Groton School Quarterly, Winter 2012

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Groton School Quarterly Winter 2012 | Vol. LXXiv, No. 1

Best Season in 14 Years!

photos by angelo santinelli

P.O. Box 991 Groton, Massachusetts 01450-0991

Groton School Quarterly

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Picture of Health Winter 2012 • Vol. LXXIV, No. 1

Groton football had its most successful record in 14 years, finishing 6-2 and, even sweeter, tallying an end-of-season victory over St. Mark’s, 20-14.

Above, a snowy handshake line after the October 29, 2011 game against St. Paul’s. The score: Groton 13, St. Paul’s 6.

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@GrotonSchool

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Alumni Making a Difference in Medical Practice, Research, and Policy

New! Groton’s National Day of Service Form Notes

A Different Kind of

Christopher temerson

ISL Tournament

Winter 2012 | Vol. LXXIV, No. 1

Features 13

A Second Home for the Holidays Lessons and Carols and Other Traditions Warm A Wintry Season—a Photo Essay

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Picture of Health Alumni Making a Difference in Medical Practice, Research, and Policy A Real Lifesaver: Dr. Paul Russell ’44 Unsolved Challenges: Dr. Nicholas Tilney ’54 Swallowing the High Cost of Medicine: Sarah Sheffield ’89 Devoted to Research: Grotonians at NIH Can This Little Piggy Cure Diabetes?: Dr. Richard Pierson ’74 Unconventional Wisdom: Edward Green ’63 A Leader at The Lancet: William Summerskill ’76

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by Gail Friedman

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The Dizzying Pirouette of Adolescence Headmaster Rick Commons used Billy Elliott as a launch pad for an insightful Parents Weekend speech.

34 Cover photo composite by Christopher Temerson Photo at right by Malcolm Johnson ’12

A

t Groton School, we take pride in the championships we win because they represent teamwork, dedication, and mastery.

One “pennant” we earn on a regular basis is for high alumni participation in the Annual Fund. Just as schools vie for athletic titles, so too do they measure themselves on alumni giving. In this arena, Groton is a perennial frontrunner, with more than 50 percent of our graduates sending a gift in a typical year. It is a victory of which we are especially proud.

This level of giving keeps Groton strong. The Annual Fund is responsible for 10 percent of the School’s operating budget, which means that it helps pay teachers’ salaries, supply class materials, maintain our campus, contribute to financial aid, and so much more. The Annual Fund is truly a team effort, with every gift—no matter its size—helping us toward our goals.

To instill the habit of Annual Fund giving among Groton’s youngest alumni—the Forms of 2000-2011—we have signed on for the second time to a challenge within the Independent School League (ISL). In this competition, the trophy goes to the school that logs the greatest percentage increase in young alumni giving during the month of February. Form agents from the target years of 2000-2011 are busy publicizing the ISL Challenge among their formmates, through email, Facebook, and other “plays in the playbook.”

We invite all alumni to get in the game by making your own gift, if you have not yet done so. To those who have already given this year, we send a hearty cheer.

Let’s see if we can not only bring home the ISL Challenge trophy, but also set a new, even more impressive “personal best” for alumni of all ages.

To give to the Annual Fund, please visit our secure online giving page at www.groton.org/giving or use the gift envelope enclosed with this Quarterly.

Groton School Quarterly Departments Circiter | Featured on Campus 3

Doug Brown ’57’s brush with fame, a special Parlor, care packages for a Groton soldier, and lots more campus news

Personae | People of Note 10

The Rhythm of Two Cultures Fanny Vera de Viacava, Spanish teacher

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“A Point I Put My Compass On” Judge Stephen A. Higginson ’79

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Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle 38

Blossoming, Ready or Not A Chapel Talk by Nya Holder ’12

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What Technology Can’t Do A Chapel Talk by James H.R. Windels ’82

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Traversing the Mountain of Happiness A Chapel Talk by Genevieve Fowler ’12

De Libris | About Books 47

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Book Review: Affection and Trust Reviewed by Geoffrey Gund ’60 New Releases

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Grotoniana | All Things Groton 51 55

56 58 60 62

Fall Sports Alumni News Day of Service Theater: The Odyssey Dance Music Gallery News

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In Memoriam | As We Remember 64 66

George W.W. Brewster III ’59 Stuart Kellogg ’65

Notabilia | New & Noteworthy 69 112

Form Notes Marriages, New Arrivals, Deaths 60

FROM THE EDITOR

Groton School Quarterly Winter 2012 | Vol. LXXIV, No. 1

Getting to Know You

A

s Groton’s new director of communications, my days are filled with challenges involving everything from the School’s website and blogs to social media and public relations. It’s a welcome whirlwind. But when I put on my hat as editor of the Quarterly, I feel particularly energized. After spending many years in magazine journalism, I recognize the Quarterly’s potential not only to reach out, but also to inform, entertain, and celebrate the stories of this astonishingly accomplished community.

This remains the same Quarterly you’ve always loved: you still will find Chapel Talks, book reviews, memorial articles, and, of course, Form Notes. You may notice, starting with this issue, an increased focus on alumni. It’s just too hard to resist getting to know Groton’s graduates—and introducing them to each other. This issue’s “cover story” looks at alumni who are making an impact in the fields of health and medicine. You’ll meet the surgeon who did the very first organ transplant at Massachusetts General Hospital, an alumnus whose research could make cross-species organ transplants possible, and another transplant specialist who allowed us to excerpt his recent book. Why are so many Grotonians transplant surgeons? I don’t know. It was puzzling to find five in the field (and perhaps we missed a few)—some were pioneers during the early days of transplantation, while others are doing groundbreaking research today. But you’ll also meet an AIDS expert whose views provoke the AIDS establishment and a young woman who is helping low-income New Yorkers afford the medicine they need. “Picture of Health” begins on page 16.

In each issue going forward, you’ll find an in-depth cover story like this health section, as well as other features. You still will find alumni profiles, but also new faculty profiles. On page 10, for example, you can read about Fanny Vera De Viacava, who in addition to teaching Spanish, is a Peruvian folkloric dance champion. You’ll continue to find the Quarterly’s Circiter section, though it will feature more short stories about students and the campus. I also hope to begin a column with letters to the editor, so please send your thoughts, negative or positive, about what you read here. What you won’t find in future issues is this column. I will let the Quarterly speak for itself, and hand over this space to our headmaster, Rick Commons.

Though I’ve been here only since July, I am beginning to understand Groton’s rich narrative, and I look forward to sharing it through the Quarterly. If you have article ideas or suggestions on how I can tell this School’s exceptional story, please contact me at quarterly@groton.org or 978-448-7506.

Gail Friedman Director of Communications

The Groton School Quarterly welcomes letters to the editor. Please send correspondence to quarterly@groton.org or to Groton School Quarterly, Communications Office, Groton School, P.O. Box 991, Groton, MA 01450.

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Editor Gail Friedman Design Jeanne Abboud Contributing Editors Julia B. Alling Elizabeth Z. Ginsberg Elizabeth Wray Lawrence ’82 John D. MacEachern Andrew M. Millikin Melissa J. Ribaudo Amy Sim Photography/Editorial Assistant Christopher Temerson Editorial Offices The Schoolhouse Groton School Groton, MA 01450 978-448-7506 quarterly@groton.org

Other School Offices Alumni Office 978-448-7520 Admission Office 978-448-7510 Groton School publishes the Groton School Quarterly three times a year, in late summer, winter, and spring, and the Annual Report once a year, in the fall.

Jonathan Choate ’60

Circiter | Featured on Campus STEM: Taking Root

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dave prockop P’15

STEM students measuring the Circle; above right, Third Formers Marie Wesson, Caroline Morss, Rein Irving, Cameron Ayles, Monica Bousa, Bruce Ramphal, and Molly Prockop

rooms), it is easy to be inspired by the work happening within because both teachers and students are so clearly engaged in making this grand experiment a resounding success.

Next year, we are planning to offer two sections of STEM Foundations I and a pilot of STEM Foundations II. We i­nvite you to stop by for a visit.

—Craig Gemmell

Christopher Borg

ver the past two years, Groton has embarked on an ambitious re-imagination of how we teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (collectively referred to as STEM), and we have engaged alumni as well as ­recognized experts in STEM education in the process.

As a result of our first 18 months of research, we have developed and are presently piloting a single section of STEM Foundations I for an intrepid and lively group of Third Formers. Since September, this group has been taught by two veteran teachers: Jon Choate ’60, from the Mathematics Department, and Dave Prockop P’15 from the Science Department. They have been duly assisted by Science Department Chair Stephen Belsky and Mathematics teacher Bill Maguire, with valuable input from the entire math and science faculty.

Jon and Dave have removed the traditional boundaries among the four core STEM disciplines and, in so doing, have encouraged students to approach complex questions with a broad set of interrelated theoretical tools. Moreover, Jon and Dave have moved away from the traditional reliance on content in favor of spirited, open-ended inquiry.

As a result, students have, for example, gained an understanding of how mathematicians and scientists measure area in different ways. For one early assignment, they calculated the area of Groton’s Circle, first by using Google Earth’s satellite imagery and a geometric computer construction program, then by using student-designed methods for direct measurement on the ground. Students also have learned about the complex relationship among form and function of molecules through geometric and atomic principles and have grown crystals in the lab to test theoretical assertions.

As a regular voyeur into their classrooms (thanks to the newly installed glass walls outside of their retrofitted class-

Traveling Band: Members of the Groton School Jazz Ensemble, Soul Sauce, and jazz combos performed at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland in July 2011. When they were not performing in Switzerland or Italy, they spent time touring the two countries. Soul Sauce is led by Mr. Kenji Kikuchi, teacher of woodwinds and Jazz Ensembles Director. The trip was planned and led by former Director of Instrumental Music Christopher Borg.

In June 2012, Groton’s Chamber Orchestra will tour and perform in South Africa.

Quarterly Winter 2012

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Photos by Christopher Temerson

Circiter | Featured on Campus

Older & Wiser

I Discovery Channel Discovers Groton

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f you notice a series called Game Changers on the Discovery Channel, put down the remote and take a look.

The series focuses on innovators, and one episode features a game changer from the Form of 1991, John “Jay” Rogers, whose company, Local Motors, lets customers supercustomize a car and help build it with their own two hands.

The segment also includes an interview with woodworking teacher Douglas Brown ’57, whom Jay credits as a primary mentor.

In September, a crew from Game Changers visited campus to meet the teacher who wielded such influence. Mr. Brown remembers Jay vividly, and he reminisced on camera about the talent and precision Jay showed even in high school, from the rare 100 percent grade he earned to the way he customized a project, making it more challenging and original.

The Game Changers episode aired in Canada in October, but so far the U.S. Discovery Channel has not picked up the series. We’ll let you know if we learn of a stateside airing.

n October, five Groton alumni attended a special Parlor at the Headmaster’s House and spoke to Fifth and Sixth Formers about college decisions and career planning.

Parlor is a Groton tradition in which different forms meet to socialize with the headmaster and with each other.

Steven Potter ’82, Ellen Boiselle ’85, Ben Coes ’85, John Payne ’86, Laura Knapp Davidson ’87, and Groton School Alumni Association President Ann Woodward ’86 shared their zigzag experiences after graduating from Groton. With their degrees from colleges such as Yale, Harvard, and Columbia, they went on to follow diverse paths, ranging from being a partner at a private equity firm while writing novels on the side to being an assistant professor at Brown University’s medical school. The alumni also shared how Groton prepared them for the world, and they recounted their experiences here as invaluable and irreplaceable.

—Thomas Choi ’12

In Fine Company

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roton School has accepted an invitation to be a founding member of a new nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening ties between boarding schools in the United States and Europe and the top schools in China.

Groton has joined the World Leading Schools Association (WLSA), along with Eton College in England, the No. 4 High School in Beijing, Geelong Grammar School in the state of Victoria in Australia, and the high school affiliated with Shanghai’s Fudan University. The only other U.S.-based founding member is Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles.

Headmaster Rick Commons will sit on the WLSA board. “It has been exciting for me to collaborate with the heads of the strongest schools in China, Australia, and the U.K.,” Rick says. “I believe the WLSA will be a great help to Groton as we seek new ways of teaching Groton students to be global citizens.”

WLSA was started by the European Union Education Foundation, which is based in the Netherlands and China.

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Circiter | Featured on Campus can make a difference. “You don’t have to be smart. You don’t have to be special in any way,” she said. “You just have to be committed.”

Committed she was, taking on both river and bureaucracy.

Undeterred by claims that a cleanup would cost people jobs at the mills along the river, she rallied supporters and engaged key politicians for her cause.

Stoddart’s comments followed a screening of The Work of 1000, a documentary about her crusade.

NRWA ARCHIVES

NAN CY OHRINGER

The Unnavigable Nashua

Activist Marion Stoddart

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roton alumni from the 1960s might remember a Nashua River so horribly polluted that birds and small animals could walk across the multi-hued, half-solid, stench-ridden mess.

Marion Stoddart, the housewife who founded the Nashua River Watershed Association and the activist behind the cleanup of the river, spoke to Sixth Formers and faculty at the opening of School, explaining her successful struggle to transform a waterway despite extensive political and economic dissent. Stoddart told Groton School that anyone

In the late 1960s, sludge and dye made the Nashua River repulsively colorful.

Understanding the Recession

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rofessor Jeffry Frieden, the Stanfield Professor of International Peace and International Relations at Harvard University, presented a primer on the country’s debt crisis during an All-School Lecture in October.

Frieden helped the community understand the financial crisis and realize the truth behind national unemployment statistics. When carefully analyzed, he explained, they are actually worse than they seem. For example, when unemployment reached its high of 9.9 percent, it was actually 18 percent for the poorest third, but only 4 percent for the wealthiest third.

Counting the “underemployed,” such as part-time workers, the rate in the poorest third was 37 percent, which Frieden called “essentially Depression level.” Regions of the country also have experienced the crisis differently: when unemployment was less than 6 percent in Boston, it was 20 percent in Las Vegas.

According to the lecturer, this uneven experience among U.S. citizens helps explain why Congress has been unable to reach a consensus on steps to improve the economy. “The lack of agreement guarantees we lose another decade,” said Frieden,

who recently published (with Menzie Chinn) Lost Decades: The Making of America’s Debt Crisis and the Long Recovery. He believes the U.S. already has lost a decade—“any gains were eaten up by the recession”—joining the infamous “lost decades” of Latin America in the 1980s and Japan in the 1990s. During the 12 percent growth between 2001 and 2007, he added, two-thirds of income growth went to the top 1 percent of the population.

Professor Frieden described the U.S. economic situation as a “classic debt crisis,” not unlike those of Third World countries that borrowed too much and did not use the borrowed funds judiciously. This crisis stemmed from “heavy borrowing from the rest of the world” followed by “an orgy of consumption on hard goods,” mainly housing.

Not surprisingly, the lecture did not have a happy ending.

“The circumstances we face today are extraordinarily difficult,” Professor Frieden concluded. “We face very troubled times.”

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Ben Ames ’12

Circiter | Featured on Campus

Click Here

www.groton.org

A Getting Better, Today: A GSA Update

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he Groton School Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) has chosen as its theme for the year: “It gets better TODAY.” In addition to its regular social and organizational meetings, the group has invited two sets of outside speakers to campus: Eloise Lawrence ’91 and her wife, Kelly Begg Lawrence, both attorneys (Eloise at the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and Kelly at the U.S. Attorney’s Office), spoke informally in the Webb Marshall Room about their family together and Eloise’s coming-out process. About a month later, Julian Petri ’05 and his partner Tom Miller talked about their recent wedding in New York City. When asked by a student if they intended to have children, Julian dryly replied, “It won’t be by accident!”

The purpose of the GSA is to discourage bullying and to create a welcoming atmosphere on campus for people of any sexual orientation. Members of the association need not be gay themselves—many students join to support friends or family members whom they know to be gay.

This fall, the GSA also joined an initiative of the First Parish Unitarian Church in Groton to sponsor a fundraising concert by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus for four area GSAs (at Groton School, Lawrence Academy, North Middlesex Regional High School, and the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School). The Groton School GSA donated its share of the proceeds (more than $1,000) to the Boston Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

The GSA would like to make it possible for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered alumni to share their experiences with the current generation of Groton students by submitting a first-person video. The GSA will then edit and compile these videos for a School presentation. If you want to participate, please contact me, the GSA faculty adviser, at jtyler@groton.org, for more information.

—John Tyler

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Madeleine Cohen ’13

Eliza Fairbrother ’12, Kelly Begg, Eloise Lawrence ’91, Ben Ames ‘12, Ray Dunn ’12, and John Tyler

s the school year began, Groton School launched a brand-new website with a bold and innovative design.

The home page features a widescreen photo, which changes each time a visitor returns; a searchbar surrounded by several navigational links; and four buttons that link to the site’s showcase pages. These are Learn, which presents some of the key fundamentals behind a Groton education; Live, a multimedia gallery presenting a vibrant picture of campus life through photos and videos; Achieve, with stories about Groton’s alumni; and Now@, a page of news and events.

There’s a mobile site too: go to www.groton.org on your smartphone and you’ll be prompted to download it. In the coming months, alumni will be instructed how to sign in to the internal, password-protected tool known as myGroton, where they will be able to access an alumni directory, read online Form Notes, register for reunions, and get other information.

Groton’s web designer, WhippleHill, recently nominated the site for a Davey Award, a competition judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts and geared toward smaller creative service companies. Groton’s website won a Silver Davey Award in the education category.

Picture Window: Four student photographers are populating a new feature of the website called Student Lens. Find it under the Student Life section of www. groton.org or by typing Student Lens in the searchbar.

Above, Student Lens photographer Madeleine Cohen ’13 captured this image of Aria Kopp ’13 at Dory’s.

Circiter | Featured on Campus

With Love, from Groton to Afghanistan

Ga il Fr ied ma n

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n mid-December, John Noh ’06 and his Army platoon in Afghanistan were in particular need of holiday cheer.

John had narrowly escaped injury from an improvised explosive device, the homemade bomb known as an IED, but three in his battalion had been killed and a fourth paralyzed.

Even before this incident, John was in the minds and hearts of Groton Community Service (GCS) members, who sent holiday care packages to his platoon. Inspired

by Groton graduates who are serving in the armed forces, students wrote holiday letters to American troops and sent care packages—filled with energy bars, candy, and other items—to the 17 soldiers who fight alongside John.

This was the first year that GCS sent care packages, but the second time it sent letters to American troops. Just after the 2010 holiday season, GCS members Ally Dick ’14 and Leah Mozzer ’14 motivated their schoolmates to write; they were helped by Bubba Scott ’11, whose brother Carlo ’03 was just returning from Afghanistan with the U.S. Navy.

Ally and Leah spearheaded the effort this year too, again sending about 90 letters to servicemen overseas.

The idea for care packages came from Danielle Kimball ’13, who last year asked Director of Service and Leadership Nancy Hughes, who advises the GCS, if the School could do more than write letters. Hughes heard about Noh from teacher Bobbie Lamont, whose family has stayed in touch with him. When Lamont asked Noh what his platoon might need, he responded, “The most needed item here is

Leah Mozzer ’14 with a care package

food (food that doesn’t spoil).” He went on to ask for wipes (“there’s always a shortage of toilet paper here”), then told Lamont, “If you send anything to give to the locals and local kids, we can take them out during our missions and hand them out.”

John concluded his email with gratitude for any gesture, large or small. “We operate in one of the more dangerous areas in eastern Afghanistan,” he wrote, “so any kind of package from home is always a big morale booster.”

Inside each of the 17 care packages was a personal letter written by students in Jen Wallace’s America in Vietnam class. Hughes says that GCS hopes to reach out to a Groton graduate serving overseas once every term.

It’s Official Katherine Bradley Appointed Assistant Head of School

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eadmaster Rick Commons has announced Katherine Bradley’s permanent appointment as assistant head of school. Katherine has been interim assistant head since July 1, when her predecessor, Carol Santos, departed.

Rick invited advice from faculty on whether to hold a broad search for the position, and faculty overwhelmingly supported Katherine’s immediate and permanent appointment.

Katherine joined Groton in 2001 as a teacher of Latin and Greek, and took over the Classics Department in 2004.

She has an A.B., an M.A., and has completed work toward a Ph.D. in classics from the University of Michigan. She

also has authored A Vergil Workbook and has won numerous awards and honors, including Groton’s own Breck Award for Excellence in Teaching. She has been a lower school dorm head since 2007.

