T H A N K S 

The editors of Elements would like to thank the following individuals 

for their generous support of and assistance with the inaugural issue 

of Elements: 

BEN B I R N B A U M , Executive Director of the Office of Marketing Communications 

ELIZABETH BRANDES, Art Director for the Office of Marketing Communications 

D O N A L D HAFNER, Chair of the Undergraduate Fellowships Committee 

JOYCE M A N NIX, Business Manager for the College of Arts and Sciences 

A N N A MARIE M U R P H Y , Deputy Editor of Boston College Magazine 

J O H N N EUHAUSER, Academic Vice President and Dean of Faculties 

JOSEPH Q U I N N , Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences 

GEORGE RESTREPO, Senior Designer for the Office of Marketing Communications 

BARBARA VI ECH N I C K I , Associate Dean for Finance and Administration 

We would also like to give special thanks to the Dean's Office 

of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Office of Marketing 

Communications for providing budgetary support that made 

this publication possible. 

COVER 

Portrait of Stephane Mallarme by Edouard Manet. 

© Archivo Iconographico, S.A. /Corbis 

Elements, Undergraduate Research Journal, Issue i , Volume i , Spring 05 

Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 

Printing: Kirkwood Printing, 904 Main Street, Wilmington, MA 01887 

For submissions guidlines please refer to www.bc.edu/elements/ 

Copyright © 2005 by Trustees of Boston College 

E L E M E N T S STAFF 

E D I T O R - I N - C H I E F 

GREGORY WILES 

M A N A G I N G E D I T O R 

REBECCA KRAUS 

H U M A N I T I E S 

KIRSTIN KRAMER, Senior Editor 

EMILY CERSONSKY, Editor 

CAROLINE G E L M I , Editor 

KAELIN G R A N T , Editor 

S A M A N T H A KOLLER, Editor 

N A T U R A L S C I E N C E S 

BILL H I L L M A N N , Senior Editor 

PACO K A N G , Editor 

A L L I S O N LORD, Editor 

M E G H A N T O Z Z I , Editor 

S O C I A L S C I E N C E S 

KERRY B R E N N A N , Senior Editor 

MARISA C O C H R A N E , Editor 

PETE RINGLEE, Editor 

S P E C I A L F E A T U R E S 

N A T H A N I E L CAMPBELL, Senior Editor 

L A Y O U T 

KATHRYN BRADY, Editor 

D A M I EN C R O T E A U - C H O N K A , Editor 

MARIA M A S A V E U, Editor 

W E B M A N A G E R 

D A M I EN C R O T E A U - C H O N K A 

A R T D l R E C T O R 

GEORGE RESTREPO 

F A C U L T Y A D V I S E R 

PROF. MARK O ' C O N N O R , 

Director, College of Arts and Sciences Honors Program 

http://www.bc.edu/elements/


E D I T O R ' S N O T E 

Throughout the summer of 1873 Stephane Mallarme visited Edouard 

Manet's studio every day; the painter took one such opportunity to cap-

ture the poet in the famous work of art that decorates the cover of the in-

augural issue of Elements. The meeting of these two brilliant minds rep-

resented a crucial moment in the history of intellectual thought. As 

Western civilization sought new perspectives through which to view the 

world, Manet's painting and Mallarme's poetry would serve as a crucial 

element of Modernism, continuing to influence artists for over a cen-

tury. Manet and Mallarme remained friends unti l Manet's death i n 

1883. During their ten year relationship, an ideal that strongly united 

the two men was their belief in artistic democratization: that art should 

become a source of pleasure for all, not just the aristocratic echelon of 

society. Similarly, research need not be the province solely of professors 

and graduate students. 

It is in the collaborative spirit of Mallarme and his friend Manet that, as 

a staff of committed undergraduates, we begin Elements. Intellectual 

expression cannot and should not be confined to the classroom; rather, 

as our two guiding artists show us, nature and the world around us 

provide the greater challenge to human creativity. Through the works of 

BC students, this publication wi l l serve as a forum for the exploration 

of the numerous academic disciplines. Each semester Elements wi l l 

present a distinguished and engaging cross-section of such research 

endeavors to the wider academic community. We hope that this journal 

wi l l provide us with a few more strokes toward painting the portrait of 

Boston College. 

The nine articles in this first edition of our journal, selected from over 

40 outstanding submissions, represent what the editors of Elements 

believe to be the most credible, clear, and thought-provoking of these 

manuscripts. From social studies of teen living centers and Asian 

American mental health treatments to a scientific inquiry into bilin-

gualism and an essay on the possibility of the conversion of oil prices to 

the Euro, the articles in this premier issue demonstrate the breadth of 

undergraduate inquiry within the university. In the future we seek to 

expand subject matter into the areas of nursing, education, and busi-

ness, and exhibit original poetry and artwork, for they are all key "ele-

ments" in Boston College's intellectual life. Elements seeks to explore 

the full possibilities of the research journal genre to serve best the intel-

lectual interests of BC undergraduates. I f you have any questions, or 

would like to contribute a letter for our Fall issue, feel free to contact me 

at elements@bc.edu. 

GREGORY WILES 

Editor-in-chief 

mailto:elements@bc.edu