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 this issue of 
Elements: 

D A N I E L B A 1 R O S , Technology Consultant 

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

E L I Z A B E T H B R A N D E S , Art Director for the Office of Marketing Communications 

C U T B E R T O GARZA, Provost and Dean of Faculties 

D O N A L D H A F N E R , Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies 

J O Y C E MANNIX , Business Manager for the College of Arts and Sciences 

PATRICK MANEY, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences 

BARBARA VI E C H N ICKI, 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. 

Q U E S T I O N S & C O N T R I B U T I O N S 
I f you have any questions or would like to contribute a letter for 
our next issue, feel free to contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. 

Please consider submitting your own research to the next issue of 
Elements. Our next deadline is Wednesday, April 8, 2009. 

COVER 
Sign for Pojoaque Casino 
© Miguel Gandert/Corbis 

P E R I O D I C I T Y 

Elements is published twice an academic year i n the fall and spring 
semesters. 

The information provided by our contributors is not independently verified by Elements. 

The materials presented represent the personal opinions of the individual authors and do 

not necessarily represent the views of Elements or the Boston College community. 

Elements, Undergraduate Research journal, Volume 5, Issue 1, Fall 2009 

Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Service Building 103, 

Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 

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

Copyright © 2009 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 
T I M K E L L Y 

M A N A G I N G E D I T O R 
E R I N E. El C H A N 

D E P U T Y E D I T O R 
J E N N Y B R E S S 

H U M A N I T I E S 

S V E T L A N A T U R O V A , Senior Editor 

A L E K S A N DRA J A C H T O R O W I T Z , Edit 

Z A C H A R Y M A R K A R I A N , Editor 

C H R I S S H E R I D A N , Editor 

B R I A N T R A C Z , Editor 

N I C O L E W O N G , Editor 

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

A N N E K O R N A H R E N S , Senior Editor 

A D I T Y A A S H O K , Editor 

J O H N M C C A R T H Y , Editor 

M A T T M I C L I O Z Z I , Editor 

J I N H E E P A R K , Editor 

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

E S T E B A N U R I B E , Senior Editor 

J O Y BATRA, Editor 

A N D R E A B O N V I C I N O , Editor 

S A R A H C O L L I E R , Editor 

K A R E N K O V A K A , Editor 

V I N O D H M E C H E R Y , Editor 

P H I L I P M E R C A D A N T E , Editor 

D A N I E L S O L O G U R E N , Editor 

E V A N S P E E C E , Editor 

B R I A N V A R I A N , Editor 

L A Y O U T 

A L Y S S A D U Q U E T T E , Senior Editor 

J A I M E C R O W L E Y , Editor 

S A R A H K O , Editor 

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

E L I Z A B E T H C H A D W I C K 

mailto:elements@bc.edu


E D I T O R S N O T E 

When one envisions a casino, one often thinks about the glamour and 
glitz of the Las Vegas strip. Often not considered are the many tribal 
casinos across the country located on remote reservations. Our cover 
image was taken i n northern New Mexico and shows a sign advertising 
a Pojoaque-run tribal casino. Just a few decades ago, the Pojoaque 
found themselves i n fairly dire economic straights. The creation of a 
casino is credited i n part with an economic revival and has provided 
funds for a variety of other civic and business enterprises. Despite the 
often remote locations of casinos like the one displayed on the cover, 
they draw money from many tourists and gamblers, providing an in-
come source to people on otherwise undesirable lands. This situation 
is not without significant controversy due to the fact that local and state 
governments have difficulty exercising meaningful regulatory author-
ity. A Raw Deal: Conflicts Over Tribal Sovereignty and Casino Proliferation 

offers an in-depth examination of the status and place of tribal gaming 
i n our federal system. 

Also featured in this issue of Elements are Women of Copley's Boston and 
Canned Peaches and Chicken Parts. Women of Copley's Boston takes a 
close look at the artist John Singleton Copley's portrayal of women i n 
his paintings. It exemplifies the strong connection Boston College stu-
dents have to the history of the greater Boston Community. Canned 

Peaches and Chicken Parts examines the role of food i n DeLillo's White  

Noise and connects it to a larger theme examining consumerist society. 
Its analysis of American culture i n the postmodern era is both insight-
ful and provocative. A l l three of these pieces well represent the quality 
and superb nature of the work done by students here at Boston College. 

This is the last production of Elements for which I wi l l serve as Editor-
in-chief. Each time I sit to write the introductory note, I am struck by 
how much I feel the articles speak for themselves. They are well worth 
reading and after each process of selection I am left thoroughly im-
pressed by the scholarly efforts of my peers. These articles are a combi-
nation of senior theses, papers written for classes, and summer projects 
undertaken by undergraduates, and their diversity and depth continu-
ally demonstrates the excellence of Boston College. I am pleased to 
have been part of this project during my time here and am incredibly 
optimistic about the future of the university. 

Sincerely, 

TIM KELLY 

Editor-in-chief