Katherine’s deep commitment to both the student and faculty experience combined with her able leadership of the Classics Department and her tenure as dorm head made the appointment welcome. She has been described by colleagues as hard working, fair, and wise. According to Rick, her approach “effectively combines strong leadership and humble collaboration.”

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Vicky Zhang ’13

Circiter | Featured on Campus

Thinking Globally: Vicky Zhang ’13 took more than 1,000 photographs during Groton’s service trip to Peru in summer 2010. She exhibited 30 of those photos, including the one at left, last summer in the Chaoyang Caochangdi Art District of Beijing, her home city. Once again this year, Groton is offering several faculty-led travel and service opportunities for students. During the summer of 2012, students will head to Peru, South Africa, Tanzania, and, for the first time, Uganda and China. Spring break trips will head to India and France.

W

Honoring a Harlem Legacy

hen Naomi Wright ’13 decided to seek funding for a summer experience through Groton’s Eleanor C. and George H.P. Dwight ’45 Internship Fund, little did she know how much she had in common with George Dwight himself. “He worked his whole life in my neighborhood,” Naomi says.

Indeed, George was a longtime board member of the Union Settlement Association in Harlem, which is a block from Naomi’s home. Her younger brother attended programs there.

Naomi was inspired by the spirit of the fund, which honors George’s “devotion to the revitalization of inner-city New York” and “supports a Groton student’s internship at a social service organization that seeks to redevelop deteriorating American communities …”

So she started brainstorming proposals with her mother, a pastor in the community, and with former Assistant Head of School Carol Santos. Over the 2010 Christmas break, Naomi happened to meet filmmaker Jamon Lewis, who offered to help her on a documentary project. In the end, he consulted extensively with Naomi, introduced her to filmmaking, and taught her how to edit film. The result: Compassion, a 25-minute documentary about teenagers living in Harlem.

Naomi interviewed 12 subjects, most between 15 and 18, about their lives, dreams, and challenges. Question by question, she improved her interviewing techniques. “I learned that the interview process is about listening and

8 | Quarterly Winter 2012

reacting,” she says. At first she asked targeted questions, then realized that people opened up more with broad questions.

“Tell me your story,” she simply asked some of the teens.

Those stories sometimes involved violence, drugs, jail time, and other trials of inner-city life. But Naomi hopes Compassion makes viewers recognize the humanity within each teenager, regardless of his or her life experience. “I show teenagers who have been in jail and have faced struggles,” she says. “They’re similar to us. They’re not savages.” She hopes too that the film will open dialogue about privilege and create not guilt but understanding within the Groton community. Always motivating Naomi is a phrase repeated by her mother, “We’re not better than; we’re better off.”

Christopher Temerson

Wright Meets Dwight:

Naomi Wright ’13 presented her film, Compassion, at Groton’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration.

Circiter | Featured on Campus

The Inside Track

Patrick G. Ryan

California trainer behind Zenyatta, one of the winningest thoroughbreds in history (she twice placed second as Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the Year and had her own feature on 60 Minutes). It didn’t take Shirreffs long to recognize Mr. Commons’ potential. “He called Ian and let him know that there was nothing common about Mr. Commons,” says Carrie.

Mr. Commons won his first race in January 2011. In December, when he won the Sir Beaufort Stakes, the Banwells were in the stands cheering. Alongside them: Lindsay and Rick Commons. “Rick has been an unbelievably good sport about all of this,” says Carrie.

Now, with his successful record, more and more people will be betting on Mr. Commons, putting their faith in his skill, achievement, and work ethic. Maybe the horse and his namesake have something in common after all.

Shigeki Kikkawa Photo

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n December, a fleet-footed colt won the Sir Beaufort Stakes in Acadia, California, by a convincing three-and-a-quarter lengths. His name? Mr. Commons. His namesake? Mr. Commons. Yes, that Mr. Commons.

Carrie and Ian Banwell P’12, ’15 breed horses. They occasionally keep fillies, but always sell their colts—at least they always did until 2009, when the market for colts was suffering

Something in common?

Mike Sperling

along with the rest of the economy. The Banwells decided to hold on to three young horses, naming them in honor of their children, Allie ’12, Turner ’15, and Clement.

Allie had just finished her first year at Groton, and the Banwells, partly inspired by Headmaster Rick Commons’ Parents Weekend speech, decided to name the colt Mr. Commons.

“We had never named a horse after a person,” says Carrie, “but we just liked the sound of it. ‘Common’ is one of the worst things you can call a horse, but knowing his namesake, we decided to go for it.”

It turned out the horse was far from common. A friend encouraged the Banwells to send him to John Shirreffs, the

Musical Accolades: Violinist Olivia Kim ’15 received the highest score among violinists when she auditioned for the Massachusetts All-State Orchestra last month. Because of this, she will be concert mistress at the March All-State concert at Boston’s Symphony Hall. This year, in addition to playing in the Groton School Chamber Orchestra, she played in the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra (BYSO), including its fall performance of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf at Symphony Hall. Olivia also placed second in concerto competitions at the New England Conservatory of Music and the Rivers Conservatory.

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cecilia herrera

Personae | People of Note

The

Rhythm

of Two Cultures

Fanny Vera de Viacava

Fanny Vera de Viacava with (from left) Stefano ’16, Fiorenza, and husband Luis Viacava, also a Groton Spanish teacher

Each issue of the Groton School Quarterly will include a faculty profile, featuring both new teachers and veterans.

If you’d like to suggest a current teacher, please email quarterly@groton.org.

I

t had been a fairly typical day at Groton for Spanish teacher Fanny Vera de Viacava when the phone call arrived from her native Peru. Would the onetime champion of la marinera, Peru’s national dance, perform again for the dance competition’s 50th anniversary?

Fanny hadn’t put on her ruffly dress or even practiced the steps of the traditional folkloric dance in 15 years, since she clinched the national title in the city of Trujillo. Not one to shy from a challenge, Fanny made the dance studio in the School’s athletic center her second home, practicing several hours a day, sola, 3,800 miles from her dancing partner in Lima. In January of 2010, rusty but determined, the pair won fourth place during the 50th annual marinera showdown in Trujillo. Last year, Fanny competed with a different partner and placed third. She competed again in late January and made the finals.

Fanny’s devotion to la marinera is just one reason she received the Premio Orgullo Peruano—the Peruvian Pride Prize—in October. The foreign ministry of Peru and a nonprofit present the award to Peruvians living abroad who are promoting Peruvian culture and patriotism. Fanny’s brother—full of orgullo Peruano for his sister—nominated her, and a board chose her as a finalist, and ultimately, one of 21 winners worldwide.

Fanny had been a bit of a celebrity when she lived in Peru. She modeled and hosted Estrellas al Amanecer (Stars at Sunrise), a radio talk show featuring interviews with artists and celebrities. Fanny also worked in public relations and for a prominent life insurance company.

The valedictorian of her university class describes herself as “super-competitive, always.”

That competitive flair was apparent when Fanny started dancing la marinera at age 16. She did not take her lessons casually. After winning many regional competitions, she conquered the marinera summit in 1995, when she won Trujillo’s national competition.

Besides dancing, Fanny judges marinera competitions around the U.S.; she has crowned champions in New Jersey, home to the country’s largest Peruvian enclave, California, Virginia, and Utah. The dance sometimes infiltrates her lessons at Groton. In fact, at a recent conference of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, she gave a presentation that explained how to integrate dance into the classroom. Fanny is promoting her native country beyond the world of dance too: she is the Peruvian representative in the U.S. to the International Chamber of Commerce for Andean countries.

Fanny moved to the U.S. in 2002 to be with her husband, Luis Viacava, who is also a Groton Spanish teacher. At the time, Luis was working at Bank of America in Arizona and coaching rowing (he is a Peruvian national crew champion). Dean of Faculty and Spanish teacher John Conner had met Luis during a tennis program and persuaded him to be his sabbatical replacement in 2002 and, finally, to join Groton’s faculty in 2006. Fanny taught at Lawrence Academy until three years ago, when she began teaching at Groton too.

Fanny and Luis live on campus with their children, Stefano, a Second Former, and Fiorenza, who is 8. Neither child seems destined to carry on the tradition of la marinera, at least for now. But the family embraces its Peruvian heritage. “We live in two cultures all the time,” Fanny says. “The beautiful thing is that we take the best of each culture.”

—Gail Friedman Quarterly Winter 2012

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Ge ne vr a Higg ins on

P’7 9,’ 82 ,GP

‘14

“A Point I Put My Compass On” Judge Stephen A. Higginson ’79

by Tom Bator ’79

O

n October 31, 2011, Stephen A. Higginson ’79 was confirmed as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by a vote of 88-0.

Until his nomination, Steve was an assistant United States attorney working in the Eastern District of Louisiana as the chief of appeals and as an associate professor at Loyola University, New Orleans College of Law, where he taught criminal procedure, constitutional law, and evidence.

When U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana wrote to President Obama to recommend candidates for the bench, she said, “Attorney Higginson is a brilliant student of the Constitution and has the balance, temperament, compassion, and intellect needed to effectively rule on the Fifth Circuit.”

Steve’s father, Charles Higginson ’50, worked in Algeria when Steve was a child—and Steve considers his middle school years there important and life changing. Prior to Groton, Steve also grew up in Cohasset, Massachusetts, where his parents still live.

At Groton, Steve was known for his terrific speed and soccer ability, helping the Groton varsity team go undefeated and win the Independent School League championship in 1978. In his typical fashion, thinking of others first, when I asked him what I should put into this article about his Groton experience, Higgy said, “tell them that my roommates were Tom Bator, Jay Hass, Mike Mendoza, and Jon Rich.” Upon further reflection: “Groton instilled in me a joy of learning and an exuberant work ethic, which eased me through college and law school. I made lasting friends—classmates and teachers alike. To borrow from John Donne, Groton is a point I put my compass on to draw life’s circle.”

After Groton, Steve graduated summa cum laude from Harvard with majors in government and English. In 1983-84, he spent a year at the University of Cambridge earning an M.Phil. on Harvard’s Fiske and de Jersey Scholarship, and thereafter went to Yale Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Law Journal. In 1987, Steve clerked for Chief Judge Patricia Wald in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the following year for Associate Justice Byron White of the United States Supreme Court.

Steve and his wife, Collette Creppell, live in New Orleans with their two daughters. Their son Christopher ’14 is in his first year at Groton.

Brilliant and hardworking in combination, there is no surprise among any of his formmates that he has achieved this level. Bravo Steve!

12 | Quarterly Winter 2012

Jay Hass ’79 with his Groton roommate, Judge Stephen Higginson ’79, outside Steve’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing

Q&A with Judge Higginson Who most influenced your career? The two judges for whom I clerked, Chief Judge Patricia Wald and Supreme Court Associate Justice Byron White, were significant influences. Neither nudged me in a specific career direction, but both had devoted themselves to public service and that left an impression. Groton’s Kathy Leggat’s father, Richard Leggat, invited me to lunch my first week practicing as an attorney, and his passion for justice has been a lasting influence.

Mentors? My thesis advisors at college, Professors Judith Shklar and James Engell, were supportive and became friends as well as mentors, instilling in me their love of learning, liberal skepticism, and enjoyment of literature.

What was your most important early “break”?

Moving to Algiers, Algeria, for seventh and eighth grade.

The larger fortune is, of course, my family that I love.

What were one or two of your most memorable cases as assistant United States attorney? Why? Prosecuting a Fortune 500 medical device company—it was memorable because of the case complexities and the talent of the opposing counsel. Also, handling the prosecution of a Louisiana governor through its appeal stages, which was meaningful because political corruption is important to deter.

Three words to describe how you’re feeling about your new position? Respectful, overjoyed, challenged.

A Second Home for the Holidays Lessons and Carols and Other Traditions Warm a Wintry Season Photos by Mike Sperling

Top, Emma Izard ’13, Denia Viera ’12, Ally Dick ’14, Charlotte Berkowitz ’13, and Eliza Fairbrother ’12; left, Thomas Choi ’12, Olivia Kim ’15, and Stephanie Kim ’13; right, Naomi Primero ’13

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Above, Alexis Ciambotti ’14, Brittani Taylor ’14, Carolina Mejia ’12, and Liz MeLampy ’12; below, James Forse ’14 and Ejaaz Jiu ’15 donning their robes

14 | Quarterly Winter 2012

Top, the choir singing at Lessons and Carols, with Marianna Gailus ’13 in the right foregound; left, Austin Stern ’14, Danny Castellanos ’13, and Peter White ’15

A Christmas Carol: Headmaster Rick Commons read the classic story to Second Formers (and a scattering of nostalgic older students) immediately before Lessons and Carols, perpetuating a beloved Groton tradition. Left, Reed Hutchinson ’16, Michael You ’16, and Zahin Das ’16. Right, Emma Rimmer ’16 and Rick Commons.

Quarterly Winter 2012

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Picture

of

Health

g r o t o n i a n s ma k i n g a d i f f e r e n c e

From groundbreaking research and organ transplantation to AIDS policy and assistance for the uninsured, Grotonians are making an outsized impact in health and medicine. The physicians, scientists, and activists on the following pages have devoted their careers to the health and well-being of others.

16 | Quarterly Winter 2012

Picture of Health

A Real Lifesaver

Massachusetts General Hospital

Since his first transplant 50 years ago, Dr. Paul Russell ’43 has witnessed a revolution.

Dr. Paul Russell ’43

E

ach year, a man who lives on Boston’s South Shore stops by to visit Dr. Paul Russell ’43. The man is in his 70s now, but he was only in his 20s when Paul saved his life.

A pioneer in transplant surgery, Paul performed Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) first kidney transplant in the early 1960s; the South Shore resident was one of his first patients. “He’s still living on his brother’s kidney,” Paul says, noting that the patient has now outlived his kidney donor. Carrying his brother with him every day has a powerful effect, not only physically, but spiritually. “He’s very aware of that,” Paul says.

The former patient’s yearly visit acts as both a thank you and a reminder of those early days of transplantation, when Paul was on the cutting edge of immunosuppression, gradually coming to understand how best to keep a patient from rejecting another person’s organ.

Over the years, Paul transplanted kidneys, livers, pancreata, and bone marrow.

He formally founded the hospital’s transplantation unit in 1969 and ran a research lab; he still visits his lab regularly and advises the next generations of physicians, who are as determined to innovate and improve transplantation as he was. At one time, Paul spent considerable time applying for grants from the National Institutes of Health to support his transplant research.

Of his long, impressive career, Paul is most proud of his research into immunosuppression and the advances that it allows. Even today, the topic clearly enthralls him: he launches into a discussion of why certain cells are accepted better than others, ways to prevent acute rejection reactions, and how monoclonal antibodies, a relatively new weapon in the immunosuppressive arsenal, can be targeted at certain cells to help transplants succeed.

At 87, Paul remains involved in patient care, making rounds on weekday mornings with a team that typically includes a nephrologist, hepatologist, infectious disease specialist, and several surgical residents. They visit patients and analyze their treatment. “We discuss it together,” Paul says. “I tell them—c’mon, teach me about this.” No doubt, they often tell him the same.

After all, Paul joined MGH in 1948 at age 23. He has been a professor at Harvard Medical School since 1962 and still serves there as the John Homans Distinguished Professor of Surgery; Harvard honored him by creating the Paul S. Russell/Warner Professor of Surgery Professorship. Paul marvels at the changes he’s witnessed over his career—in every medical arena, but particularly in diagnosis, thanks to enormous advances in imaging techniques. “When I look back, it’s staggering even to me to see what medicine can do and how far it’s come,” he says.

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With all the debate over health care policy, sometimes lost in the controversy is the motivation that drives many doctors to enter the profession in the first place.

One of the most striking changes, however, does not directly involve medicine. “When I started, there was no medical insurance at all,” he says. He remembers a wing of the hospital for people of “moderate means” and a teaching section that offered care at a cut rate. At times, the hospital picked up the cost of caring for the indigent. At MGH, Paul says, “no one was turned away.”

Fast forward to the latter part of his surgical career—he did his last transplant in the mid-’90s, at age 70—when he frequently ran interference between insurance companies and hospital administrators, sometimes counting on hospital largesse to cough up funding for lifesaving drugs when insurance would not.

He laments that, with all the debate over health care policy, sometimes lost in the controversy is the motivation that drives many doctors to enter the profession in the first place. “It’s worthwhile to reassert the humanitarian base on which we rest,” Paul says. “That helps us to constantly pursue improvements.”

From Surgeon to Historian

T

The Paul S. Russell, M.D. Museum of Medical History will feature relics like this ether apparatus, single-ear stethoscope, fetal stethoscope, and instrument case.

Photos courtesy of Massachusetts General Hospital

18 | Quarterly Winter 2012

he Paul S. Russell, M.D. Museum of Medical History is scheduled to open this spring. The copper-faced building on Cambridge Street in Boston, near the entrance to Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), honors a Groton alumnus who has had significant impact on both the hospital and the field of medicine.

After more than six decades at MGH, Paul ’43 was a natural choice to lead the committee exploring the prospect of a medical museum. With its long history, diverse clientele, and impact on medical innovation both locally and nationally, MGH was almost obliged to tell its story. “We realized the hospital needed to explain itself,” Paul says.

MGH was the third general hospital to open in the country; it admitted its first patient in 1821 (he died nine months after his syphilis was treated with mercury, boiled milk and lime water, and a carrot poultice).

Things have improved substantially, and the museum chronicles the journey. Among the artifacts that Paul finds most revealing are a device that a dentist used to administer ether in 1846, possibly the first public use of anesthesia, and a 19th-century contraption created by a longtime Mass General surgeon to break up kidney stones via the urethra (generally achieved today with noninvasive sound waves).

What seems gruesome now was once state-of-the-art. “They were doing absolutely the best they could,” Paul says.

Picture of Health

Unsolved

challenges

Harvard University Press

An Excerpt from Invasion of the Body: Revolutions in Surgery

Dr. Nicholas Tilney ’54

N

icholas “Nick” Tilney ’54 came to Groton in fall 1949 as a slight First Former; the austere records of the time offer glimpses of his engagement here. A member of the football and rowing teams, he also worked in the athletic store, derived great pleasure from woodworking, and was described tersely as “a competent though comfortable student, whose effort has varied considerably. He is not always logical in his analysis of a problem and has some difficulty expressing himself clearly and correctly.”

Reflecting on the scant record of Nick at Groton, I’m left amazed at how utterly incongruous these early suggestions are with the actual life he has led since. For after Nick graduated from Groton in 1954 and then Harvard in 1958, where he studied fine arts, captained the varsity crew team, and graduated cum laude, he went on to Cornell University, where he earned his medical degree in 1962 and began his life’s work as a surgical researcher and practitioner.

During his surgical residency at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston and after time in the military, he became a research fellow for several years, studying immunology at the University of Oxford. He then spent a year in Glasgow, both as a scientific investigator and as a surgical registrar in the National Health Service.

Nick has, over the past half-century, been a giant in shaping the course of the evolving field of transplantation medicine, and his nearly 500 papers on this subject are surely dwarfed by the role he has played in directly and indirectly prolonging the lives of those under his care and the care of all who have incorporated his scholarship into their professional practice.

Nick’s most recent book, Invasion of the Body: Revolutions in Surgery (Harvard University Press, 2011), is epic in scope, drawing from the work of physicians stretching from ancient Greece to the current day. But it is also graciously personal in tone because Nick was either witness to or cause of many of the very revolutions he describes. Though Nick uses these moments to punctuate the evolution of the history of transplantation, he is by no means selfaggrandizing in his descriptions. Rather, he embeds himself in the process fairly invisibly— arguably too much so—because of his character: his humility, and apparent desire always to advance the cause and not himself. He was there with scalpel in hand, involved to be sure, but the patient and the process were at the center of his work and are equally at the center of this luminous book.

Nick could easily have sewn up this book with a conclusion that reflects on the halcyon days of his career, but he chooses instead to take on some of the hard questions involving us all as we look to the future of medicine. He enters the complex realms of medical training, managed care, and, ultimately, the role that the medical establishment should play in caring for the population across the economic and social spectrums. Given that he ends this book offering that “I am encouraged by those currently in the field and those entering it,” Nick remains characteristically hopeful. I am left inspired that Nick continues to live the mission of this School through his leadership, character, lifelong learning, and service.

