The Junk Food Effect
Each year in Mr. Ryan Howard’s
senior Bio-Chemistry class, students
are given the opportunity to spend
their final quarter conducting
long-term scientific research on a
subject of their choosing. This allows
them the chance to try out a lab of
their own creation—one that isn’t
already mapped out for them in a
book—leaving room for trial and
error, critical thinking, and problem
solving. In previous years, students
have attempted to convert frying oil to
biodiesel and have tested the impact of
juuling (vaping) on cell growth. This
year’s seniors had a different subject
in mind—junk food. A group of 15
seniors worked together to test the
effect of an unhealthy diet (particularly
one representing bad choices in
Xaverian’s own cafeteria, like the
ever-popular fried chicken and french
fries combo), on the productivity of
ant colonies. “Programming like this
really represents our end goal for the
science department at Xaverian,” said
Dr. Bryan Dunn, chair of the science
department. We don’t want students to
simply memorize information. We’re
teaching them how to think creatively
to solve problems, as well as how to
be flexible and make adjustments if
needed. These are important skills, not
just for scientific research but for life.”
Above: Holden Keebaugh ’19 checking on one of the ant colonies in Bio-Chemistry
Below: Jack Gianino ’24, James Fetter ’24, and Michael Farah ’24 at Northeastern’s STEM center for
education
Summer 2019 Xaverian Magazine 7