The Boxborough Democratic Town Committee recently established a $500 scholarship that will be presented to a Boxborough graduating senior who has displayed a significant commitment to their community and the cause of social justice. The chosen individual shall have demonstrated qualities of compassion, integrity, leadership, and service through activities such as improving the lives of those in need and protecting the rights of the marginalized in our society. Preference may be given to a student who is pursuing a degree in public service, politics, government, or education. 

The 2025 scholarship will be presented in memory of Anne K. Canfield. Anne loved the town of Boxborough, working and volunteering tirelessly over the years in many capacities, including serving on the Boxborough Democratic Town Committee, as well as on the Select Board, Council on Aging, School Committee, Finance Committee, and working at the polls.

This year’s scholarship will be presented at the Acton Boxborough Regional High School awards ceremony on May 21at 7 p.m. at the ABRHS Auditorium.

To donate to the scholarship fund, please visit https://tinyurl.com/BoxDTC-Scholarship

For more information about the Boxborough Democratic Town Committee, email boxborough.dtc@gmail.com

On Tuesday, 15 April 2025, 6 pm, at the Sargent Memorial Library, Police Chief John Szewczyk and Librarian Jen Bauder led a discussion of the historical fiction book The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey (Soho Press, 2018, link).  The book is a legal mystery that takes place in 1920’s Bombay, India, involving a complex weaving of cultures that made for very interesting reading. There were approximately 25 people in attendance for the discussion, a huge turnout. Most attendees eagerly participated in the discussion of how the young, female lawyer, Purveen, could navigate the intricate rules and social norms of her diverse and complex community.

Librarian Jen Bauder introduced Chief Szewczyk, who opened the discussion by explaining that he recently held a book discussion with his officers as an effective educational tool.  The officers suggested broadening this approach and engaging the community in a similar exercise. The Chief has taught diversity courses, and knew that a book discussion can be an effective vehicle for learning about various cultures, so he reached out to Library Director Peishan Bartley and Librarian Jen Bauder and they arranged for this community event at the library.

To maximize participation, Peishan procured over a dozen hardcover copies of the novel so anyone in town could borrow the book and read for free, and the Boxborough News started running a notice in February that the discussion would be held at the library on 15 April at 6 pm and that there were copies available to borrow. Several attendees also listened to an audio version of the book. 

One topic of discussion was how much Purveen, the young, female protagonist, had to know about the various cultures of her city to even talk to men and women of Muslim, Parsi, and Hindu faiths, as well as the Christian British residents.  She had to add a specific suffix to a person’s name as a sign of respect, which would depend not only on the religious beliefs and social status of the person, but also on Purveen’s relative religious and social status.  She had to know who is allowed to speak first, and how to change her behavior based on what part of the cultural calendar she was in, or how long it has been since a household member had died, or even what part of her own biological cycle she was in.  Appreciating the rules that allowed two people to engage, and that modified how they had to behave, was already a massive challenge to people reading this book in 21st century America.

Another common observation was that the book used a lot of words foreign to our community, and that the inclusion of a glossary at the end of the book was unfair. Many people thought the book should have included the glossary right up front.

Some participants were intimately familiar with the culture that Purveen lived in, and were able to update the rest of the group as to how much of that behavior persists today.  One book theme everyone seemed familiar with is when a person is in a living situation that feels unsafe, but also feels unsafe to leave.  Some people even shared the names of organizations that are able to assist people in this predicament today.

Needless to say, Jen had some difficulty closing the discussion after only an hour, but she managed to keep the gathering relatively on schedule.  As motivation to progress to the next phase of the evening, Jen and Chief Szewczyk provided culturally-relevant refreshments to move people from their chairs over to the snack table. One thing was abundantly clear: this event was a hit and there will probably be another such event next year.

When asked about the event, Chief Szewczyk said "The Community Read was an absolutely terrific event and many themes from the book as they related to law enforcement were explored.  It is amazing to be part of such an engaged community.  I sincerely thank Peishan Bartley, Jennifer Bauder and Meghan Bouffard from the Sargent Memorial Library for helping make the event a major success."

Article submitted by Chris Brolin, SPCP Council Member, spcp.bxb@gmail.com