—Craig Gemmell Quarterly Winter 2012

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While Invasion of the Body: Revolutions in Surgery is primarily a history of surgery, the following excerpt, from the last chapter, discusses the challenges around universal health care.

ive rs ity Ha rvar d Un

Pr es s

A

Unfortunately, those in professional practice have as few solutions as those immersed in policy decisions, although emotionally many are convinced that some variety of national health service is the only answer.

ll other industrialized and many developing countries have initi­ated strategies for universal health care. The United States, almost alone, remains wedded to the influence of market forces, even though the govern­ment pays about half the direct and indirect costs in the present hybrid of private and public insurance plans; in the latter category, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program cover about 100 million people.37 The annual health expenditure of $2.2 trillion is currently 16 percent of the gross domestic product, a figure projected to rise to 20 percent in the next seven years. This figure is about twice that of the relevant budget of virtually all other nations.38 Despite this vast financial outlay and contrary to accepted opinion, many patients now wait to see their primary care providers for longer periods than patients in France, Canada, Holland, and other countries with single-payer schemes. Waiting times for specialized care in nationalized systems may be long and some of the current practices and technologies that we take for granted may not be immediately available. To avoid delay, for instance, a relatively few Canadians come across the border and pay out of pocket for diagnosis and treatment. Those who desire private insurance in the United Kingdom for prompt attention are free to purchase it.

Even with limitations that include older facilities and less general use of expensive technology, it is interesting to consider the benefits of univer­ sal health care, as exemplified particularly by the British system. Because everyone is covered if illness or accident strikes, the specter of financial ruin is obviated and concerns about cancellation of coverage for a pre­ existing condition or job change precluded. Trainees enter primary care in adequate numbers because they do not have educational debt and will earn as much as specialists. These primary physicians follow accepted treatment protocols, and without threat of litigation, order relatively few unnecessary or expensive tests. They are paid commensurate with both patient load and quality of care. With all medical records computerized, the National Health Service can determine if the results of an individual practitioner meet established criteria, while annual peer review allows comprehensive and helpful discussion of problems. All citizens choose their primary doctor, who sends them to specialists as needed. Although hardly perfect and under constant economic constraints, this and other systems that many other countries have developed are relatively efficient and inexpensive, consistently popular, and greatly appreciated by the public. There is much here to consider.

Often with good reason, there remains in the United States a prevail­ing distrust of government and government interventions. Unfortunately, those in professional practice have as few solutions as those immersed in policy decisions, although emotionally many are convinced that some variety of national health service is the only answer. I have come to feel that there is little eventual alternative. Despite ongoing dialogue and debate concerning universal health care, it appears that powerful and influential vested interests and lobbyists for the medical industry itself will continue their efforts to prevent a divided government from designing a system to accommodate as much of their equally divided constituency as possible. Some of my own long-held opinions about tempering at least some of the 37. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, National Health Expenditure Fact Sheet. Available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/NationalHealthExpendData/25_ NHE_Fact_Sheet.asp (accessed March 23, 2011).

38. S. Rosenbaum, Medicaid and national health care reform, New England Journal of Medicine 361 (2009): 21.

20 | Quarterly Winter 2012

Picture of Health problems inherent in the existing system have begun to jell during the current political imbroglio. As one who continues to hold relatively idealistic views about the tradi­tional aims of the medical profession, I offer several hardly original but possible suggestions to consider.

First, health-care reform measures would be easier to accept if they were carried out in a graded and sequential fashion over time. Assuming that general coverage would be mandated as currently occurs in Massachusetts, the eligibility age for those covered by a Medicare-like public option could be lowered by ten years at five-year intervals. Willing persons not yet in the system would keep their existing coverage as before.

The serious dearth of primary care doctors must be addressed. Perhaps some educational debt could be relieved for individuals committed to the field. In addition, as in Britain, the salaries of these persons could be raised to levels commensurate with those of specialists.

Appropriately trained nurse practitioners and physician’s assistants could carry out more routine activities, freeing up time for the physician to spend with fewer patients. More young graduates would then be attracted into a rewarding profession.39 The educational debt accrued by the majority of young doctors not only takes years to pay back but may influence their choice of specialty. Federal subsidization of medical education attached to a mandated period of service in the Indian Health Service, rural areas, clinics and hospitals in inner cities, and other underserved sites might be one solution. Indeed, such an infusion of educated manpower would markedly help the 96 million poor and high-risk people who live in rural and urban areas with inadequate health resources. Like older physicians who spent two or more years in the armed services, young graduates could donate equivalent time as general medical officers, while those with significant residency expe­rience in their field could carry some of the burden of existing special­ists, which might reduce their present attrition rate. Government agencies could give such individuals a reasonable stipend during their period of service, forgive their educational debts, and at the same time expunge existing for-profit lending agencies from the system. Some have also suggested tuition loan rebates for those who desire careers as physician-scientists in academic centers but whose earning potential is limited.

Although many politicians are lawyers and are unwilling to address the subject, tort reform would reduce unnecessary and damaging lawsuits that increase medical costs and limit access to doctors. Indeed, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that appropriate reform of medical liability would subtract about $54 billion from federal expenses over the next decade.40 To practice medicine without the continuing threats of potential lawsuits would decrease unneeded tests and reduce costs. Perhaps a mandated, uniform, and universal national screening system by professional experts, impervious to appeal, could block frivo­lous suits and let through only “deserving” ones for full litigation. The additional stipulation that “the loser pays all” would reduce further the existing litigatory feeding frenzy.

A cap on the profits of private insurers and the pharmaceutical indus­try would allow direction of excess funds back into the system to aid consumers who need help. Along with reasonable limitations of drug costs could be the increased application of well-tested generics. Restricting the top-heavy salaries of company executives to more reasonable levels would increase public good will.

As proffered in the recent legislation, tax credits could be introduced for persons who pay for individual policies or those obtained through state-managed health insurance exchanges.

Medicare-like coverage of all for catastrophic medical care could be implemented. Routine insurance would continue through existing private or employer-based schemes.

39. B. Woo, Primary care: The best job in medicine? New England Journal of Medicine 355 (2006): 846.

40. Senator Chuck Grassley, Health care reform: A Republican view, New England Journal of Medicine 361 (2009): 25.

41. T. Bodenheimer and D. West, Low cost lessons from Grand Junction, Colorado, New England Journal of Medicine 363 (2010): 15.

Lessons from Grand Junction

S

ome medical communities have organized themselves effectively to reduce costs. The lesson from Grand Junction, Colorado, seems particularly relevant. Its average per capita Medicare spending in 2007 was 24 percent below the national average and as much as 60 percent lower than the most expensive regions in the United States.41 Among changes made by the medical establishment there, leadership by family physicians appeared to be the most important factor.

Equalization of all payment for all patients, regardless of coverage, was another.

Incentives for control and transparency of costs for every doctor became part of the medical culture; with yearly reviews of the practices and cost profiles of all involved, payment was withheld from specialists performing excessive procedures who were then educated about working within the norms of the commu­nity. Low-cost care at the end of life, with much interaction with elderly patients about advance directives, was emphasized. Why other parts of the country have not applied these approaches is unclear.

Adapted from Invasion of the Body

by Nicholas Tilney, published in September 2011 by Harvard University Press. Copyright © 2011 by Nicholas L. Tilney. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Battling the HMO

O

ne of my patients, Mary Burrows, was a 42-year-old woman who had devel­oped kidney failure secondary to uncontrolled urinary tract infections. I had transplanted an organ from a deceased donor some days before. To our mutual delight, the graft functioned well. However, about a week later she developed fever and a severe cough. A chest X-ray showed diffuse pneumonia in both lungs. No bacteria grew on culture. With a lack of diagnosis, we didn’t know what to treat. In desperation, we biopsied her lung. Characteristic signs of a serious virus were present on microscopic section. Fortunately, an antiviral agent had recently been introduced. As Mrs. Burrows belonged to a large HMO, I called their headquarters in a distant city for permission to administer the new agent. I explained to the nurse who answered that the patient was a trans­plant recipient taking powerful immunosuppressive drugs, that she had a rapidly worsening lung infection, and that we had identified the virus. I also expressed fears that without the special treatment, her life was in danger. The conversation was disappointing. The person on the other end of the phone was not only unfamiliar with transplantation and the effects of immunosuppression, but totally unfamiliar with the new drug—except its high price and the fact that it was not on the plan’s list of authorized medications. She refused my request. I did my best, stressing the severity of the infection and arguing that if the patient survived, we expected her to live normally for many years. Increasingly frustrated, I asked to speak to the senior company physician. The results were the same. I finally went to the administrator of our hospital, who eventually agreed to bear the not-inconsequential costs of administering the agent. Mrs. Burrows was treated, improved dramatically, and was discharged. I last saw her a decade later, doing well and enjoying her life.

22 | Quarterly Winter 2012

One means to subsidize, at least in part, the expenses of the majority of patients unable to afford the most advanced (and expensive) treatments might be for third-party payers to increase the costs selectively for those able to pay for optimal care. Indeed, such a system is at least partially in place through differing rates of insurance coverage. Such a strategy might also temper the endless debate about tax breaks for the rich.

There have been successful models for volunteer surgical services for those without insurance. In one, for instance, volunteers in Los Angeles have spent a few hours a month caring for over 6,500 nonemergency patients in a fifteen-year period.42 Surgical results were exemplary, complications were few, and followup was consistent. The program not only included medical professionals but hospital administrators, nurses, lawyers, and laymen. If initiated in increased numbers of inner cities, such local philanthropic support would relieve, in part at least, state and federal responsibilities.

Although expensive to implement, the replacement of the existing stacks of paper charts, lab reports, and other patient-associated informa­tion with electronic medical records will not only allow more effective communication between the primary care physician and specialist but also substantially increase safety for the patient. These will allow more effi­cient use of services and diminish repetition of tests and drugs. * * * As has been evident from much of what I have said in this chapter, I am one of the many people who believe that health care is a right. Throughout human history, those more fortunate have had advantages over those less so in many aspects of life. The Protestant ethic on which the United States is built has further suggested that individuals who work hard will attain success in life, and that poverty is the fault of those who do not strive enough.43 While many have thrived on that premise almost since its inception, the country currently faces marked social changes, with shifting demographics, a decline of the middle class, increasing separa­tion between the rich and everyone else, diminishing productivity, and significant unemployment. Most accept that everyone in society needs an automobile or home insurance. Why should medical insurance be differ­ent? Federal intervention is hardly a panacea, but as far as medicine is concerned there seems little choice but to try to repair a system that is badly damaged. We must not deny the promise of the medical advances that have developed during the past century for individuals financially unable to take advantage of them.

However, this is a book about surgeons and surgery. Despite all the dialogue, arguments, and political recriminations, I am encouraged by those currently in the field and those entering it. Having spent a profes­sional career in an academic center, I have seen much of the best that it can offer, have interacted with often selfless individuals involved in advancing patient care, have viewed and participated in relevant applied research, and have been stimulated by teaching the young. I believe that university-affiliated institutions, with a mission to treat all comers with the best evidence-based information available, regardless of insurance status, remain an important model for health care. It is difficult for me to imagine that any future system in the richest country in the world could not use effectively the lessons it provides.

42. S. R. Matula, J. Beers, J. Errante, et al., Operation Access: A proven model for providing volunteer surgical services to the uninsured in the United States, Journal of the American College of Surgeons 209 (2009): 769.

43. M. Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (New York: Charles Scribner and Sons, 1959).

Picture of Health

Swallowing the High Cost of Medicine How Sarah Sheffield ’89 Is Making New Yorkers’ Prescriptions More Affordable

S

arah Sheffield ’89 believes something basic is missing from the national health care discussion: despite all the talk about care for the uninsured and underinsured, little is said about improving access to prescriptions.

While most chronic conditions can be managed with medications, few programs make them affordable. “The way we access medications in this country is completely broken,” Sarah says. As the executive director of NYCRx, she devotes her days to making prescriptions available to low-income New Yorkers.

After earning a master’s in public administration at New York University, Sarah worked at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, where she wrote a policy brief on the economics of pharmaceutical research and development. From there, she went to New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), where she first worked on a citywide smoking cessation campaign.

NYCRx began in 2006 as part of DOHMH; it was created specifically to access a little-known section of the federal Public Health Service Act, known as 340B, which offers discounts to the poor for prescriptions through community clinics. By design, NYCRx moved off the city payrolls and became an independent nonprofit; Sarah was there since its start and became executive director in January 2009.

Since her early days at NYCRx, Sarah has spent considerable time convincing clinics to sign up for the program. It should be an easy sell—clinics profit from joining, sometimes clearing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. But because so many clinics are short-staffed and overburdened, exploring a new program, no matter how appealing, is more than many care to consider. “They’re running in permanent chaos mode,” explains Sarah. Slowly, however, she and the NYCRx team made progress, signing a few high-profile clinics, which lent legitimacy, and enlisting a prominent board member, Dr. Neil Calman, an Obama appointee and health information technology specialist whose name alone opened doors. Once clinics signed on, NYCRx helped them navigate the 340B maze and purchase prescriptions for their patients at a discount of up to 70 percent off retail prices. Sarah has helped move the program beyond clinics too. For example, she found that a program that provides contraceptives in 41 high schools was eligible for 340B. “We saved them over $3.7 million in the first three grant years,” she says. Those savings are prolonging the program for an additional fiscal year.

Number-cruncher, grant-writer, and salesperson, Sarah runs NYCRx almost singlehandedly. On the sixth floor of a nondescript Harlem office building, she shares a tiny office—borrowed from a pharmacy school—with a data analyst and a parttime VISTA volunteer. Together, they form NYCRx’s entire staff. Propelling the small Quarterly Winter 2012

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CYNTHIA WANG

“Prescription access is absolutely a public health issue and should be treated as one.”

Sarah Sheffield ’89

niche organization, Sarah is helping thousands of New Yorkers afford their medicine. In 2008, NYCRx served 16 clinics; now, thanks in large part to Sarah’s efforts, it serves 33, with more signing on monthly. The clinics pay NYCRx for management services, but through the 340B program, they earn far more than they pay—on average the clinics net about 15 times their NYCRx fee.

Sarah’s career in public health may come as no surprise to anyone who knows her parents, who lived briefly in Africa and have devoted themselves to health and education. Her mother, Jill, founded both Family Care International, an NGO focused on reproductive health, and Women Deliver, an advocacy group devoted to reducing maternal mortality in the developing world. Sarah’s father, James ’55, who worked for several years in Groton’s development office, has been president of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF and on the board of Save the Children.

Sarah recognizes the good that NYCRx is doing, saving clinics substantial money, often enough to add staff and care for more patients. In 2011, the average uninsured patient saved $46 per prescription through NYCRx and brought $34 in revenue to the participating clinic.

Sarah recently landed a grant to spread her efforts to parts of Connecticut and New Jersey.

But she is not satisfied. “I don’t want it to end there,” she says, spinning off statistics about low-income New Yorkers—the skyrocketing rates of chronic disease, the price of medication, and the costs of inadequate preventive care. “I want people to think about pharmacy as a public health issue,” she insists, noting that prevention, while admittedly crucial, should not overshadow access to necessary medicine.

“Many people are already sick,” says Sarah. “Prescription access is absolutely a public health issue and should be treated as one.”

24 | Quarterly Winter 2012

Picture of Health

Devoted to Research: Grotonians at NIH

G

roton School has an impressive footprint at the nation’s foremost medical research institution, the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Hugh Auchincloss ’67 has been principal deputy director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 2006. Before joining NIH, Hugh was a transplant surgeon with special expertise in transplantation immunology at Massaschusetts General Hospital and a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. “Despite my background in transplantation, most of my attention currently is directed at our efforts to develop vaccines for HIV/AIDS and malaria,” Hugh says, “and to hasten the development of new drugs for tuberculosis.” He oversees a wide range of strategic and clinical initiatives at NIAID, including an assessment of clinical research protocols, product development, and HIV/AIDS research policy. Hugh also serves on numerous committees and task forces, inside and outside of government.

In NIAID’s transplantation immunobiology branch is another Groton alumnus, Dr. Jonah Odim ’73. Jonah is a senior medical officer, managing clinical trials in organ transplantation. Before joining NIH five years ago, the pediatric cardiac surgeon directed UCLA Medical Center’s Heart and Lung Transplant Procurement and Preservation Service and its Cardiac Surgical Care unit. While at UCLA, he traveled with medical teams to set up cardiac surgery programs in Russia and Nigeria; in 2001, he was named the medical center’s most outstanding physician. Jonah says one reason he went to NIH was to increase funding for “the oft-neglected and underfunded areas of pediatric and thoracic organ transplantation.” The establishment of the multinational Clinical Trials in Organ Transplantation in Children consortium and various clinical research networks in heart and lung transplantation has largely addressed that goal, he says. In a Grotonian coincidence, Jonah spent a summer between his first and second years of medical school working in the Massachusetts General Hospital laboratory of Paul Russell ’43 (see page 17), whom he called “the epitome of a surgical scientist and a quintessential role model of that era.”

A nine-year veteran of NIH, Grace E. Song Park ’86 works with patients whose illnesses have mystified their doctors—and who hope to find answers through genetic research. An internal medicine specialist at the Undiagnosed Diseases Program in the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), Grace screens patients who apply to the program, helps decide who is admitted, and, as attending physician, is involved in patients’ intensive clinical evaluations. “The Undiagnosed Diseases Program

“We’re offering hope where there wasn’t hope.” utilizes the most recent advances in gene technology to analyze a patient’s DNA to try and find a genetic basis for a patient’s undiagnosed disease,” she says. “We’re offering hope where there wasn’t hope.” Genetic defects are found in about 15 percent of the patients, but that doesn’t always mean treatment is available. “It’s really a long-term project,” she says. “The patients we see now are helping people down the road, not necessarily themselves.” Prior to NHGRI, Grace spent two years at NIH’s Internal Medicine Consult Service and six years at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease.

Other Groton graduates have been affiliated with NIH over the years. Dr. Edward Green ’63, served on an AIDS research advisory council (see page 28). Alexis J. Roettinger ’93 worked in an NIH lab the summer after her junior year of college, an experience that inspired her to become a doctor. In addition, before med school, she worked in the metabolism branch of the Division of Clinical Sciences at the National Cancer Institute through its pre-doctoral Intramural Research Training Award program. Alexis is now a hand surgeon at Newport [Rhode Island] Hospital, but says her NIH experience provided a background in scientific research that “has been valuable to this day.”

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Can This Little Piggy Cure Diabetes?

Why Robin Pierson’s work with animals could save human lives

26 | Quarterly Winter 2012

S

ome day, not so many years from now, pig cells routinely may help cure diabetes, and pigs may be a source for lifesaving heart or kidney transplants. That’s when Dr. Richard “Robin” Pierson ’74 and his University of Maryland lab team will know their years of work have paid off.

Robin has spent more than two decades unraveling the complex mechanisms that keep nonhuman cells from working in human bodies. The thoracic (heart and lung) transplant surgeon believes cross-species transplantation—known as xenotransplantation—is science, not science fiction, and will provide lifesaving alternatives for desperately ill patients within the foreseeable future.

Like many medical researchers, Robin faces obstacles both sociological and scientific: people tend to find the idea of transplanting animal cells into humans anathema, while researchers find the science rife with complexities, from the formidable immune system barriers to potentially hazardous viruses that could jump from an animal donor’s cells and infect a human transplant recipient.

But researchers already have cleared many of the immunologic and infectious disease hurdles. Within the last five years, according to Robin, scientists have figured out how to cure diabetes in monkeys using pig islet cells, the cells in the pancreas that reverse the insulin deficiency that causes diabetes. A current trial in New Zealand is testing pig islet cells in diabetic humans. Because the trial is focused on safety issues, Robin does not anticipate the humans will be cured by the particular approach under study, but the experiment is expected to gauge whether pig retroviruses might cross into their two-legged hosts.

Robin considers that pig-to-human infection risk quite low. Primates, such as monkeys and chimpanzees, are considered much more likely to transmit an HIV-like virus than pigs.

“Other endogenous retroviruses, which resemble HIV, could conceivably escape from a primate to a person because people are primates too, and primate viruses are adapted to getting into primate cells and know how to move within their host species,” he says. “The odds are against cross-species infection for a distantly related species like a pig. Even if a pig virus escaped from a pig into a human, subsequent infection of the human, and further spread from one human to another, would require the virus to evolve in many ways. Because we’ll be paying close attention to anyone who gets a pig transplant and we know how to see if there’s

a real risk of contagious infection, that’s very unlikely to occur. That’s why pigs seem safer to us as potential xenograft donors.”

