak at this year’s World competition. Both Edozie and David hope that they can soon return to in-person debates, so that they can continue to see their friends from all over the world that they have made through debate. “The bonds I have formed through debate are ones I will cherish forever,” says Edozie. “I couldn’t be happier that I made the decision to join the debate program.”

“The United States is coming up on one of the most contentious elections in history—and not just because the candidates support very different policies. In order to address why this election is so unique, I’m going to explain the details of how a presidential election works in the United States.” Thus began senior Ben Crawford, as he kicked-off Hall on October 8. Ben was one of five seniors in Stewart Thomsen’s AP U.S. Government and Politics course—along with Robert Balson, Will Cote, Frankie Lonergan, and Willem Santry—who ably led RL’s first virtual panel/forum-style Hall on the election process in America.

Ben expanded upon his opening statement by describing federal versus state purview when it comes to elections in the U.S., as well as the intricacies of the Electoral College. He walked his audience through a brief history of voting rights in America—from the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to Women’s Suffrage and the 19th Amendment, to the risks inherent in the 2013 Supreme Court ruling in Shelby County v. Holder.

Segueing smoothly to the potential impediments to voting in the 2020 presidential election, Frankie Lonergan took listeners through a state-by-state look back at primary season—particularly in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and in Atlanta, Georgia. “In Wisconsin, statewide elections were heavily impacted by long lines and closed polling locations, thanks in large part to the pandemic. Milwaukee experienced a serious shortage of poll workers, forcing the city to reduce the number of polling locations from 180 down to 5… Some Milwaukee residents waited up to two hours to cast their ballots.”

Frankie described the courts’ role in arbitrating disputes over voting issues, as well as the recent executive order in Texas limiting the number of absentee ballot drop-off boxes to just one per county, effectively forcing some people to travel 47 miles to cast their vote. Finally, Frankie described the changes to the postal service operation that Louis DeJoy has attempted to institute in his new role as United States Postmaster General, and how they could potentially impact people’s ability to vote effectively by mail.

Because some are voicing concern that next month’s election will not be decided on election night, but that rather the results will take much longer to realize, Robert Balson walked students and faculty through the 2000 presidential election of Bush versus Gore, detailing the close race and Florida recount, hanging chads and the Supreme Court decision, and in conclusion played Gore’s concession speech in full.

Will Cote then walked students and faculty through the possible outcomes of this upcoming election: He drew attention to close polls and the reality that the presidential election could, in fact, go either way. He walked through various scenarios—a decisive Biden victory, a decisive Trump victory, a situation in which the race is too close to call in the days following, and that neither candidate concedes, or—worse—casts aspersions on the validity of the election and its process. “Will there be recounts due to irregularities in the process?” posed Will. “Will the courts have to become involved? Will the in-person vote determine the winner? Or will the mail-in ballots counted days later determine the winner? Nobody can say for sure.”

Finally, Willem answered the question What should you do if you want to vote? He shared the very practical tools and logistical steps that someone must follow in Massachusetts so that they are registered to vote, know what their voting options are, and know where to go to cast their ballot—either in person or by mail.

After the boys’ presentations, the entire school moved to one of five discussion Zoom rooms, featuring each of the senior panelists and hosted by members of the history department. In those Zoom rooms the five seniors answered questions from their fellow schoolmates and members of the faculty and staff.

View the entirety of the students’ Hall presentation here. (And vote!)

The National Merit Scholarship Program recently announced the names of students in the Class of 2021, across the country, earning recognition for their academic achievement. This year, 18 Roxbury Latin boys have been recognized—five named National Merit Scholar semifinalists, and 13 others earning commendations from program officials.

In this 66th annual National Merit Scholarship competition, semifinalists have the opportunity to become finalists and compete for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships, nationwide. The awards are supported by the organization and approximately 400 businesses and educational institutions, to “honor the nation’s scholastic champions and encourage the pursuit of academic excellence.”

About 1.5 million juniors in more than 21,000 high schools entered the 2021 National Merit Scholarship program by taking the 2019 PSAT, which serves as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest scoring entrants in each state. From the approximately 16,000 semifinalists, about 15,000 are expected to advance to become finalists. Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of their skills, accomplishments, and potential for academic success at the college level.

Roxbury Latin boys earning recognition this year include semifinalists Ben Chang-Holt, Rohil Dhaliwal, Peter Frates, Daniel Sun-Friedman, and John Wilkinson; and commendation recipients John Balson, Robert Balson, Daniel Berk, Ben Brasher, Ben Crawford, David D’Alessandro, Quinn Donovan, Thomas Gaziano, A.J. Gutierrez, Max Hutter, Walker Oberg, Ethan Phan, and Will Specht.