While Robin is not involved directly in the kind of research going on in the New Zealand trial, he is doing detective work on another vital piece of the xeno-puzzle: how to prevent pig cells from causing clotting problems in human blood. He calls this the “next big hurdle” because surgeons, after decades of scientific advances, are now able to control the kind of immune responses, once seemingly intractable, that cause patients to reject organs from other people. “Scientists have discovered that incompatibilities between human blood proteins and pig blood vessel-lining proteins cause clots to form ‘inappropriately’ when pig organs are exposed to human blood,” Robin says. “Solving this problem could be the last frontier in the quest for successful xenografts—or could lead to another challenging scientific puzzle.”

In his laboratory, Robin is studying the effect of introducing human proteins into pigs, attempting to create cells and organs that, when transplanted to a human, will not trigger human blood clotting, as unmanipulated pig cells and organs do. Within about five years, he will know whether the addition of one or more human proteins (among the six or seven his lab is testing) will produce results that justify trials in patients. Those first clinical trials likely will benefit diabetics first, Robin explains, because if the graft of pig cells fails, the recipient can easily return to injections of insulin. He believes success with islets would be a real breakthrough: curing diabetes with pig cells could open the door to cross-species transplant of hearts, livers, kidneys, and other cells and tissues.

Other researchers are studying promising alternatives to xenotransplantation, using stem cells, organ regeneration, or other techniques to help organs repair themselves. But Robin thinks xenotransplantation has more potential. “Taking a healthy organ from an animal,” he says, “is the obvious and very high-impact potential solution, if it can be made to work well— and I believe it can.” A few pig-to-human heart transplants between the 1960s and 1990s, which Robin says were not performed “in a scientifically informed way,” did not succeed. He expects xenografts of cells or tissues, rather than whole organs (like the kidney or liver), to become effective treatments well before organ xenotransplants.

Robin may have been destined for this work: he is the fourth consecutive generation of physicians in his family; both his parents were doctors. At Groton, science was already an interest: he particularly remembers studying bioenergetics with Dick Lehrbach, physics with Fitz Hardcastle, and chemistry with George Zink, and he shared the Thorpe Science Prize.

Today, Robin spends most of his time in his research lab, where he does experiments using pigs, baboons, and monkeys to develop better treatments for people. He also gives considerable time to various administrative positions, including chief of surgery at Maryland’s Veterans Administration hospital in Baltimore. And he regularly performs transplants—the more typical human-to-human kind.

When Robin moves from lab to operating room, he is likely to be transplanting a heart, lungs, or, in rare cases, both at once. After his surgical residency and cardiothoracic fellowship, he sought specialized training in Cambridge, England, in heart-lung transplantation. The current organ allocation system in the United States rarely allows the combined heart-lung procedure: only about 20 occur each year. Robin says this is primarily because two lungs and a heart, if each given to a different recipient, have the potential to save three lives; only one life would be saved by replacing all three organs for one patient. “Successful xenotransplantation would probably solve the human organ donor shortage, and resolve many of the associated ethical dilemmas,” he says.

Because hearts and lungs that are suitable for transplant only become available when someone suffers “brain death,” Robin often needs to move quickly. Typically, he has about 12 hours between the phone call and the operating room. But not always. “Sometimes I get a call saying, ‘Can you come right now?’” At those moments, the pigs, monkeys, and administrative duties come second. A human is waiting, along with a freshly donated human heart or lung.

Some day, Robin might receive the message that a patient needs an urgent transplant and be able to answer that he has a pig heart or lung available, ready to save the day. That will be a landmark moment—for Robin, and for transplant surgery.

University of Maryland Medical center

Picture of Health

Dr. Richard “Robin” Pierson ’74

Some day, Robin might receive the message that a patient needs an urgent transplant and be able to answer that he has a pig heart or lung available.

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Unconventional

Wisdom

Why Edward Green ’63 has declared a “personal jihad” against the AIDS establishment

E

dward Green ’63, an anthropologist and recognized expert on HIV/AIDS, consistently provides frank criticism of the West’s approach to AIDS prevention, often taking stands contrary to those offered by recognized authorities in health and government. He has authored several books, most recently Broken Promises: How the AIDS Establishment Has Betrayed the Developing World. In the interview below, he calls the West’s approach to AIDS “a spectacular failure.”

Ted has been on numerous boards and committees, including the National Institutes of Health’s AIDS Advisory Board and the Presidential Advisory Council for HIV/AIDS; he worked at Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Population and Reproductive Health, was a senior research scientist at the Harvard School for Public Health, and directed the AIDS Prevention Research Project at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.

Ted recently founded the New Paradigm Fund, which addresses AIDS and poverty-related problems in developing countries by relying, according to its website, “on an anthropological approach that embraces indigenous people and their beliefs and practices.”

Ted gained notoriety beyond anthropological and medical circles in 2009, when he defended Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks alleging that condom distribution might worsen Africa’s AIDS epidemic. Ted answered the Quarterly’s questions by email.

How did an anthropologist end up in the arena of AIDS prevention?

I

deliberately left academia in 1979 because I wanted to apply anthropological insights, methods, and perspectives to realworld health and survival problems in Africa. The alternative seemed to be teaching other anthropologists to teach yet other anthropologists, and so on. Also, I did my dissertation research with the Maroons of the Amazon forest, in Suriname. They

28 | Quarterly Winter 2012

descend from escaped African slaves. After two years with them, I wanted to go to Mother Africa, not just the Diaspora. When the U.S. first geared up to respond to global AIDS, I happened to be working in contraceptive social marketing, focused on the Caribbean and Africa. The first thought anyone had was that we could promote condoms to avoid AIDS as well as unwanted pregnancies. Unfortunately, a lot of thinking never progressed much beyond that.

The New Paradigm Fund describes its approach as anthropological. What does an anthropological approach allow that medical or other approaches do not?

W

e build upon that which already exists, rather than the usual approach of forcing our technology and ideas on less developed societies. To do that, we need to understand the culture. For most of my colleagues who work in AIDS, African (Asian, etc.) culture is seen only as an obstacle, a constraint to what we are trying to introduce or change. Yet there are always positive elements of culture that can be strengthened and built upon to achieve (in this case) the goals of public health.

I wrote a whole book in 1999 on indigenous African theories of infectious diseases. My plea was: first understand how Africans traditionally interpret disease biomedically classifiable as sexually transmitted, then design our interventions. Don’t just charge in with our ideas, no matter how great we think they are. There will ultimately have to be a cultural fit.

Yet the usual Western approach is to dismiss indigenous knowledge as nonsense or worse, and to “enlighten the natives” starting with a tabula rasa. I would say the Western, biomedical approach to AIDS has been a spectacular failure. True, we have saved a number of lives with highly expensive drugs, but this is not an approach that is sustainable.

Picture of Health Your views on AIDS prevention are considered unconventional by many. Your approach encourages behavioral changes, specifically limiting sex partners, rather than condom distribution. Why are you optimistic that’s possible?

W

e have to put stereotypes of African behavior out of our minds. Africans actually have fewer lifetime sex partners than ourselves or Europeans (see Wellings et al in The Lancet, November 2006, for a review of surveys), and fewer African teens are involved in sex unless they are married.

The Lancet article also showed that “monogamy is the dominant pattern everywhere.” I had been saying that for years. I suppose The Lancet published Wellings et al because these authors concluded that more condoms were urgently needed in Africa, which doesn’t really follow from the rest of their findings.

The problem in Africa seems to be what we have come to call MCP, which is when (a significant minority of ) men and women have Multiple Concurrent Partners. I used to work in family planning, and it’s well established that condoms are one of the less reliable forms of contraception. How then can condoms be “the best weapon” we have against the war on AIDS, as we are often told? Thinking that people can do what they like as long as they use an unreliable contraceptive method is a seductive idea; it’s having our cake and eating it too. Or being sober but still able to drink as much booze as we want.

You present evidence that monogamy is both effective in AIDS prevention and achievable. Why do you think “experts” don’t embrace that approach?

I

have asked myself this question for over 20 years and have written four books on the subject. The answers can be found in my latest, Broken Promises: How the AIDS Establishment Has Betrayed the Developing World. I cannot give you a simple sound-bite answer, but it involves financial self-interest, historical factors, the fact that most AIDS dollars have gone through family planning and contraceptive organizations, the great value we in the West put on sexual freedom to do as we like, and I could go on. But it still amazes me that the AIDS industry (some call it the AIDS mafia) continues to do pretty much the same things, yet expects different outcomes.

Can you briefly explain the difference between approaches that work for individuals versus those that work for populations?

I

f I decide to go to a brothel every night for a month, obviously I would be better off using a condom every time than only some of the time. Yet when we’re talking about public health programs, we have to ask ourselves whether something works as a public health intervention or not. As countless studies have shown, higher rates of condom availability and even condom use do not translate into lower HIV infection rates. I know it’s

Edward Green ’63

counterintuitive. One of the reasons is the phenomenon known as risk compensation. This refers to when a technology, such as condoms or sunblock, is used to reduce the risk, but then people sometimes “compensate” for that or erase the risk reduction by greater exposure to the sun (in the case of sunblock), or by taking greater sexual risks (in the case of condoms).

In 2009, when the pope said that condom distribution may be hurting AIDS prevention efforts in Africa, you wrote a column for The Washington Post defending his viewpoint. Please describe the immediate aftermath of your Post column, professionally and personally.

W

ell, I had already become a pariah in the AIDS and contraceptive world. One does not criticize a billiondollar industry—or challenge billion-dollar reputations and egos for that matter—and survive unscathed. No one really seemed to even think about numbers of sex partners until I started my jihad against the industry. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was doing million-dollar surveys of sexual behavior and not asking a single question about numbers of partners until about 1996 or ’97! It was just assumed that Africans had sexual partners in numbers that approached those of highly active gay men in American cities, where AIDS was first found. When I tried to describe why Uganda’s original AIDS prevention program managed to reduce HIV incidence and prevalence by two-thirds (before it was forcibly changed by outsiders), I underscored in a 1998 report to the World Bank that this home-grown program put primary emphasis on fidelity, on not having multiple partners. Alas, this was dumbed down to abstinence, as in condoms versus abstinence. When the Bush administration tried to replicate Uganda’s success by promoting the ABC policy (Abstain, Be faithful, or use Condoms) in Africa, conservatives made sure that there was abstinence education in Quarterly Winter 2012

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Lispenard Seabury Green P’60,’63

Should behavioral change be the first line of defense in developed countries too?

T

Brothers Ted ’63 and Marshall “Mark” Green ’60, with the headmaster’s dog, on Ted’s first day at Groton, 1957

the schools, but no one cared much, in the early years, for the second component of ABC. Why not? A Bush conservative told me something like, “There’s a constituency for abstinence. We never really thought about faithfulness.” By the way, the great majority of Africans were and are very comfortable with A & B interventions.

It is only we, for whom sexual freedom is a core value, who get upset. I have received raging hate mail from American academics for simply describing what happened in Uganda!

Anyway, I didn’t have much more reputation to defend by 2009, and I might not have stuck my neck out but for the fact that a few national magazines called and asked me my own reaction to the pope’s statement. There was too much water under the bridge by that time for me to be politically correct. One of the things I liked about that statement is that he didn’t flog that dead horse Abstinence. He talked about faithfulness, actually using a word like responsibility or respect, which is the sort of polite language Africans use to refer to not cheating on one’s spouse.

In the Post, you wrote: “Don’t misunderstand me; I am not anti-condom. All people should have full access to condoms, and condoms should always be a backup strategy for those who will not or cannot remain in a mutually faithful relationship.” Has that message been lost?

C

ondom provision grew exponentially during the Bush years. America and the West are still promoting as many condoms as ever, although I think it has dawned on the AIDS industry that condoms have not worked out as many of us had hoped. The industry now is asking for a tripling or more of global budgets for AIDS, this time with a promise that AIDS can be eradicated by putting every infected person on ARV [antiretroviral] drugs—even those who are not yet infected but seem likely to become so. I’m afraid this is a pipedream, but it could result in an even greater shift of wealth to Big Pharma and to consultants like my former self.

30 | Quarterly Winter 2012

hat’s a great question. Remember, I didn’t start off as any kind of apostle for fidelity. I simply wanted to show that a low-cost, homegrown, endogenous, sustainable prevention program, namely Uganda’s, could be more effective than the high-cost, high-tech, non-sustainable programs we were paying for and implementing. When I was a member of PACHA (President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS), we asked ourselves one memorable day, “Political and financial considerations aside, what would it take to bring down the rate of new infections to zero?” There were gay men and minorities on PACHA, and we began to think out loud about discouraging multiple concurrent partners among gay men. I remember one of the gay men of color saying with wonder in his voice, “This could revolutionize the gay community, and we could save millions of lives!”

Actually, a gay science journalist named Gabe Rotello published an explosive book called Sexual Ecology in 1997 that promotes this very idea. Gay activist groups went up in arms about how they were being attacked from within by a self-loathing gay. It’s rather like saying someone must be a self-loathing Jew if he shows any compassion for Palestinian suffering.

Anyway, the epidemiological fact is that having multiple and concurrent partners is what drives both homosexual and heterosexual epidemics. So yes, behavior change of the direction of monogamy and fidelity is what constitutes primary prevention of HIV infection. And it always makes public health sense to start with primary prevention to prevent a disease, before having to deal with its consequences.

You’ve described yourself as a hippie in the ’60s. In your Post column, you refer to yourself as a liberal.

People might consider you less than liberal because some of your opinions mirror the Catholic Church’s.

How do you reconcile the two outlooks? Do you still consider yourself liberal?

I

’ve never voted for a Republican in my life, if that is any measure of politics. Probably Ralph Nader reflects my political views more than anyone that’s been on the national stage in recent years. As I once responded to one of my self-described liberal opponents: “Everything you’re saying contributes to the corporate bottom line. Condoms, drugs, testing—it’s all a mammoth industry. No one makes a buck if people stick to one partner or, as I’ve said often, people in a polygamous marriage stick to each other. I speak out on the evidence as I see it, and if Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, and Zoroastrians like what I’m saying, well, that’s fine except that those of us who worked in family planning were used to seeing Catholics and evangelicals as the enemy. So by telling it as it is, I open myself to charges that I have become a secret conservative. I don’t see critics of capitalist mega-industries as conservatives, rather as foolhardy whistleblowers.

Picture of Health

I

did not want to use that subtitle; it was pretty much forced on me by my publisher. I suppose I could be seen as part of the establishment, the AIDS industry, because I was at Harvard and had been on high-level advisory councils (presidential, National Institutes of Health, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS). But I also consulted for a gay organization, USAID, the World Bank, a dozen or so contraceptive and family planning organizations, the U.N., and the list could go on. Remember that there were critics of the Vietnam War who were part of the Johnson or Nixon administrations—even at the Pentagon in the case of Daniel Ellsberg (full disclosure: he and I and Fidel Castro’s ghost writer have the same literary agent)—until they became critics, at which point they were marginalized or banished. And so it came to pass: our program at Harvard was ended in 2010. I believe it was the only research program in the entire university focused on prevention in heterosexual epidemics of AIDS. Regarding Hopkins, I currently have only an affiliation there—although I have always had a few strong supporters there. I’m not sure I really had any at Harvard.

You’ve said that in 2001 you declared a “personal jihad” against the AIDS prevention orthodoxy. What made 2001 a turning point?

I

had been trying for two or three years to tell organizations working with good chunks of taxpayer dollars about the success in Uganda, also about some interesting trends I was finding in the Dominican Republic. Ironically, I had 15 minutes of fame in early 1988 for doing a study that seemed to show that condoms were making a difference in the DR. I was saying what the industry wanted to hear back in 1988. I was quoted and lauded in over 40 newspapers, the Journal of the American Medical Association, etc. I was asked to come back to the DR in 1999 because condom prevalence seemed to be leveling off. I did a survey for the National Family Planning Association of the DR (funded by USAID). I found that Dominican men were moving toward monogamy, toward having less casual sex, so there was less need for condoms. I was excited—this seemed just like Uganda, and no doubt spontaneous, not the result of

any national campaign for monogamy or fidelity. But of course this was not what my funders wanted to hear, and I was never again invited back. It sounds completely cynical, but no one makes a buck out of good sexual behavior. Our latex largesse is not needed, nor our expensive drugs.

How many times have you been to Africa?

I

lived in Swaziland and, later, in Mozambique, for a total of five years. I have done short-term consulting in over a dozen countries in Africa, and I tend to go to Africa at least twice a year. My Swazi godson is now grown up, graduated from Tufts, and is running his own nonprofit, which New Paradigm helps fund. Before arriving at Harvard on 9/11/01 (by odd coincidence), I had expanded my consulting to virtually all regions of the world.

Very few anthropologists get exposure to such a variety of cultures around the world. These were very exciting years, and during my nine years of controversy and struggle at Harvard, I often looked back nostalgically on those years and wondered if challenging the AIDS prevention was worth the personal sacrifice.

What about here at home? Should we be hearing more about AIDS in the U.S., or is it generally under control?

I

t’s not under control, and the U.S. along with the U.K. are among the few countries where HIV rates are either rising or have stagnated at unacceptably high levels. We are not doing a good job of prevention at home, and yet we go to a country like Uganda and basically tell them to do it our way. Because of that (in my opinion—all discussed in my last two books), Uganda is one of the few countries in Africa where HIV is not declining at present.

Brampton S. Green

The subtitle of your latest book is How the AIDS Establishment Has Betrayed the Developing World.

How did you work for Harvard and Hopkins and not become part of that establishment (or did you)?

Ted, a self-described hippie in the late 1960s, with his Harley

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A Leader at The Lancet William Summerskill ’76 brings a family doctor’s sensibilities and an activist’s passion to the esteemed medical journal.

© KMA TIMES / KIMSUNK-YUNG

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William Summerskill ’76

32 | Quarterly Winter 2012

he average patient might assume that physicians have ample evidence to support their medical decisions—solid data to back up the treatments they recommend, the prescriptions they write, the surgeries they perform.

But as William Summerskill ’76 will tell you, that frequently is not the case. After 15 years as a general practitioner, he is devoting his career to changing that—to making sure evidence has a recurring role in the patient-doctor relationship.

The senior executive editor of The Lancet, one of the world’s most highly respected medical journals, gave up his medical practice to study an emergent field known as “evidence-based medicine.” He credits the confluence of three events with his career change: unwelcome changes in the practice of family medicine, a desire for more personal fulfilment, and the arrival of David Sackett, a pioneer of evidence-based medicine, at Oxford University. “Once I studied under him,” says Bill, “the world never looked quite the same again.”

Evidence-based medicine is based on the seemingly uncomplicated notion that facts, studies, and research should be considered in any medical intervention. With a tinge of irony, Bill referred to the idea as “radical—that health care professionals should have some evidence that care proposed will work.” One widely known example of the importance of evidence, he says, is the decline of antibiotic use for viral infections— long presumed effective but never proven effective. Once evidence became a player, doctors stopped a practice that potentially had done more harm than good.

At The Lancet, Bill writes editorials, helps screen article submissions, oversees offices in New York and Beijing, and is enhancing The Lancet’s presence in Asia. Through the medical journal, he works with authors to publish evidence of the highest standard, which can then support doctors’ informed decisions. Bill is part of a team that culls through submissions and decides if articles are worthy of review by an editor. About one-quarter to one-third of the articles submitted to The Lancet are rejected outright, and only 4 percent ultimately are published.

After surviving what he called “the editorial sieve,” articles are rigorously peer reviewed. Sometimes, Bill says, this research can be disruptive. Occasionally The Lancet

opts to publish against the experts’ recommendations. One case in point, predating Bill’s tenure, involved a paper originally deemed unworthy by peers that went on to win a Nobel Prize for the authors. “The problem with peer review is that the science is being judged by yesterday’s standards,” Bill says. “Editors must keep an eye on tomorrow’s medicine.”

In another case, an article that was supported by reviewers became particularly controversial because of its timing. The Lancet published a study on civilian casualties during the Iraq War in October 2004, right before the U.S. presidential election. “It was extensively peer reviewed on both sides of the Atlantic, then we were faced with this delicate decision because it was submitted a month before the presidential election,” recalls Bill, who was involved in the decision. “If we publish before the election it looks political. If we withhold it until afterward, it looks political. We thought, this is important—it’s ready for publication now.”

Bill is philosophical about such difficult decisions, noting that controversy comes with the territory. “Advances in science are so often enormously controversial,” he says.

Many of his editorials—he pens about one a month—have stirred debate as well.

An early one criticizing homeopathy had substantial impact. “That editorial led to a major reappraisal of homeopathy in the U.K.; I think it is becoming less respected and getting less public funding,” he says. Another editorial sparked a series about improving evidence-based research for surgeries. “Rigorous evaluation of innovations was infrequent up to then,” he says. “The point was: it’s never too early when you’re making an innovation in surgery to evaluate the outcomes.” Bill recently met with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which was interested in applying the framework outlined in the surgery papers to the evaluation of medical devices.

Bill often finds out on a Thursday that he will be writing an editorial, becomes expert on the topic over the weekend, and makes a Tuesday deadline. His writings have covered everything from pain control to lethal injection, from emergency contraception to tuberculosis. “It’s an enormous responsibility and challenge to try to say something that’s novel to a group of people who know far more about the subject than you do,” he says. He meets the challenge by immersing himself in the subject and pondering it deeply. Underlying many editorials are messages about gaps in health policy or clinical practice.

Even at Groton, Bill was demonstrating a strong interest in both science and the humanities. He states the influence of his high school years bluntly: “I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now if it wasn’t for Groton.” Of particular influence were English teacher Bob Parker, science teacher Dick Lehrbach, and press teacher Al Olson. As he sees it now, his career has combined lessons learned in those three classes. The best thing about Groton, he says, was that “you were prepared and trained in skills you didn’t realize you were going to need in later life.” His Groton science prize, awarded for his study of bile acid reabsorption in rats, remains on his CV today. Continuing his interdisciplinary focus, Bill majored in English—and was premed—at Princeton.

Bill landed at The Lancet rather serendipitously. After completing a master’s in evidence-based medicine, he taught at Bristol University. When his contract there expired, he applied to The Lancet, where he has been able to combine his background in medicine and liberal arts. Years before, he had tired of his family practice, which he described as “cradle-to-grave”: he delivered babies and terminal care, plus everything in between, often in patients’ homes. That personal level of care was becoming increasingly rare, and Bill didn’t like where the field was heading.

But those years treating patients are invaluable today as he tackles each new editorial submission. “When I read a manuscript I’ve got a clear picture of the type of patient it refers to,” he says. “I can imagine myself at that bedside.”

Courtesy of the Lancet

Picture of Health

“When I read a manuscript I’ve got a clear picture of the type of patient it refers to. I can imagine myself at that bedside.”

Quarterly Winter 2012

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PARENTS WEEKEND

The

Dizzying Pirouette of Adolescence

In late October, Groton parents came from around the nation and the world to visit their children, meet with teachers and advisors, and enjoy a weekend of special events. Parents cheered on Groton teams, heard student vocalists and instrumentalists, attended religious services with their children, and saw a sneak peek of the fall play.

Parents Association President Amy Berkowitz P’13, ’15 spoke for many parents when she said, “We are reminded what an extraordinary gift we have given our children by giving them Groton.”

One highlight of the weekend was the headmaster’s inspiring talk, on Saturday afternoon. Here is the address Rick Commons delivered on Parents Weekend.

34 | Quarterly Winter 2012

L

indsay and I were in London at the end of September for an alumni reception, and, thanks to the exceptionally good graces of a Groton parent, we got lastminute tickets to a sold-out performance of Billy Elliot the Musical. I loved the show. I had seen the movie, which tells the same story and which I also enjoyed, but because the story is about self-discovery through dance, watching it unfold through that very medium—through choreography—was wonderful. Additionally, in a live show there are no second takes or camera tricks to enhance the performance or disguise the age of the actor portraying the 12-year-old Billy Elliot. There he was, just a boy—a Second Former!—on stage for three hours straight, with the audience’s eyes locked on his every gesture, singing, dancing, and embodying the painful, beautiful process of self-discovery.

And the Billy we saw was astounding.

For those who don’t know the story, I’ll give a quick summary of the plot. Billy is the 12-year-old son of a coal miner in Northern England who sends Billy to boxing lessons, which happen to take place in the same gym as ballet classes. The boy discovers that he has more interest in pirouettes than punching bags, and the ballet teacher takes notice.

She coaxes him into joining the girls one afternoon, discovers that he has unusual talent, and begins to train him. The switch to ballet goes on unbeknownst to Billy’s father, who assumes his son is still boxing and still using the shillings he puts in his hand every week to pay the boxing coach, not the ballet teacher. The crisis comes when Billy turns out to be so good that the teacher wants him to go to London to audition for the Royal Ballet Company, and so he and the teacher must finally tell his father that Billy has become a dancer. This creates the central conflict in the show: adolescent independence and selfdefinition versus parental expectations.

Does this sound at all familiar? I hope it does, because this conflict is supposed to happen between adolescents and parents in one way or another, in small protests and pitched battles. It is a part of normal, necessary human development. Remember how narrow and unreasonable our parents’ expectations were? Remember resisting them, asserting independence, and defining ourselves? Unfortunately, these memories don’t seem to make it any easier to handle the same resistance in our own children. In fact I have been assured by my mother, as she observes the challenges posed by my offspring, that the ferocity of childhood resistance is an inherited quality, and I deserve this.

photos by christopher temerson

Parents Weekend

This is the moment a teacher lives for. Or at least teaches for. The breakthrough—the moment that talent reveals itself like the sun bursting through the clouds.

I am not yet the parent of an adolescent, but I know what’s coming because I work and live with yours, and because the resistance is already unmistakable in my four-year-old, a decade in advance of when it’s supposed to show up. For instance, no matter how cleverly I coax him, he resists playing catch or sharing my interest in the athletics that surround our house on all sides every afternoon. “Hey, it’s beautiful outside,” I’ll say. “How about we play Nerf football right next to where the big guys are playing?” “No, Daddy,” he replies.

“I want to stay inside and do Play-Doh.” And if I’m good enough to get the Play-Doh out of the closet and sit on the kitchen floor making colored snakes while the last warm, sunny day of the fall fades outside the window, it’s a sure bet that his 16-month old sister, who doesn’t yet talk but understands everything, will toddle over with the Nerf football and drop it hopefully into my lap. This is a mild example, to protect the innocent.

My favorite moment in Billy Elliot comes when the ballet instructor is teaching the class how to pirouette. Billy is still new to dancing and is visibly clumsy. The teacher tells him pick a spot on the wall and focus on it with all he’s got. “Make it the very last thing you see as you turn away,” she says, “and the very first thing you look for as you come back ’round.” After a few failed attempts, he takes a deep breath, grits his teeth, and makes his turn with his head held back, looking at the spot on the wall. Then his head whips around to the very same spot, with his chin high and his back straight, and his body in balance.

The boy is, for the first time in our sight, a dancer, and you can hear the breathing in the theater stop.

This is the moment a teacher lives for. Or at least teaches for. The breakthrough—the moment that talent reveals itself like the sun bursting through the clouds. It can come in the form of a question in class, an insight in an essay, or a change of direction on the field or on stage. It’s a moment of revelation not only for the teacher, but also for the student, and when it comes, it tends to be defining. Sometimes the definition falls directly within parental expectations, which is lovely, and sometimes it is the spark of a passion that is unexpected and might well be challenging to those who have raised the child so carefully and so completely thus far.

In Billy Elliot, the first pirouette is that defining moment. The teacher sees it, and Billy feels it, and everyone in the audience knows the conflict with parental expectations

Above left, Phillippe Heitzmann ’15 with father Pierre and family; above, Mary Elizabeth and Jeffrey Bunzel, parents of Loulie ’13

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photos by christopher temerson

Matthew and Jean Salisbury with their daughter Elizabeth ’14 and (facing away) Molly Belsky ’12

A letter every Saturday?

Accounting for school vacations and summertime, by my count that’s at least a hundred letters, and it sounds like not one of them is about grades or college applications. Wow.

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has now begun. This boy who was expected to be a boxer, or at least to conform to the coal miner’s proud and rough-hewn culture, is actually meant to wear ballet slippers and tights.

And what the show and the remarkable young actor make beautifully clear is that for the boy to do otherwise would be like keeping a thoroughbred forever in the stable.

Turning the subject of parental expectations and adolescent self-definition toward Groton and this weekend’s teacher meetings, one inevitably arrives, sooner or later, at the topic of grades. You have expectations about what’s happening outside of class— the way she dresses, whom he hangs out with, what extracurricular commitments she will pursue, whether there’s danger of an avalanche of dirty laundry in his dorm room; but in this environment of high achievers, it’s often grades and the pressure of the college admission process that leads to the hardest conversations. All of your children are academically talented, and you rightly hope that the talent will reveal itself early and often, resulting in meaningful personal development and great college opportunities. We hope so too. Groton presents itself as a place where academically talented kids will be prepared for unusual opportunities, both in the college process and in life.

Part of the preparation comes from surrounding your children with other talented and motivated kids, which can be uplifting and inspiring, but which makes it harder for them to stand out the way they did in middle school. The super-talented peer group, coupled with a grading scale that consists of more than just A’s and B’s, can result in marks that are lower than you or your children expected. Most Groton parents will at some point have to think about how to talk with their kids about grades that don’t match expectations. Whether it’s academic performance or something else, when the conflict reveals itself, how do we have the conversation in ways that are positive for our children?

Madeline Levine, the well-known author of several books on education and parenting, makes a useful distinction between two ways of expressing parental expectation and exerting parental control: behavioral and psychological. “Behavioral control,” she says, “includes being an authority, making age-appropriate demands, setting limits, and monitoring children’s behavior. Psychological control … attempts to manipulate the child’s thoughts and feelings by invoking guilt, shame, and anxiety.”

Here’s an example of the contrast between the behavioral and psychological approaches: “Sorry you did so poorly on your math test. Facebook is off-limits until you pull that grade up. Do you need some help?” That’s behavioral control. Here’s psychological control: “You’re going to be flipping burgers for the rest of your life if you continue to be such a slacker.”

Levine adds that “when we hear our own needs being overemphasized, it’s a good bet that we are sliding into the damaging territory of psychological control.” A conversation about grades should not include the words, “How could you do this to me?” or “After all I’ve done for you.”

This is tricky ground, because we want to motivate our children toward success, yet we don’t want their primary motivation to be competitiveness with other kids or pressure from the college process or even the desire to please us. We want them to succeed primarily because they love learning and are fulfilled by the hard work of completing tasks thoroughly and well.

As I was thinking about this talk, about Billy Elliot and midterm grades and the relative virtues of Nerf football and Play-Doh, I walked to Chapel last Friday, and received an unexpected gift. The speaker was a Sixth Former, who gave a talk about the development of

Parents Weekend her academic perspective from childhood through middle school, and then during her time at Groton. I love the tradition of student Chapel Talks. One of the primary reasons is that the defining adolescent pirouette is quite often described, sometimes even performed, right there in the pulpit. Here’s a brief excerpt from last Friday’s Chapel Talk: “When I was young, happiness came simply through a belief in magic, but it was impermanent, as I existed in a state of blissful ignorance. In middle school, I sought status by following others socially and caring only about grades. Without it being deliberate, I tried being competitive, judgmental, and selfish. I [wasn’t] any happier. … Groton reminded me of my genuine curiosity and my natural desire to question. The idea of unlimited interconnected questions encourages me to probe further. I have remembered an old path and reinterpreted it to fit my intellectual pursuits. I found the magic, my truth. Magic does not come only from trees, and faeries, and setting suns. It can also come from learning, questioning, seeking, and connecting.”

It made me happy to hear the speaker credit Groton with drawing her into the magic of learning, and it reminded me to do everything I can to make sure that the School encourages intellectual curiosity rather than the singleminded pursuit of high grades. But she also credited her parents, who are in this audience. Describing their approach and attitude, she shared the following custom, which I think is extraordinary: “Throughout my time here, my dad has faithfully written me a letter every Saturday, ranging in subject from the global economy to modern architecture to a world-record-sized onion.

He always reminds me to enjoy learning, and each break when I come home, he asks me not what my grades are, but what have I learned.”

A letter every Saturday? Accounting for school vacations and summertime, by my count that’s at least a hundred letters, and it sounds like not one of them is about grades or college applications. Wow. Do you think she’ll keep them?

Toward the end of Billy Elliot, during his audition for the Royal Ballet Company, Billy is asked what it feels like when he’s dancing. His answer is “like electricity,” which leads into a musical number called “Electricity,” in which he leaps and slides and spins back and forth across the stage in his most dramatic performance of the show. The dance ends with more than a dozen dizzying pirouettes, a flourish, and a triumphant pose.

In the performance we saw, it was a true show-stopper, as the audience leapt to its feet for an extended standing ovation. The breathless young actor could not stay in character, could not hold the triumphant posture and expression, when he looked to his left and saw what had to be his parents standing and clapping and crying. He broke into a wide smile, then composed himself into his triumphant posture again, then lost it a second time, grinning freely at his applauding parents.

As I stood and applauded and saw for a moment the little boy inside the actor, the early adolescent spinning inside the breathtaking dancer, I thought, “and now it begins.” He’s unbelievably talented, he and his parents will want so much for him to make the most of his gifts, and he’s only 12. Conflicts will certainly come. What a journey lies ahead for him, and what a job for his parents, who will be working so hard to get it right.

I’ll end with this idea, this question: Think of your child’s teenage years, and imagine them as a countless series of dizzying pirouettes. Isn’t it worth asking ourselves every once in a while, maybe every season, maybe every Saturday: what is the very last thing we want our children to see as, again and again, they turn away? And what is the very first thing we want them to look for as they come back ’round?

Groton students, your children—they’re so remarkably good at meeting expectations. Let’s work hard together to get them right.

Above, Parents Association head Amy Berkowitz P ’13, ’15 and Pranay Sharma ’13; below, Lucy ’85 and Louis Cusano P’16 and Jenna Blouin ’15

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Blossoming, Ready or Not

A Chapel Talk

by Nya Holder September 19, 2011

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N

“

Mike sperling

Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

ya! No! We have a tight budget!”

That was the line my mom always used when my sister and I picked up some useless object around a store while we were shopping. Usually my mom could talk me out of the unnecessary purchase, but this time was different. I was not going to give up without a fight.

“But Mom—uh … you don’t understand! I neeed this!”

I pleaded as I shoved the 31-x-46-inch canvas into her face, but my mother had a great way of ignoring high-pitched teenage voices.

“Come on, I’ll do the dishes, clean out the basement. Whatever you want!” Considering the fact that I’d be leaving for Groton the next day, the likelihood of my keeping my side of this proposal was very slim. This was my final chance to shop before I departed on my four-hour journey up north. We picked up all the obvious things you would need for boarding school: sheets, a desk lamp, toiletries, binders, snacks, notebooks, pencils.

But with the exception of a few motivational posters that teachers usually hang in their classrooms, I had nothing to decorate the four barren walls that would become my new home. I needed something to add some life to my room. Something that said, “Hey, isn’t this room cool? Wow, this girl is so cool!” And this canvas could be that piece of decor I was looking for.

I was leaving in less than 48 hours. And let’s face it, boarding school was a terrifying thought for any mom, whether she believed it or not. My mom demonstrated her uncertainty with her incessant questions: “Are you sure that you want to go? It’s fine if you want to stay home, you know.”

David Altshuler P’13,’15

So I figured that I used my mom’s apprehension to my advantage to pull the following off.

I gave the immense work of art oozing with countless pink cosmos flowers another good look and devised my plan.

“Mom,” I said, “do you know what this canvas means? This canvas—THIS canvas symbolizes me, blossoming into a young lady. See? Look at this flower bud—that’s me now.

And then here’s one that has just burst open into a beautiful flower—that’s what’s going to happen to me when I go to Groton. Every time I look at it, I’ll remember you, preparing me to go on to bigger and better things like those flowers in the back.”

And for the finishing touch, “Won’t you miss me, Mom? ” Bingo.

I sealed the deal. Mom always fell for my symbolic spiels. That’s why our living room is green, because I told her that it represents prosperity, rebirth, and other earthy things. After a few seconds of my signature wide-eyed head nod with a smile, she bought it—the canvas, I mean.

I thought getting Takeshi Odawara’s artwork was going to be the hardest part, but the real difficulty was fitting his piece along with all the other things that I “needed” into my mom’s Jeep Cherokee. We took a huge risk wrapping the canvas in black plastic bags and anchoring it to the roof of my mom’s Jeep, but it certainly was a risk worth taking. Now, anyone who knows anything about painting knows that the delicate texture of canvas probably could not withstand the winds on top of a moving vehicle. But by the will of God, my robust masterpiece made it up to my room without a scratch.

I didn’t realize at that moment—or even when I tricked my mom into buying it—that the plethora of magenta and light pink plants would be mounted on a wall in each of my rooms throughout my entire time at Groton. I have grown to appreciate it more as a great conversation-starter and a source of procrastination. Sometimes I would stare at what looks like an endless green meadow of blooming cosmos flowers under a cloud-sprinkled spring sky and analyze the canvas’s every detail. Contrary to my belief and that of most of my visitors who admire its beauty, some of my kindest guests describe it as a “PeptoBismol spill.”

Despite its original aesthetic purpose, I think my canvas has lived up to its symbolic meaning. A lot has certainly changed about me. I came to Groton as a self-conscious Third Former from a school where I didn’t feel accepted, where my peers looked down upon people who enjoyed learning. I looked like everyone else, but I still was an outcast.

I questioned whether I fit in, especially because I did look different from everyone else. I became more concerned with what people thought of me and less of what I thought of myself, but my Third Form prefects reassured me that my spunk was always welcome in the dorm. They made me feel like a part of the community. Because of that, I felt OK with just being myself and stepping out of my comfort zone to try new things. Third Form year became a year of “firsts” for me. I was in my first play and dance show that year, and I played basketball that winter, even though I was more of a cheerleader than an actual player.

Despite how comfortable I was becoming, I still believed that I had to adapt, and I inevitably picked up new quirks and lingo along the way. I didn’t listen to anything other than reggae before I came to Groton. Now I fist-pump to techno. My auto-response to good news is now “awesome, sickies, yea, yea that’s great.” I make study guides instead of carrying around large stacks of flash cards. I wear cardigans and eat chocolate. I retired my old school bag with wheels for a handbag. I used to laugh with my tongue sticking out, but now I say “LOL” when I’m obviously not laughing out loud.

In the midst of this whole adjustment process, I wondered whether or not I liked the person that I was becoming and if I was losing sight of the real Nya. Now I find myself wondering how much of my “blossoming” was fueled by trying to fit the Groton mold

Nya Holder ’12 in The Odyssey

In the midst of this whole adjustment process, I wondered whether or not I liked the person that I was becoming and if I was losing sight of the real Nya.

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Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

Some are buds still holding the potential for greatness, which have yet to be shown forth, while others, fully grown, drift away into the far distance with the hope of new pastures.

vaughn winchell

A leading role in Pippin

and how much of it was me doing things because I wanted to. Did I wear cardigans now because I actually thought they were cool or because that’s what everyone else wore? Did I ditch my old book bag for a handbag because I enjoyed carrying books on my back as opposed to wheeling them around or because everyone else, except Tarik Welch, had a handbag as a school bag?

Change is defined as the modification or variation that results in a difference in form or nature. The changes that were the most significant to me at Groton were the ones where I tried to find my own place rather than try to “fit in”—the difference being that I was doing what I wanted to do and not falling into the Groton pattern. I could say now that I tried out for plays because I genuinely enjoyed them. My hair has gotten progressively shorter because I think I look better this way. I popped out of a box for Mrs. Cheeks’ birthday because I thought that it would be fun. I tried out for Thirds basketball—well, I don’t know why exactly, but at least I could say that I played a sport at Groton.

Sometimes we worry so much about what people think that we sacrifice our uniqueness to conform. What is the use in living life if you’re doing it only to please others? Don’t fall into the trap of trying to be the ideal Groton student because there is no such thing. At times it may be easier to just go with the crowd, but it takes real courage to be who you truly are.

Like all of you, there is something special about the flowers in my canvas. Each flower is its own shade of pink; yes, that includes you too, boys. They all are vulnerable to the sweeping ability of the wind, yet they find their own ways to react to its force.

Some are buds still holding the potential for greatness, which have yet to be shown forth, while others, fully grown, drift away into the far distance with the hope of new pastures.

They all bloom in their own way—and in their own time. And that’s what makes them beautiful.

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What Technology Can’t Do A Chapel Talk

by Groton Trustee James H.R. Windels ’82 November 11, 2011

With massive volumes of information available, how does one absorb it, assess it, and put it to good use?

W

hen I arrived at Groton in the fall of 1977, there were five computers in a small room in the math wing. These were not computers of any type that would be recognized today. They looked like a cross between an antique typewriter and a sewing machine, and they did not have any screens or lights or anything to indicate they were electrically powered.