In seeking to develop boys’ spiritual growth and exploration, Roxbury Latin celebrates annually significant moments in the calendars of various faith traditions represented in our community. As Headmaster Brennan began in virtual Hall on September 24, “I believe that each of us, regardless of our age, gender, race, or place of origin, are forever questing to answer fundamental questions about our existence: Why am I here? Where did I come from? Where will I go? What is life’s purpose? What do I believe? What do I stand for?” On a Thursday in September, which fell between the celebrations of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, two students—Daniel Berk (I) and Heshie Liebowitz (II)—presented on what the celebrations of the Jewish High Holy Days mean to them.

Heshie brought students and faculty through an intellectual exploration of Rosh Hashanah, which began by his searching for specific references in the Torah. He wondered, in particular, why Rosh Hashanah—the celebration of the New Year—took place so late in the calendar. He learned, and shared, that Rosh Hashanah represents the head of the agricultural calendar: “In the land of Israel, the agricultural calendar is aligned with the beginning of the rainy season, which begins in the fall… In Deuteronomy, Moses explains that the rain [which farmers need for their crops] is dependent on God’s judgment of the behavior of the children of Israel.

“For me, the Jewish New Year signifies an annual ‘self-check’: Rosh Hashanah reminds us to evaluate how well we’re doing in walking the ways of God. This year, my deeper understanding of the agricultural underpinnings of the holiday allows me to see the connection between this personal self-check and the success of the people as a whole.”

Daniel shared his thoughts on Yom Kippur, which is considered the most holy day in the Jewish tradition. “Yom Kippur,” he began, “does not commemorate any specific historical event. Rather, Yom Kippur is a deeply personal holiday, focusing on the worshipers themselves. It is a time when Jews confess to and apologize for their transgressions. For me, it represents an ethical reset, a time to rid oneself of moral baggage and prepare for the upcoming year with a clean slate.

“At the beginning of the High Holy Days, the mood is festive because Rosh Hashanah commemorates a new year and a new beginning. Yom Kippur brings its own unique, elevated mood to the community… though there is a reserved, solemn manner about the celebration, a tacit gravity understood and observed by all. The High Holy Days are reflective and personal times for everyone… when we are called to recognize the mistakes we made, promises we’ve broken, and transgressions we’ve committed. It is not a celebration, but rather a day of confession and growth.”

Daniel recited the Vidui, a Yom Kippur prayer that serves as a confession of a wide range of transgressions, covering a literal A to Z of sins—from abuse, betrayal and cruelty to zealotry. “For me, the confession represents all the ways that I myself have not been a perfect person. It accounts for the fact that I’ve not been able to follow all the commandments. And it serves as a statement of my humanity.”

Heshie agreed: “As Daniel talked about, among those commandments are some very practical, important guidelines for everyday life, such as ways of treating people, and how what you do affects your whole community and everyone around you.”

At the close of the Hall, Mr. Brennan reminded everyone that we “should never take for granted our freedom of religion,” nor our ability to express what we believe, since this freedom is not something available to people all around the world.

View the entirety of the High Holy Days Hall presentation.

On September 17, Dr. Galit Alter presented a Hall—a Part II, of sorts, on the COVID-19 pandemic—focused, this time, on how we might emerge from our current situation. Dr. Alter’s work focuses on the development of biological tools that help individuals develop immunity against infectious diseases. She is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a group leader at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard. 

We have heard much recently in the news about the global rush to develop an effective and safe vaccine against COVID-19, in order to save lives, resuscitate our economy, and allow us to return to the routines we enjoyed pre-pandemic. Dr. Alter spoke to students and faculty on Thursday not only about the science of antibodies and immunity, and the various pathways to developing effective vaccines, but also about the history of vaccinology.

“The idea of vaccination is really simple,” she began. “It is taking a substance—which can come in lots of different shapes, sizes, qualities—and putting it into the human body, asking the body to make antibodies, or develop an immune response. We hope that through this process, we educate the immune system to essentially fight a pathogen, should we ever come in contact with that pathogen in the future. Vaccines save millions of lives every year… They are literally one of the most effective public health tools that we have in the medical tool kit.”

“And vaccines are not only for you as an individual; [getting vaccinated is] something we do for our community. We do this for our friends, our families, our neighbors, our country, and our world. We take the responsibility to prevent infections from hurting those who are most vulnerable.”                  