I never actually observed these computers in use. There was a rumor that they were operable, but to conceive that this machine would come to have such an immense impact on the way we live and work seemed unfathomable.

In Fourth Form year in 1980, computers with screens arrived. They were small orange screens with square blinking cursors. Mr. Hrasky taught us to write a simple computer program starting with X equaling 0 and instructing the computer to print the sum of X+1, X+2, X+3, etc. We watched in amazement as the computer counted to 10.

The real excitement started in Fifth Form when my roommate Steve, who always seemed to live several years ahead of everyone else, brought a small computer to school. Steve had written a program in which a sideways letter “T” ran after different configurations of asterisks, gobbling them up in a rudimentary precursor to Pac-Man. As we were finishing senior year, I remember asking Steve about what he was going to major in at college. As he was the only person I knew who owned a computer—in fact, he was probably the first Groton student to have a computer in his room—I asked him if he was going to major in computer science. “No,” he responded, “I’m not going to do that. You see, Jim, computers are only a tool. They’re very powerful and interesting, but they’re only a tool.”

Today this seems like a simple remark, but said by a 17-year-old student 30 years ago, it was a prescient statement.

The use of computer technology has now spread across our global society. A sense of connectedness is all around us. Opportunities abound for people to form and foster relationships and to express and exchange ideas. While skeptics point to the large volume of these communications which are, shall we say, completely vacuous— for example, celebrities tweeting their deepest thoughts while standing in line at Starbucks—the reality is that among family, friends, and communities of all sorts, these communications are meaningful and enriching.

Thirty years back the only way for Groton students to communicate with the outside world was the common room telephone. Every several days the phone would ring in a desultory manner, and if by chance someone was passing by and feeling in a charitable mood, he or she would answer the call and attempt to locate the intended recipient. Troops of students would march by the jangling instrument without breaking stride, and the hopeful parent seeking verification of his or her child’s continued existence would be disappointed. I can recall weeks passing with no communication in any form with anyone outside the Circle.

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Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

James H.R. Windels ’82

The Internet has proven adept at creating meeting places for like-minded people. But it may not have as great a capacity to generate empathy and persuade people to change or moderate their views.

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Now, this was not healthy. Communication is a good thing. Quick, efficient access to information is a good thing.

But with these benefits come challenges. One challenge is easy to articulate: there is currently a real problem of quantity and quality of information available on the Internet. Never before has skepticism been so important. With massive volumes of information available, how does one absorb it, assess it, and put it to good use? This is the intellectual challenge we face, and we must rely on our own very human capacities for synthesis and judgment.

We also need to grapple with the tendency of technology to divide and alienate. On an individual level, the Internet seems all about making connections and bringing people together. On a broader level, however, it can excite extremism, increase the aggressiveness of discourse, and erode moderate views. The Internet has proven adept at creating meeting places for like-minded people. But it may not have as great a capacity to generate empathy and persuade people to change or moderate their views.

Face-to-face communications are frequently tempered by the immediate response of the other person, by facial expressions and tone of voice. Face-to-face communications induce people to listen, and listening is the starting point for empathy and respect. On the Internet, however, the tiny black “x” beckons us from the upper right of every window.

Increased communication through technology may lead to greater mutual understanding and cooperation, but the path may not be a straight one. Our political system in the U.S. has seen greater divisiveness in recent years, which many ascribe to a nonstop information cycle which creates as much opportunity for manipulation and negativity as for positive dialogue.

We can all play a part in channeling these technologies toward positive ends. Never before have reading, thinking, and reflecting been more important. Never before have language and the nuances of language been more important, where words can be projected to thousands and cannot be erased.

Parents of young children are often heard to say “use your words” as their little tykes sob uncontrollably over some perceived slight. For all of us, “choose your words” is a vital maxim.

We must all choose language that is respectful and constructive and that engages us and brings us together.

There is also the challenge of creating the things which make us most human.

You may have heard of the infinite monkey theorem. This theorem posits that if you set up a monkey with a typewriter and find a way to make him live forever, he will type the complete works of William Shakespeare. Now apparently a man has written a computer program with virtual monkeys typing on virtual typewriters to test the theorem. At last report the virtual monkeys needed just two more words to complete The Tempest and seven to finish As You Like It. There is a beautiful irony in this experiment—the power of 21st-century machines turned loose to randomly replicate the creation of a man who lived 400 years ago and wrote with a quill pen.

There are many things which technology can do and will do, but some of the most beautiful it may never be able to do.

I have a memory of Mr. Hrasky teaching us chemistry in Fourth Form in 1980. There was one point in the course where he was unable to explain why a chemical property behaved in the way it did, and I can remember him wheeling in the middle of the classroom, approaching the blackboard at an oblique angle, and speaking excitedly about the potential for the divine in the laws of chemistry.

Now I pulled Cs in that course all year, and I cannot for the life of me remember the point he was making. But it was a memorable moment, and the idea of interplay between scientific explanation and lack of explanation as a form of divine revelation has remained with me.

Back to my roommate Steve and his comment in the spring of 1982 about computers as a tool: they certainly are a tool, an immensely powerful, intriguing, transformative tool.

But as we continue to harness their capabilities, we should remember to listen carefully, think skeptically, communicate respectfully, and always use them to bring out the best of our human nature.

Traversing the

Mountain of Happiness

A Chapel Talk by Genevieve Fowler ’12 October 21, 2011

Gen Fowler ’12, Julia Wood ’12, and Olivia Trase ’12

P

hysics works to provide an explanation for everything from the largest to the smallest scale of the universe. From the classical perspective, a set of simple equations can describe each system, until we approach the extremes. In 1803, Thomas Young performed his famous double-slit experiment. He passed a beam of light through two slits and observed the pattern it created on the surface behind the slits. The result shows light behaving as a wave because it creates a pattern of alternating dark and light. This pattern occurs because when the peaks of two waves coming from either slit meet, the height, or amplitude, of the wave is added, which creates the very bright lines on the wall. The same effect occurs upon the combination of the two lowest points of the waves. When the lowest point of one wave meets the highest point of another, the waves cancel each other out at that point and create the dark lines on the wall. However, if we are to put a sensor on each of the slits to determine which slit light goes through, the light behaves as a particle, traveling straight through the hole and not creating a pattern of interference. According to this result, light behaves as a particle when we observe it, but when we do not, it behaves as a wave.

While this experiment is profoundly meaningful on a scientific level, it also shows how our perceptions of events influence our experience. The idea that our perception has so much power fascinates me. All the rest of physics points toward humans being inconsequential on the scale of the universe: our lives are short comparatively, and our brains, which dictate our thoughts and views, are simply a clump of subatomic particles bound to following a set of laws and equations. However, this one experiment gives significance to those who perceive. Our perception is powerful enough to dictate the nature of light. I always knew I was working toward happiness, but my perception on how to achieve this goal has changed significantly over the course of my life. After learning about the wave-particle duality of light and realizing the power of perception, I began to reflect on the evolution of my own point of view.

When I was young, my mom called me an observer. She encouraged my excitement of the world and applauded my attentive eyes; she knew I was not just watching, but connecting the many sensations flooding my mind. At the age of 9 I went to Aloha Hive, an all-girls camp in Vermont, for seven weeks. I spent much of my time searching for the magic which filled the secret spots, the quiet evenings, and the moments of Quarterly Winter 2012

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Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

The class shattered the grounds of all I considered universally true; time is not constant, electrons can interfere like waves, and Schrödinger’s cat is both dead and alive.

Gen and Carrie Coughlin ‘12

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reflection. It could take the form of building a home for a kanaka, the woodland faeries that live at camp, the eerie call of a loon, or a perfectly roasted marshmallow. I began to base my happiness not only off of my exciting observations, but also the magic each one entailed.

After my first summer at camp, my family moved to Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. At my new house, I could see right into my neighbors’ yards and count the trees behind my house. My new school’s uniform prohibited me from wearing my customary, one pink, one purple sock (red and green for Christmas, pink and red for Valentine’s Day, the list goes on). Instead I donned white socks, blue tunics, and white-collared shirts. I personally preferred my pink knitted sweater with multi-colored pompons sticking out. Perhaps I was weird in fourth grade, but I didn’t know. People played with me. I was happy.

We all grow up, and around middle school the real world first reveals itself. The first change is that friends are no longer simply based on who wants to play with us. Instead we feel pressured to say the cool thing, wear the cool clothes, and exist with that generally cool, composed aura. Interaction with parents must be avoided at all costs because OH MY GOD, THEY ARE SO EMBARRASSING. Reality hits in the form of social norms.

I remained happily oblivious to these changes until a classmate intervened and graciously taught me that I was “uncool.” This girl befriended me and dedicated herself to the mission of “reforming” me. I became overly aware of others and totally reliant on her, following her every move. She taught me that no, in fact, you can’t wear a Red Sox hat, Red Sox sweatshirt, Red Sox socks, and athletic shorts to the mall. You had to wear Abercrombie and Fitch and do countless other things I can’t remember. I tried to find happiness in my newly found social status. This girl was cool, and by being her friend, I too would be cool, and therefore happy.

Still, I felt awfully awkward and unsure of myself. I lost all of my sense of identity and self-confidence. In this void I looked for something to be mine. I had always enjoyed school, but now when people told me I was smart, I felt the need to fill that role. I was an obstinate perfectionist. I actually remember crying in the bathroom because I got an 89 on a fifth grade math test. I didn’t feel pressured by others. I simply wanted to be perfect at everything academic because it was my basis for happiness. I thought that I could achieve happiness through academic success and, eventually, financial success. If someone was better than me, I decided I had some hidden talent, some mode of thought, superior to theirs.

My parents supported my efforts to succeed, but stressed the significance of a pure love of learning. To an extent I did see the value in loving learning, however it was not my primary motivation. Simply learning something seemed insignificant compared to my next test or project. Grades were tangible.

Ironically, the idea of loving learning is why I chose Groton: I wanted a “tightknit community of students who love to learn.” Throughout my time here, my dad has faithfully written me a letter every Saturday, ranging in subject from the global economy to modern architecture to the world-record-sized onion. He always reminds me to enjoy learning, and each break when I come home, he asks me not what my grades are, but what I have learned.

My parents conditioned me with the warning that Groton is full of smart people, that they wouldn’t be disappointed if my grades dropped. When I entered Groton, I wanted to be cool, but always needed to cling to others to establish my confidence. I excelled academically, but cared only about the grade; however, something about my parents’ warning stuck with me. Over time in Third Form, I started caring less and less about my grades. I made fun of my struggles with Latin 1.5. When Ms. Roche added a “class participation grade,” I added my bit of participation by shouting out random cases every time Ms. Roche pointed to a word. My favorite answer was “ablative of means.” Though I became capable of taking a less serious approach, my incentive was still the grade.

Kicking up and down the too-small lanes in swimming left me time alone in my head to reflect. One person in particular seemed genuinely curious about what I had to say. I’m not going to lie, I thought Hans was pretty weird, but his quirks made me more comfortable.

I found that as I shared my true interests, I began to remember the person I had been at camp, when I searched for magic and was so deeply and fully satisfied. The desire to become this person again grew, but at first I was so worried about fitting the social norm, I did not risk being my weird self outside of swimming.

The big jump came in Fifth Form, when I decided I wanted to skip precalculus and go into calc BC so that I could take advanced physics along with AP chem. OK—so I was crazy. Honestly, I was interested in learning this material, but I felt I had to take these classes. From my perspective, I couldn’t be considered good at math if I was in the correct level for my grade. I had to be ahead. And so the crazy scheme began.

At first it wasn’t so bad; I went on learning science and complaining about how depressing early 20th-century fiction was. Gradually though, everything got harder. I stopped understanding physics, and math didn’t come effortlessly. While sitting in the back of the physics classroom one cold winter day, I thought about my grade in the class and probably visibly frowned. Then I thought about how much I had learned over the past two terms not only in class, but also by making connections on my own between my many classes. One particularly thrilling experience occurred while studying The Sound and the Fury and special relativity simultaneously. Einstein’s theory crushed my classical perspective of time. I struggled to redefine it while reading the Quentin section of Faulkner’s book. Quentin, too, struggles with time and his inability to escape or control it. I saw symmetry between the writer’s quest to define the nature of humans and the physicist’s desire to discover the nature of the universe. These connections made the facts spring alive with a spirit much like the magic I had found at camp. The facts became more than just information as they settled into alignment.

I really began to rebuild my perspective around loving learning after taking modern physics last spring. The class shattered the grounds of all I considered universally true; time is not constant, electrons can interfere like waves, and Schrödinger’s cat is both dead and alive. Reality hit again, as it had in middle school, and I found my perspective unsatisfactory in such a broad context. My grades and social status were insignificant compared to the universe. I needed to find a new approach to happiness. However, unlike in middle school, I rejoiced at the chance to redefine truth as I set out to find a logical explanation for the confusion we call physics. I knew I wanted to achieve happiness, but was not sure of the right way to approach this task. I felt I needed to find the ultimately true viewpoint before allowing myself to be subjective. The more questions I asked, the greater my uncertainty became, and I soon realized the magnitude of my goal. When posing any question, I had to wonder if a true, correct answer actually existed.

The three-week canoe trip I went on over the summer provided time for reflection. I was adding to my journal after a long day of paddling when I decided I could not proceed in my musings without an answer, some grounds for my speculation. I broke the silence and asked the group, “What is truth?” One counselor replied, “What people believe is true to them,” and the silence resumed. Her answer seemed so simple and therefore completely unlikely. Why does a person have the power to define truth simply by viewing life from his

Gen and a friend from camp in a self-portrait painted for a Groton art class

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| 45

Per Circulum Locuti Sunt | Voices on the Circle

Genevieve Fowler ‘12

Magic does not come only from trees, and faeries, and setting suns.

It can also come from learning, questioning, seeking, and connecting.

46 | Quarterly Winter 2012

or her perspective? Then, my mind jumped to physics: an observer can define the nature of light according to the double-slit experiment, and according to special relativity, the passage of time is defined differently depending on the velocity of an observer relative to another frame of reference. In other words, imagine we are moving away from each other at a high speed: either one of us can consider ourselves at rest and the other person moving.

Even if our perceptions conflict, they both must be considered true.

One of Nietzsche’s many philosophical views, perspectivism, implies that truths may conflict as there are many possible perspectives from which judgment of truth can be made.

It also says that an observation can never be completely objective. One way of grasping perspectivism is by imagining life as a mountain. There are many paths to the top to pick from, but no one can follow your exact footsteps. As in perpectivism, where you always view life from a perspective, you must always approach the summit from a path. The path may be marked or unmarked, rational or irrational, but regardless, you are inarguably on some sort of trail, and it is completely your own.

We all want to be happy whether or not we realize it. Happiness is a monstrous mountain with no one clear path. If you interpret happiness as something dictated by wealth, status, love, or any number of things, depending on your perspective, you will find yourself on a different path.

When I was young, happiness came simply through a belief in magic, but it was impermanent as I existed in a state of blissful ignorance. In middle school I sought status by following others socially and caring only about grades. Without being deliberate, I tried being competitive, judgmental, and selfish. In none of these cases was I any happier. Groton has directed me to a new path where the journey is just as good as the goal.

Groton reminded me of my genuine curiosity and my natural desire to question. The idea of unlimited interconnected questions encourages me to probe further. I have remembered an old path and reinterpreted it to fit my intellectual pursuits. I found the magic, my truth. Magic does not come only from trees, and faeries, and setting suns. It can also come from learning, questioning, seeking, and connecting.

Over the summer I learned that magic is most powerful when shared. I returned to camp as a counselor and took on the role of creating the campers’ world. One afternoon I found my 8-year-old camper, Julia, distressed and sitting on her bed, naked. She looked at me and exclaimed, “I lost my underwear!” Upon inspection, I discovered she had indeed lost all nine pairs of underwear. I promised her replacements, but struggled to think of where her originals could have gone. “Maybe it was the kanakas?” I suggested. “They can be quite mischievous.” That evening, while walking in the woods, I discovered a letter sitting under some trees, waiting to be found. It read: “Dear Kanakas, My name is Julia. What are your names? What are your favorite foods? I like carrots.

Also, where is my underwear?”

I found a piece of birch bark and, playing my part in this world of enchantment, scribed the kanakas’ reply. Julia was wide-eyed the next morning when she saw the note on her trunk. Helping to inspire curiosity and belief in magic has become a passion of mine. Mother Gulick, a founder of my camp, once said, “Don’t be a happy little freak by yourself.” As I have matured, my desire to simply experience the wonder has expanded into a wish to share it with others not only at camp, but also at school and at home. Sharing the magic exponentially grows the happiness I gain from questioning.

We are extremely lucky to be a part of the Groton community, which offers its students the opportunity to learn from incredible peers and faculty in order to develop an informed perspective. All that is necessary is an open, curious mind. Your perspective is your most powerful tool. It allows you to be an individual and is the most natural way to gain significance. I have only questions, no answers. All I can do is share my perception. Like me, you are climbing the mountain of happiness; the path is your decision.

De Libris | About Books • Book review •

Affection & Trust: The Personal Correspondence of Harry S. Truman and Dean Acheson, 1953-1971 Edited by Dr. Ray Geselbracht and David C. Acheson ’39

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Reviewed by Geoffrey Gund ’60

f you want to gain insight into what makes political leadership possible, Affection and Trust is an extraordinary example of the loyalty and intimate political relationship that likely made Harry Truman special as a president. He was clearly able to put to good use the advice given him by former Secretary of State Dean Acheson 1911, while at the same time retaining his own viewpoint and ability to make decisions.

It may be that Truman, with his particular personality, his wide reading but lack of a formal college education, and his understanding of the need for wise counsel on a variety of historical and political subjects, was the last president who might so readily open himself to the particular kind of friendship Acheson offered. Certainly it would be hard to imagine a set of letters with the same warmth and affection existing between Eisenhower and any of his advisors.

The affection is clear throughout the letters between Acheson and Truman. The two men took whatever chance they could to connect and converse about the political situation and their lives. Whenever possible they included their wives: Truman’s Bess, almost always referred to as “The Boss” by Dean Acheson, and Acheson’s wife, Alice, were also friends.

Truman asked Acheson to help him with his memoirs, and he was effusive in his praise of the fine work he thought Acheson was doing, as seen in his letter of July 9, 1955: “I’m eternally grateful to you for your suggestions and corrections. In fact, never can I meet the obligation I owe you for recent actions and for what you did as Asst. Sec. of State, Acting Sec. of State and the greatest Secretary of State of them all. And Dean, I know the history of every one of them from Jefferson in Washington’s cabinet to date.”

In presenting his editing advice, Acheson undertook the hard task of enlightening Truman as to style and history, while highlighting an important policy difference between the two men. With respect to style, while giving memoir advice in his lengthy July 18, 1955 letter, Acheson captured the feisty Truman of his 1945-46 presidency: “At the bottom of page 148 and on page 149, you jump from Iran directly into the delivery of the message to Congress on Greece and Turkey on March 12, 1947. As a literary device, this seems to me

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De Libris | About Books

a mistake. It gives the impression of a two-gun man in the White House shooting with both hands in all directions at the same time. You tell Stalin off at the top of the page. You are on the rostrum of the House, intervening in Greece and Turkey, without any explanation at the bottom of the page.

Things didn’t happen that way and you didn’t decide things that way.”

With respect to history, Acheson, in his letter of June 21, 1955, directly challenges Truman’s recollection of an initiative, proposed by President Roosevelt, that would have given the president greater ability to appoint Supreme Court justices: “The Court proposals of 1937 had nothing to do with appointing enough justices to do the Court’s work. They were directed toward reversing the current majority and changing the current interpretation—which I believe was wrong—of the commerce clause and the Fifth Amendment, which interpretation has since been changed.”

Within the next paragraph, Acheson adds a frank grace note, which is thoughtful and helpful— and at the heart of the effective working relationship between the two men: “I do not think that it is necessary or desirable for you to re-argue the Court proposals, and I would strongly urge that you do not, but merely list your vote along with all the others to show that which, so far as the history of your life is concerned, is the important thing; that is, the loyalty with which you stood by President Roosevelt. I Sometimes Truman and know that you will not be offended by the frankness with which I have Acheson appear, from written. I do it because of the grave injustice, as I have already said, which this paragraph does you.” the perspective of the On the policy of self-determination in the Middle East, Acheson points out a key difference of opinion with the president: present, to have been “p. 242. On this page, again, we have American policy designed to too close to the history bring about by peaceful means the establishment of the promised Jewish they were judging and homeland … The next to last paragraph really shocks me, and I hope it can be eliminated. You say the simple fact is that our policy was an perhaps too partisan. American policy. The reason that it was an American policy was that it aimed at a peaceful elimination of a world trouble spot. Really this seems to me to go too far. Advocacy is one thing, but this is not advocacy. Would this policy, which you say was American policy, have been ours if there were no Jews in the United States? Please leave out these instances when you protest too much.”

As if anticipating a push back from Truman, at one point in this particular letter Acheson writes, “Please put away the club you have out for me and rewrite these pages.”

Truman’s response to this most difficult of Acheson’s letters was: “… I certainly do appreciate very much your generosity in helping me polish up this second volume.” He adds a postscript sentence, “You are just too good and too patient.”

From this reviewer’s point of view, Truman is always supportive of Acheson and effusive in his praise of him. There are a number of points where it is apparent that Truman strongly feels the need for Acheson’s insights. Thus he frequently uses him as a speechwriter. In return, Truman is often willing to do favors for Acheson—whether through speaking engagements or private audiences.

These letters give a special insight into the political jockeying for power. Truman and Acheson enjoy critiquing the leaders who follow them and the columnists they feel got it wrong when they were in power. Sometimes Truman and Acheson appear, from the perspective of the present, to have been too close to the history they were judging and perhaps too partisan. This might be true of some of their criticisms of Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson. It is also true that they disagree at times, Truman showing a bit more optimism than Acheson and more sensitivity to the difficulties of being president. Some of the enjoyment of reading this book will come from matching your own view of the politics and history of this time with that which is debated in these letters.

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Ex Libris | Books???

De Libris | About Books

New releases

George Martin ’44

Verdi in America University of Rochester Press

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n the United States, of Verdi’s first 17 operas, Oberto through Rigoletto, only Ernani had real success. Such operas as Nabucco and Macbeth, today staples of the repertory, quickly departed the stage, and even Rigoletto achieved real success only after 30 years of trouble and rejection. Verdi in America tells how opinion on each opera formed, changed, and, more speculatively, why; thus it is as much a social and cultural history as a musical one. Opinion changed in part because of the impact of the Verdi Renaissance, which started with the novel Verdi by Franz Werfel, published in the 1920s, which slowly swept across the world. This Renaissance surged in the United States in the 1940s and ’50s, changing critical opinion and leading to U.S. premieres of seven of his operas in the latter part of the century. This book acts as prologue to 2013, the bicentennial of Verdi’s birth.

Richard Bentley ’55

A General Theory of Desire Patchwork Farms Press

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hese poems, many of them interwoven with graphic art and painting, have been previously published in the U.S., France, Canada, the U.K., and Brazil. The poems, according to the author, “attempt to depict the openings we all have to strangeness and possibility. Poetic language can be intensified by visual elements such as color, shape, and composition that are both pleasing to the eye and challenging to the senses. They are also fun to create, you art students.” Below, a selection from A General Theory of Desire:

“Scissors Confiscated in an Airport Line” From their forgotten hollow picket in my backpack they must have loomed on the x-ray like angry birds of prey or the crossed swords of Zorro that could hack their way through blood and flame and treachery. Detached from my careless fingers their tininess was no excuse, although they’d snipped no more than a few threads, some chives from a windowsill pot, and ribbons on gifts for newlyweds, Christmas kids and birthday girls. Like many memories gone forever they were both innocent and lacerating.

William C. Hammond ’66

The Power and the Glory Naval Institute Press

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his is the third novel in the award-winning historical/nautical fiction series from William C. Hammond. It follows in the wake of A Matter of Honor and For Love of Country and features the adventures of the seafaring Cutler family of Hingham, Massachusetts. Set during the Quasi-War against the French Republic during the late 1790s, the novel offers the reader a stirring and authentic look at the birth of the modern U.S. Navy during the Age of Fighting Sail. Whether confronting French pirates off the coast of Nantucket or heavily armed French frigates in the Caribbean Sea, Capt. Thomas Truxtun, Capt. Silas Talbot, Lt. Richard Cutler and other early naval heroes—most real, some fictional—personify the best of American honor and courage. And underlying all the swashbuckling action is a love story for the ages between Richard Cutler and his Englishborn wife, Katherine.

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De Libris | About Books Scott C. Steward ’81 (with Christopher C. Child)

The Descendants of Judge John Lowell of Newburyport, Massachusetts New England Historic Genealogical Society

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he first full treatment of the Lowell family since Delmar R. Lowell’s 1899 genealogy, The Descendants of Judge John Lowell of Newburyport, Massachusetts traces John Lowell’s descendants to the present day, including 91 with ties to Groton, from the School’s cofounder, William Amory Gardner, to a member of the Form of 2012, Madeline Anderson Lyons. Among the other Grotonians are faculty member Henry Howe Richards, William Putnam Bundy ’35, McGeorge Bundy ’36, and six members of the Form of 1934: Hugh Auchincloss, Harvey Hollister Bundy, Joseph Randolph Coolidge, John MacDougall Graham, Augustus Peabody Loring, and Tudor Richards. Among the nonGrotonians are Francis Cabot Lowell, for whom the city of Lowell is named; Isabella Stewart Gardner, art patron and museum founder; Civil War general Charles Russell Lowell, Jr; and poets Amy Lowell and Robert Traill Spence Lowell.

Ben Coes ’85

Coup D’État St. Martin’s Press

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radical cleric has become the democratically elected president of Pakistan and uses a brutal incident in the Kashmir region as an opportunity to ignite war with India.

The highly lethal conventional war spins out of control when Pakistan initiates a nuclear attack. India is on the verge of launching a nuclear response, one that will have unimaginably disastrous results for both the United States and the world at large. With the clock ticking and Pakistan in the hands of a religious radical willing to do anything to destroy India, there remains only one viable option—for the United States to execute a coup d’etat in Pakistan. The only man with the skills and experience to remove the Pakistani president from power is Ben Coes’ character Dewey Andreas. Read a full review of Ben’s book

by Ann Woodward ’86 in the spring quarterly.

Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs ’95

The Food52 Cookbook: 140 Winning Recipes from Exceptional Home Cooks William Morrow

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he FOOD52 Cookbook by Merrill Stubbs ’95 and Amanda Hesser is the first online community cookbook. It features 140 recipes from the country’s best home cooks, culled from a year of recipe contests on www.food52.com. It is a nod to traditional community cookbooks, but with an added layer of curation. For 52 weeks, Merrill and Amanda named contest themes (Your Best Chocolate Dessert, Your Best Dinner for One), and FOOD52’s community submitted original recipes. The authors tested the most promising and chose two finalists. Then the community voted on which recipe would go into the cookbook.

The recipes in the book are approachable yet inventive: Lazy Mary’s Lemon Tart uses entire lemons—peel and seeds included—to coax the most flavor from the fruit, while Smoky Fried Chickpeas reimagines the concept of finger food. With something for every level of cook and every season, The FOOD52 Cookbook is a great snapshot of a year in home cooking.

5050 | | Quarterly QuarterlyWinter Winter2012 2012

Book summaries were provided by authors and/or publishers.

FALL SPORTS linebackers Trevor, Joe, and Walter Hunnewell ’12. Sam posted an astounding 75.7 total tackles along with 8.5 quarterback sacks. Walter chipped in 68.5 total tackles in a breakout year, and Joe and Trevor posted 40 tackles apiece.

In the season finale in Southborough, Groton won its annual showdown with the Lions in a hard-fought 20-14 victory. Highlights included Patrick running and throwing for a combined 185 yards and connecting for two touchdown passes.

Evan Hansen-Bundy ’12 hauled in both TD passes as well as another spectacular fingertip grab that changed the momentum of the game in the second half. Finally, the safety, Adam, playing on a wounded ankle that hobbled him the final weeks of the season, played his best defensive game of the year against St. Mark’s, intercepting four Lion passes, including one to seal the victory on the final play of the game.

The senior class will be sorely missed when the 2012 campaign begins, and their contributions to this team’s success will not soon be forgotten.

—Coach John Lyons Adam Lamont ’12

Charlie Alexander Award: Sixth Form 2011 All-ISL: Trevor Bossi ’12, David Caldwell ’13, Sam Caldwell ’13,

Varsity Football | 6-2

ISL Honorable Mention: Evan Hansen-Bundy ’12, Sherwood

Walter Hunnewell ’12, Adam Lamont ’12, Joe MacDonald ’12

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ith a sixth straight annual victory over St. Mark’s in the season finale, Groton’s gridders closed out their most successful season in 14 years, posting a 6-2 win-loss record for the year in an ever more competitive Independent School League.

After graduating just two seniors from the 2010 squad, a veteran team returned over Labor Day weekend fully committed to emerging as one of the ISL’s elite teams. Led by five exceptional captains—Patrick Florence ’12, Adam Lamont ’12, Zach Baharozian ’12, Trevor Bossi ’12, and Joe MacDonald ’12—the team opened the season with strong victories against St. George’s, Brooks, and Rivers, only to stumble against archrival Middlesex in a heart­wrenching 26-21 loss in a driving rain. Despite that setback, Groton roared back to knock off perennial league power BB&N 14-7, in a Friday night tilt at Bentley College. Though BB&N was considerably bigger and stronger, Groton played with extra­ordinary intensity, competing better than it has in years.

Despite the strong start, a season-ending injury to RB David Caldwell ’13 in the BB&N game necessitated some changes in approach. David compiled 700 yards rushing and receiving, along with nine touchdowns in just four games, but the team rallied around veterans Adam and Joe as primary runners, with quarterback Patrick distributing the ball. In addition, Groton’s defense grew increasingly stingy in the home stretch. Leading tacklers included defensive lineman Sam Caldwell ’13 as well as Photos by Vaughn Winchell

Callaway ’12, Pat Florence ’12, Brian O’Neill ’12 Most Improved Player: Walter Hunnewell ’12 Captains-Elect: Francisco Fernandez ’13, Tom Santinelli ’13

Groton on the Charles

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umerous Groton alumni participated in the Head of the Charles regatta in October.

Among those rowing were Rob Black ’10 (Trinity College), Mary Cooper ’08 (coxswain, Water Cat Masters 4), Nason Hamlin ’64 (Wesleyan alumni team), James Higgins ’02 (Yale), Henry Hoffstot ’09 and Kerri McKie ’09 (Georgetown), Alex Karwoski ’08 (Cornell), Ruth Kennedy ’79 (Cambridge Boat Club Senior Masters), Liza MacEachern ’10 (Radcliffe), Julia May ’10 (Williams), Ted Patton ’84 (a 1988 Olympian), Faith Richardson ’11 (Princeton), and Penn Williamson ’59 (Senior Veteran Singles). At least one crew was a family affair: brothers George Hatch ’76 and Whitney Hatch ’73 rowed with their brother-in-law Fred Whitridge ’73 in the Director’s Challenge quad.

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Grotoniana | All Things Groton memory. The sun shone brilliantly that day, and the sidelines were packed, but three LA goals in the opening 20 minutes proved too big a lead, though we earned back two of them.

A disappointing ending, yet the girls did a wonderful job of not letting it cloud our overall success. Our Sixth Formers— Jacqueline Anton, Tilly Barnett, Hope Cutler, Nicole Fronsdahl, Chloe Fross, Abby Morss, Kaitlyn Peterson, and Christina Strater—many of whom had been on the team since Second or Third Form, were a privilege to coach. They set a tone of hard-working fun that made this team a joy to work with each and every day. They will be missed, but we are excited about the future they have helped create.

—Coach Sarah Mongan Most Valuable Player: Kaitlyn Peterson ’12 All-ISL: Kaitlyn Peterson’12 ISL Honorable Mention: Jacqueline Anton ’12,

Abby Morss ’12, Christina Napolitano ’13 Most Improved Player: Lauren Dorsey ’14 Coaches’ Award: Jacqueline Anton ’12 Captains-Elect: Christina Napolitano ’13, Abby Morss ‘12

Girls Varsity Soccer | 10-6-1 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Class B Semi-Finalists

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fter a 2010 campaign that culminated in a New England championship, the obvious question on everyone’s mind was, “What next?” The coaches and captains met in the spring to discuss whether to move up from Class C to Class B, and they decided, unanimously, that this was the right time to make the jump. With that move came dual goals: continue on our past success, and rebuild from the loss of several key seniors.

After a rainy preseason, we welcomed eight new girls to the team, including five Third Formers. We had a large squad, but that depth and versatility proved critical as the season progressed.

Groton got through the most demanding part of the schedule with a 7-4 record, then the team met and reasserted its goal to earn a playoff berth. The last four games of the season included a freak snowstorm, an unexpected road game, two concussions, and one of the most frustrating of all results: 0-0 against rival St. Mark’s.

To the surprise of many of us, we were awarded a number-three seed in the New England tournament. Before a raucous crowd of Zebra fans, we defeated Williston-Northampton 1-0 in a hardfought battle. Groton scored early in the second half and held on with a tenacious defense to win. We heard within minutes that Lawrence Academy had upset Wilbraham and Monson School, setting up a cross-town showdown in the semi-final. That game was moved to the Circle field after the wettest fall in recent

52 | Quarterly Winter 2012

Catherine Walker-Jacks ’13

Boys Varsity Soccer | 6-4-5

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ehind a resolute group of Sixth Formers, this year’s team climbed above .500 and narrowly missed a trip to the New England B Tournament. Surmounting the frustrating loss of Sam Watson ’12 (an AllISL selection in 2010) to injury, Groton played each game exceptionally well and fought its way to a hard-earned 6-4-5 record. It was a season in which Groton was so close—always.

Eleven of the team’s fifteen matches were decided by one goal or were ties, and Groton lost by more than a single goal only once, to eventual league champion Nobles. A slightly different bounce, a few inches this way or that, and Groton might have had one of its best seasons in a decade.

Nevertheless, it was a tremendous season. Despite playing with a brand new defense, Groton gave up the fewest goals in the league (11). This is particularly striking given that for the last five games of the fall, Groton was without standout goalie George Bukawyn ’13, ultimately an All-ISL Second Team selection. In his place, Ray Dunn ’12 filled in more than ably, surrendering just one goal in the last five games. In all truth, the strength of the defense didn’t lie in one player but in the collective, for even the back four was really a back six or seven as several players rotated in to help out. Certainly, co-captain Charlie Terris did much to secure this group by playing every minute of every game and also earning All-ISL Second Team honors. Anchoring the defense with Charlie were Chris MacDonald ’12, newcomer Federico Marchese ’13, Peter Mumford ’13, George Wells ’13, and Ross Coneybeer ’14.

Fall Sports

Boys Varsity Cross Country | 8-12

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his was a rebuilding year for the boys cross country team. After losing 11 seniors from a 2010 New England Championship team, a young team with several new runners struggled against a strong and deep ISL schedule. Early in the season, co-captains Harry Pearson ’12 and Chris King ’13 sustained season-ending injuries, further handicapping the team. The guys worked hard all season long however, finishing with eight wins and 12 losses and an 11th-place finish at the ISL championships.

Leading the way for Groton were Sixth Formers Emmett Horvath and Gordon Pyne, who was running cross country for the first time. Third Former Willy Anderson was Groton’s number-one runner for most of the season; he ran a 17:55 for five kilometers at the New England Championships to finish 25th overall, and he was the third ninth-grade finisher in the race.

At the end-of-season banquet, the Coach’s Award went to Emmett Horvath in recognition of his hard work and devotion to team. We are optimistic about next season with several promising runners returning, including varsity runners Chris King ’13, Hugh McGlade ’13, Jamie Thorndike ’14, Willy Anderson ’15, and Peter White ’15.

—Coach William Maguire Coach’s Award: Emmett Horvath ’12 Captains-Elect: Chris King ’13, Hugh McGlade ’13 Ray Dunn ‘12

Yet Groton didn’t simply rely on defense. In the majority of matches, Groton controlled the middle of the field behind cocaptain Jack Kessler ’12 (All-ISL First Team), Ryan Meuth ’13 (All-ISL Second Team), Jack Rhinelander ’12, and newcomer Chris Higginson ’14—who led the team in goals. Up top, Groton was led by Sixth Formers Tim Morrill, William Goodenough, and the versatile Ray Dunn.

After a spectacular effort to beat 2-0 a formidable BB&N (its only loss by more than one goal), Groton went on to finish its last seven games with a 4-1-2 record. Ultimately, the group couldn’t help but feel the season was abruptly cut off just as it was rolling along, but in reflection, there is much to celebrate and little to lament.

—Coach Theodore Goodrich Most Valuable Player: Charlie Terris ’12 All-ISL: Jack Kessler ’12 ISL Honorable Mention: George Bukawyn ’13,

Ryan Meuth ’13, Charlie Terris ’12 Coaches’ Awards: Ray Dunn ’12, Chris MacDonald ’12 Captains-Elect: George Bukawyn ’13, Ryan Meuth ’13 Johnathan Terry ‘13

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Grotoniana | All Things Groton Girls Cross Country | 7-5

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roton’s girls cross country team entered the season as the reigning Division III New England champions.

The combination of graduating the top two runners last year and moving up to NEPSTA Division II presented new challenges to the squad. The 2011 captains, Lena Horvath ’12, Molly Lyons ’12, and Anita Xu ’11 accepted these challenges, leading the team to many victories.

During a highly successful season, the capstone was defeating Rivers School 25-33 to close the year with a 7-5 record. Groton girls earned seven of the top ten places in that race. Molly Lyons was second overall with a time of 21:24, while next year’s tricaptains, Addie Ewald ’14, Anita Xu, and Zandra Ho ’13, were close behind, placing fourth, fifth, and sixth, with times of 22:42, 22:47, and 23:03 respectively. The three final top-ten finishers for the Zebras were Fourth Former Olivia Thompson (eighth, 23:17), Sixth Former Magdalena Horvath (ninth, 23:18), and Fifth Former Lucy McNamara (tenth, 23:24).

In the championship races, the team placed fifth in the ISL at Brooks School and surprised many opponents with an outstanding showing at the Division II New England Championship, hosted at Groton. The team was awarded a plaque in the Groton School Hall for its fourth-place finish, and the runners agreed that the workouts running up the boathouse road paid off when they received a plaque on their home turf. The fourth-place finish was a true team effort; all seven varsity runners completed Groton’s grueling course in less than 22 minutes.

The squad looks forward to the fall with many inspired returning runners, along with an enthusiastic coaching staff.

—Coach Erin Lyman

Most Valuable Runner: Molly Lyons ’12 All-ISL: Molly Lyons ’12 ISL Honorable Mention: Addie Ewald ’14 Most Improved Runner: Lena Horvath ’12 Coaches’ Award: Anita Xu ’13 Captains-Elect: Addie Ewald ’14, CC Ho ’13, Anita Xu ’13

Melissa Cusanello ‘14

Varsity Field Hockey | 4-9-2

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his fall was punctuated by a weather pattern that seemed to ensure that on every Wednesday and Saturday we would have rain or snow. That being the case, we were hard-pressed to play games on Oates Field, our home surface. Certainly, having to play three of our home games away affected our psyches. Nevertheless, our girls team competed intensely in every match. Improvement in the players’ stick skills and corner play was impressive, as was their ability to move the ball downfield. Memorable moments of the fall? Undoubtedly, our Parents Weekend blizzard game vs.

St. Paul’s; our great play vs. St. George’s, Southfield, and New Hampton; and an amazing 1-0 victory over Nobles. Our Sixth Formers, co-captains Ashlin Dolan and Kaly Spilhaus and field players Katherine Gracey, Susanna Kalaris, Katie Petroskey, Ali Norton, and Talia Simon, were important leaders on and off the field.

—Coach Martha Gracey Most Valuable Player: Maeve McMahon ’13 All-ISL: Maeve McMahon’13 ISL Honorable Mention: Ashlin Dolan ’12 Most Improved Player: Katherine Gracey ’12 Coaches’ Awards: Charlotte Gemes ’14, Thea Johnson’13 Captains-Elect: Olivia Bono ’13, Thea Johnson ’13,

Lena Horvath ’12

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Maeve McMahon ’13

Alumni News

Dance CC Ho ’13 with her parents Jennifer Lam and Bernard Ho, Stephen Corrigan ’00, Sarah Casey Forbes ’86, Dorothy Sullivan (former faculty), Katie Whitters Vaughn ’93, and Lillian Burkart P ’12

day of service In six cities, a fitting Groton birthday celebration

G

roton created a new birthday tradition this fall when graduates, parents, and students gathered in six cities across the country to perform community service.

Groton’s first annual Day of Service, honoring the School’s 127th birthday, united volunteers, primarily alumni, in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Stamford, Connecticut. Some current students, home for a fall long weekend break, participated too.