Dr. Alter walked students through the history of vaccination—from Edward Jenner’s 1760’s discovery that injecting someone with cowpox could prevent smallpox; to Louis Pasteur, a chemist whose discovery that sterilizing pathogens and injecting those killed pathogens into animals could protect them from infection; to Robert Koch who created the process of pathogen identification, giving rise to the safety and development checkpoints that we use in creating vaccines today. But, as Dr. Galit shared, there is evidence as far back as Ancient China, Greece and Egypt—examples in drawings, lithography, and hieroglyphics—of individuals performing the art of vaccination back then.

“Since the 18th century, vaccine development has exploded,” she continued. “We have hundreds of different approaches, technologies, and platforms that allow us to drive immune responses. Today we can deliver components of pathogens in lots of different ways. We can attenuate the way Pasteur did. We can deliver it through DNA or RNA, which essentially allows our body to make those components through our own cells. We can also use other kinds of chemical processes to make these components of a pathogen in a way that our immune system can see them more effectively.”

Dr. Alter discussed the typical timeline of vaccine development and the various phases that must take place—preclinical trials, several rounds of testing, FDA approval—in order to develop a safe and effective vaccine, ready for use by the general public. This process typically takes 16 years. The global response and commitment to developing a COVID-19 vaccine has condensed that timeline to less than two.

“The reason we can do this—and I want to stress this really important point—is that none of the components of the process are gone. All the safety checks, quality checks, efficacy checks are still part of this process. What we’ve done is created overlapping ways of running this entire timeline so that we can get to the vaccine faster and get it out to people as quickly as possible.

“As much as the vaccine development timeline has been politicized, the important thing to remember is that there are incredibly responsible people at the heads of these companies and agencies who are not willing to compromise on safety. They’re not willing to put anything into someone’s arm that could compromise the whole development of vaccines. As I mentioned, vaccines are one of our most effective public health intervention tools, and we cannot compromise public trust and process to basically make people happy. It’s got to be safe, and it’s got to be effective.”

Dr. Alter earned her bachelor’s degree and PhD at McGill University and completed postdoctoral training in the Partners AIDS Research Center at MGH. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious MGH Research Scholars Award and was elected a member of the American Association of Microbiology in 2019.

View the entirety of Dr. Alter’s Hall presentation.

A Sixie’s first year at Roxbury Latin doesn’t officially begin until his trip to Beaver Brook. For decades, the annual excursion has taken Class VI north to Hollis, New Hampshire, with homeroom advisors, senior leaders, and new faculty for 24 hours of uninterrupted team-building and RL immersion. This year, COVID-19 forced the school to bring Beaver Brook to campus. 

“I knew right away that we couldn’t go to New Hampshire and sleep in tents and ride on the bus, and do all those things,” said Class VI Classmaster Hunter White. “I immediately thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be a day at RL.’ The schedule itself is very traditional, and I went to that to see what we could save and adapt, or modify, and what we had to get rid of. It actually worked out pretty well. My whole Class VI crew of homeroom advisors helped me with this. This was a real team effort.”

On the morning of Saturday, September 12, Sixies gathered on O’Keeffe Field in socially distanced small groups, each with a Class I leader. From there the day progressed as it would normally, first with the familiar RL Questionnaire and a guess-the-M&Ms contest.

“We ended up being able to keep almost every element and modifying for the cohorts and distancing,” said Ms. White. “We start with an orientation questionnaire, in which the boys have to find out a bunch of trivia about the school by asking seniors and faculty—but the seniors and faculty can trick them, too. They don’t always give them the right answer.” Which is part of the fun.

A new addition to this year’s reimagined schedule was a scavenger hunt designed to help students familiarize themselves with campus. 

“Since we couldn’t go into the buildings, we used the whole campus and chose our spots, made up clues, and the seniors led the boys in small groups around to find and discover what was on their list. The kids were really excited at the end. We debriefed a bit afterward, and they all said, ‘We didn’t know all these things were here!’ So they really did get to see the whole campus.”

After lunch and free time, Sixies alternated between team challenge activities on Rappaport Field, and learning the Founder’s Song with Mr. Opdycke on the Flea Patch. Each Sixie cohort then gathered for the annual viewing and group discussion of the 1957 film Twelve Angry Men. Before the end of the day, each Sixie wrote a letter to his future self, which he will open during his senior year—a traditional end to an unusual retreat.

“We were determined not to cancel this,” concluded Ms. White. “I said to the boys that this tradition has been going on for a very long time. I went to my first Beaver Brook in 1982 when I came here as a first-year faculty member. We’ve occasionally rescheduled, mostly for hurricanes, but we’ve never canceled.”

View images of the day, taken by Mr. Pojman.