Boston-area volunteers worked the land at a Lynn, Massachusetts, farm affiliated with the Food Project. In New York City, Groton graduates bundled clothing for Baby Buggy, a nonprofit that provides children’s clothing and essential equipment to families in need. In Stamford, a Groton group planted bulbs and beautified the campus of the Waterside School, a pre-K-5 independent school that serves students of all economic and social backgrounds.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Groton graduates supported an Urban Ministry Center book drive and, on Sunday at Sow Much Good, planted and taught children about gardening. On the West Coast, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank welcomed Groton volunteers, who prepared food packages, and in San Francisco, a Groton group cleaned up Ocean Beach, part of Golden Gate National Park. Groton grads helped out in the

nation’s capital too, preparing meals at Food and Friends, which serves people with HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other illnesses.

The Day of Service was organized by the Groton Women’s Network, the Groton School Alumni Association, and the Parents Association. Cui Servire Est Regnare in action: what better way to say happy birthday?

At Food & Friends in Washington, DC: Hilary Watts ’97, Mario Malcolm ’94, Malik Jabati ’15, Chris Dorn ’82, Malisa Dorn, and Keith Jabati P ’15

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Grotoniana | All Things Groton

An Epic Challenge

I

n early November, Odysseus led Groton on an unconventional version of his epic journey via The Odyssey, interpreted from Homer’s epic poem by Mary Zimmerman.

“It was a huge feat to take on The Odyssey,” says Laurie Sales, director of the play and the theater program. “Not only is there the enormity of the story, but there are emotionally complex situations that are challenging for young actors. What does it mean to be a father? Or to be missing your husband for 20 years? How can we understand living alone on an island for all of eternity or the constant battle with the forces of Zeus?”

Laurie used this production to teach students a movement technique known as Viewpoints.

“With each play we take on, I try to introduce the students to a specific theatrical tool. In the past we have focused on dialect work, stage combat, devised work, sign language, etc.,” she says. “With this piece, the goal was to teach the students a vocabulary for physical theater.”

Zimmerman’s version of The Odyssey both honors and twists the original text, adding elements of whimsy. A cast of 25 students teamed with professional designers and student technicians on

Photos by David Altshuler P’13,’15

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the production, which was co-directed by Laurie and guest collaborator Chris Murrah. Sarah Sullivan provided the set design and technical direction, Devon Ritchie the costume design, and Erik Fox the lighting design.

“The Odyssey was about invigorating imagination both for the performers and the audience,” Laurie says. “That’s what I believe the best theater does well—it asks us to imagine ourselves in a different pair of shoes, to see the world through another’s perspective.”

Opposite page, top, George Prugh ’12 as Odysseus facing the ominous shadow of the Cyclops, played by Joseph Scott ’12; center, Becca Gracey ’14 as Calypso; bottom, the full cast in Phaeacia This page top left, Ben Ames ’12 as Zeus and Matt Johnson ’12 as Hermes; top right, Carly Margolis ’12, a Siren, with Jasper Morgan ’14, a sailor; left, Nya Holder ’12 as Odysseus’ mother in the underworld; above, sailor Molly Belsky ’12 with the eye of the Cyclops

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Grotoniana | All Things Groton

Dance

Student choreography on nearly every piece distinguished the fall dance recital.

Photos by Chad Mills and John Love

Top, foreground, Naomi Wright ’12; center, Reed Redman ’14; bottom right, Libby Llanso ’16, Carolina Mejia ’12, Liz MeLampy ’12, and Sofi Llanso ’14

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Dance Recital

Clockwise from top left: Denia Viera ’12; Talia Horvath ’14, flanked by KT Choi ’14 and Amy Zhang ’14; Desiree Jones ’14; Amy Zhang ’14 and (background) Denia Viera ’12; the recital finale; Libby Llanso ’16

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Grotoniana | All Things Groton

O

n Saturday, October 29, 2011, during Parents Weekend, Groton’s musicians took to the stage to showcase their talents. The concert featured performances by Groton’s Jazz Band, the Grotones a cappella group, Steel Drums, Madrigals, and Groton’s Orchestra.

From top, Molly Belsky ’12, Marianna Gailus ’13, Madeleine Cohen ’13, Eliza Fairbrother ’12, and Ben Ames ’12; Evan Haas ’15 and Peter Nam ’15; Michael Ma ’15

Photos by Mike Sperling

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Clockwise from top, Johann Colloredo-Mansfeld ’13; George Prugh ’12, Tae-Hoon Lee ’13, and Luke Duroc-Danner ’12; Ade Osinubi ’14; Alaric Krapf ’15; Jenna Hong ’15

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Grotoniana | All Things Groton

Gallery News Christopher Carey Brodigan Gallery Winter

Exhibit

Norman Laliberté: Images and Allegories January 9 through February 24, 2012

W Loquacious Bird, 2010 Acrylic on canvas with gold leaf

inter in particular makes an exhibit by Massachusetts artist Norman Laliberté welcome. The artist’s spirit jumps from the canvas, exuding warmth and energy.

Laliberté was born in Worcester but grew up in Montreal with his French Canadian parents. His first international recognition came when he designed 88 banners for the Vatican Pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair. Since then, he has had more than 100 solo shows in North America, and his work hangs in many major public and corporate collections, including those of the Smithsonian Institution and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

Describing a Laliberté exhibit for a gallery in Quebec City, Thérèse Dion (mother of Celine) wrote: “Between abstract and representational, Norman Laliberte’s works choreograph a dance of being, somewhere between the world of dreams and that of reality, using figurative elements as the base for abstraction. … Along with expression of joy, life, and festiveness, there is also the expression of tensions within compositions, the painterly versus the sculptural, the classical versus the lyrical, the ambiguous and the mysterious versus the poetic and the mythological.”

All shows at the Brodigan Gallery are free. The gallery is open from 9 to 5 on weekdays

An Esprit de Jeunesse, 2008, acrylic on tile and wood

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Mysticism, 2008, acrylic on canvas with pewter figures

Gallery News

De Menil Gallery winter

Exhibit

Tools in Motion: Works from the Hechinger Collection January 11 through March 2, 2012

Stephen Hansen, Man on a Limb, 1985 Steel and wood

“

T

ools in Motion” celebrates repetition and motion in common everyday tools and hardware, magically transforming utilitarian objects into fanciful works of beauty, surprise, and wit.

The exhibit, chosen from International Arts and Artists’ Tools as Art: The Hechinger Collection, features 47 highlights from the holdings of hardware-industry pioneer John Hechinger, including works

by Arman, Jim Dine, Claes Oldenberg, Jacob Lawrence, and other artists.

The Hechinger Collection includes more than 375 works in a variety of media—sculpture, painting, craft, photography, drawing, prints, and digital art. Some of the works in Tools in Motion confound the barrier between art and life by transforming actual tools into artwork or by demonstrating the illusionistic properties of tool materials. Others, more metaphorically, reference labor and production. The Groton community and the public are invited to enjoy the exuberant creativity, consummate craftsmanship, and sheer fun of the exhibition.

All shows at the de Menil Gallery are free. The gallery is open from 9 to 3 on weekdays (except Wednesdays) and 11 to 4 on weekends (except holiday weekends).

Arman School of Fishes, 1982 Welded steel and vise grips

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In Memoriam | As We Remember I N

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George W.W. Brewster III ’59

1

April 3, 1941 – July 14, 2011

Edward P. Lawrence ’59 delivered this eulogy for his formmate, George W.W. Brewster III, who passed away in July.

I

am honored and privileged to be able to share some thoughts and feelings about my oldest friend, George Washington Wales Brewster III. We grew up together in Brookline, attended the same schools, bicycled between homes on the weekend, and were well known to each other’s families.

It would not surprise you to know that George, even at this early age, was gregarious, athletic, competitive, fun-loving, and always capable of getting into trouble. The sight of a well-kicked soccer ball sailing high over my head for a goal in my parents’ front hall only to meet a very large crystal chandelier with all the attendant breaking of glass will forever be printed on my mind. Such was a standard experience with my friend George.

But George also had a special trait at an early age not shared by his classmates, and that was a wonderful sense of style in everything he did and touched, in his dress, in decorating his study at school, even in swinging a tennis racquet. He spent hours in the fourth grade in front of a mirror creating a “part” in his unruly red hair, when most of his classmates had little comprehension of his objective or the possible benefits thereof. George’s sense of style and taste imbued all that he touched over the years, manifesting itself in part in his exquisitely decorated apartment on Marlborough Street, to which he returned to spend the final weeks of his life.

For George, high school was an experience which shaped much of his life. Groton School was tough for all of us, but no one in my class at Groton worked harder than George, and when results did not always reflect the effort invested, an event we all experienced, George only redoubled his efforts. He faced disappointment with new energy and commitment and boundless enthusiasm. As difficult a passage as this was, the character it forged prepared him for the many challenges he faced so well in later life, including his battle with cancer these last 15 years.

What also grew out of these school years were numerous lifelong friendships. That was only the start. George made friends wherever he went in life, at work, in volunteer activities, in Alcoholics Anonymous, in whatever he pursued. George’s bright, broad smile would light up any room he entered, and his enthusiastic greeting made any friend feel very special and cared for indeed. George was a magnet—attracting us to him with his infectious laugh, his boundless appetite for activity, his irrepressible sense of fun, and his unflagging optimism.

Another integral part of George’s constitution was humor, which he saw in much of life, and which contributed so dearly to all around him. All of George’s friends so loved to hear him tell his stories,

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which could bring his audience to tears. George’s humor, however, was never sharp and rarely at the expense of someone, except perhaps himself.

But George was a friend for all seasons—keeping track of you when you were in need, supporting you when you were down, listening carefully and at length to your issues, always providing encouragement when you were discouraged. And when he provided advice, it was always given modestly, quietly, and respectfully. If you were a friend of George’s, you had a friend whose loyalty was deep and unfailing.

For George, his family was at the core of his being. He was so proud of each of his children, of Elise, of Joanie, of George. He took such pleasure in seeing how each child had become their own special person, so interested in the news of their daily lives, so excited by their successes, but always respectful of their choices. His definition of family grew to include his daughter-in-law, Melissa, his son-inlaw, Bill, and his three grandchildren—Quinton Thomas, Hadley Claire, and Davis Hodge—and he always remained close to Elise and to Heidi and to his brothers, Galen and Donald. Just as George cared so deeply about his family, one cannot overstate the care and love and support all his family gave to him so generously over the years, but especially these past few months.

One cannot talk about George and his passage through life without addressing his heroic battle with cancer. George went through one medical trial after another, too numerous to count, for many, many years, some with good effect, some with little effect but often with extreme discomfort. He might acknowledge how difficult a particular procedure had been, but he never dwelled on it. His fortitude and willingness to try new protocols amazed his doctors. These experiences might have deflated if not defeated another person’s will to live. But George was never set back long by disappointment. He simply maintained his exhaustive physical regimen and looked forward to the next “project,” as daughter Joanie would say, so he could work to push back the attacker even if only a few feet, even if only for a few months. He was an inspiration to all who saw him, never complaining, always optimistic, always appreciative of his care. Such was his demeanor that those who met him without knowledge of his illness might never have known of his battle. There is no doubt that the commitment and enthusiasm with which he faced each new procedure contributed materially not only to his being with us as long as he was, but also to the wonderful quality of life he maintained and to the happiness he consistently brought to his family and friends.

And when, after 15 years, there were no more medical options to try, George faced the inevitable with continuing courage, using every day of his last weeks to be at home in his beautiful surroundings, sharing his love with those who called or came to see him. I can say without reservation he enjoyed those weeks beyond measure, as did those who were lucky enough to share them with him.

As I look back over my friend George’s life, I realize what a rich life he led, full of love for all his family, both near and far, and for his many friends. What an example he set, in his modest quiet way, about what is important. How his unwavering focus on the positive and good around us so enriched the lives of all of us here today and those with whom he worked on a daily basis. He accepted the end of life as we know it with dignity, with courage, and with deep appreciation for all he had been given.

George was often heard to say when a close friend or family member was leaving his presence, “Luv you.” And so I say to him now, and I know I am joined by all who are gathered here today, “Luv you, George, always.”

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In Memoriam | As We Remember I N

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Stuart Kellogg ’65

1

January 6, 1948 – August 3, 2011

By Hunter Lewis ’65

I

n sharing with our form the news of Stuart Kellogg’s death, Al Kilborne said simply: “I don’t think I ever met anyone nicer than Stuart.” A colleague of Stuart’s at the Daily Press in Victorville, California, wrote of his “big heart.”

Stuart described himself as a “shy introvert.” This was also true. So how did this quiet, bookish intellectual come to be so beloved by so many? Why was the church so packed at his memorial service that a monitor had to be set up in the parish hall for the overflow?

The bare facts of Stuart’s life do not explain this. Born in January 1948, he was given no middle name because his maternal grandfather, who bankrolled the family from a wellknown jewelry business, ruled that “since girls would lose their middle names on marriage, in fairness boys should have no middle name either.”

From the start Stuart was a prodigy. He was enrolled in kindergarten at 4½ and, being told that he would not be allowed to read until first grade, promptly taught himself. Perhaps he had a little help from his paternal grandmother, a starchy New Englander who insisted that The New York Times crossword puzzle had to be worked in ink. Thereafter he almost always had a book in hand and enjoyed nothing more than climbing into bed on a chilly night, pulling up the covers, and reading. (For reasons shortly to be explained, his nights were often chilly.)

Stuart’s mother died when he was 12. A few months later, he was sent off to Groton. Today we might pause before sending a newly orphaned child right off to boarding school, where he was a full year or more younger than many of his classmates.

But in the New England of 1961, this did not raise questions, especially since Stuart’s father taught at Hotchkiss and Stuart was already well acquainted with boarding school moeurs.

Stuart later said that the first two years away from home were “bitter,” but he was “comforted by Evensong …” and “our bookish holidays lounging at the dog cemetery down by the river” made him “happy.” This refers to the half-holidays with which the headmaster would occasionally surprise us. Stuart and I and some other friends would head for the pine woods along the Nashua, where we would loll about and read poetry aloud to each other. My children will find this hard to believe; it does sound like a vignette out of a 19th-century memoir or novel. But these were exceptionally happy moments for me as well. About childhood in general, Stuart said: “Childhood is hell at the moment but a well thereafter, no?”

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At Groton Stuart played soccer on the “B” team, wrote for The Grotonian, headed the Missionary Society, was elected a School prefect, and was celebrated for his “no black mark” career, which was duly noted in the yearbook’s history of the form. In truth this was not entirely accurate. Stuart had received a black mark, for walking across the Circle. But when asked

by Mr. Abry why he had done it, he responded, “I was deep in thought,” and Mr. Abry, judging as he said that being deep in thought was a “good thing,” rescinded the black mark.

Stuart’s career at Yale was filled with Sturm und Drang, but it was the late 1960s, when this was the norm, and he graduated cum laude. Thereafter he migrated to sunny Los Angeles, where he became managing editor of the Journal of Homosexuality and, in the early 1980s, editor of The Advocate, where he campaigned for homosexual rights. In 1986, he moved with his beloved partner Fernando Torres to the Mojave Desert of California and became feature writer for the Daily Press.

Stuart Kellogg ’65 with David Bundy ’65, at David’s home in 1964 I will now be able to explain why Stuart’s nights were often chilly. Phelan, where he bought a house, is at 4,500 feet. This high desert grows palms and Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia, as Stuart would have wanted me to note). But temperatures in winter could fall to 20 degrees with strong winds, and a single night’s snowfall might reach several feet.

Despite these bracing conditions, Stuart and Fer chose to heat by wood stove alone. As Fer told me, he said he was agreeable “so long as I don’t have to wear gloves and two pairs of socks to bed.” Although the two had a clothes dryer, they decided to take advantage of the dry climate by always hanging laundry outside or, in bad weather, inside the house on “towel horses.” There were also times when the house was, as Stuart said, “in major-mudslide-following-wildfire mode.”

Neighboring houses had horses and pigs whose lives, along with a profusion of birds and other wildlife, were regularly chronicled by Stuart. Those of us who emailed Stuart at Brahms2 knew that this referred not to the composer, but to a series of well-loved dogs named for him.

Given his reliance on firewood, Stuart planted trees and became an accomplished arborist. He worried that occasionally he would plant a non-native “invasive” species. This outdoorsman with the tools, power saw, and wheelbarrow was not the Stuart I had known, but I was glad to discover this side of him. In the spring he also raised seeds in the “guest bathtub,” and I felt I had to remind him that this might repel visitors, who were known locally as “them down the hill.”

As this might suggest, Stuart had a gift for living. He always knew how to make things fun. As nice as he was, it was nice with spice. He recommended someone to me because of her “wicked wit,” but nobody had a more wicked or hilarious wit than Stuart. Almost everything he heard or saw, as he said, “tickles my medulla oblongata.” He was often silly. He said that when young he decided that the best way to approach a stranger for a date was to say, “I am studying to be a phlebotomist and am working for world peace.” We discussed how some very stuck-in-their-ways, meat-eating Yankee relatives would be able to handle (vegetarian) Jains visiting from India as arranged by a church. He reported that they had surmounted the crisis by serving “nothing but ice cream for a week.” Sending me an especially ridiculous news story, he said: “It’s really just silly, but you and I are fond of silliness.”

Stuart’s never failing sense of humor helped him maintain a degree of detachment. He said that, “If it is true we invent our own lives, I have invented a doozy.” He could also be philosophical. When

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at Groton, he had taken a verse from Ecclesiastes to heart: “If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.”

In his last years, Stuart kept a copy of the Buddha’s Dhammapada in the back seat of his car for easy reference, and said he was glad to hear that I was “on a first name basis with the author.” Withal, he recognized that “Into every life a vexing rain must fall, drip by drip,” but did not let it spoil his sense of joy.

That Stuart had contracted an AIDS infection in Los Angeles worried him, but mostly because it meant he might leave his partner behind. In early 2010 his checkup revealed “high good numbers” and “undetectable bad numbers.” The prognosis seemed good then, but a threat lay ahead from the toxicity of the medicines he had taken for so many years.

Everyone who ever met Stuart knew that he was brilliant and that his special talent lay in words. There was hardly any novel or work of literature he had not read. He could have taught The Chicago Manual of Style a thing or two about grammar or usage.

When in doubt about these matters, I asked him. He explained that bad was both an adjective and an adverb while badly was only an adverb. One says, “I feel bad about your broken leg because in this case feel is related to the verb ‘to be.’ ” He fretted that David Axelrod, chief political advisor to then candidate Obama, had sent a message to millions using the phrase “people that” instead of “people who.” In editing someone else’s writing, he sometimes joked that he wasn’t sure if the writer “is on Merlot or crack.”

One might expect a strict grammarian to be a dry-as-dust writer. Not Stuart. He sparkled. A few samples: “It bored me to the bone.” “X … would sooner walk naked to church than be seen buying a book.” “I zoomed downhill past the tree and then, inexplicably, made a J-curve uphill and smack into a tree, Stuart Kellog ’65 ka-pow!” Thinking of words like ka-pow, we both regretted that onomatopoeia is so un-onomatopoeic. Stuart loved words so much he even dreamed about them. He told me: “This morning as I surfaced from sleep, I kept hearing the word ‘satrapy.’ ” It did not hurt Stuart as a writer that he was such a compendium of information, especially outof-the-way information. Do you know that Knole, the Sackville estate in Kent, is a “calendar house” because it has 365 rooms, 52 staircases, and seven courtyards? That is the kind of thing that Stuart always seemed to know.

I hope that Stuart’s short stories will be collected. He also finished a novel shortly before his death, Clarissa, with his friend and co-author Sarah Baxter, and spoke of how much fun it would be to make an opera of this particular story. Earlier he had published Literary Visions of Homosexuality and The Essence of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (the latter Stuart and I worked on together). Just before Stuart’s health declined, he was thinking about doing an Essence of Tolstoy’s Religious Writing.

Stuart was an ardent Christian and Episcopalian. His favorite hymn from Groton days, “Fairest Lord Jesus,” was sung as the recessional of his memorial service at St. Timothy’s in Apple Valley, California.

His final days had been spent in a gentle hospice, not a hospital, which I was very glad to hear.

Stuart sometimes closed messages to me with words of Catullus that we had both learned at Groton.

I shall close now by saying ave atque vale to my dear friend.

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Form notes

R Form Notes are now password-protected.

Members of the Groton community may read them online by signing in at www.groton.org/myGroton.