Thanks We would like to thank Boston College, the Institute for the Liberal Arts, and the Office of the Dean for the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences for the financial support that makes this issue possible. QuEsTions & ConTribuTions If you have any questions, please contact the journal at elements@bc.edu. All submissions can be sent to elements. submissions@gmail.com. Visit our website at www.bc.edu/elements for updates and further information. CovEr © Wikimedia Commons PEriodiCiTy Elements is published twice an academic year in the fall and spring semesters. ElECTroniC Journal Elements is also published as an open access electronic journal. It is available at http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/elements. ISSN 2380-6087 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 13, Issue 1, Spring 2017 Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Service Building 103, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467 Printed by Flagship Press,150 Flagship Drive, North Andover, MA 01845 Copyright © 2017 by the Trustees of Boston College This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. ElEmEnts staff Editor-in-chiEf AnniE Kim mAnAging Editors sydnEy ApplE BEtty (yunqing) WAng dEputy Editors AlEssAndrA luEdEKing AndrEA riccA trEAsurEr JEssicA Bolduc lAyout Xizi (KElsEy) zhAng, Senior Editor ElisE hon, Senior Editor AsAd pAshA, Assistant Editor sEWon (JAson) oh, Editor yAhyA yusuf, Editor humAnitiEs JAcoB ciAfonE, Senior Editor isABEllA doW, Senior Editor JonEssA st. lEWis, Editor sociAl sciEncEs Billy huBschmAn, Senior Editor michEllE KAng, Senior Editor JAcquElinE chiu, Editor nAturAl sciEncEs dAvid fu, Senior Editor JunghWAn Kim, Editor JosEphinE pAndJi, Editor mEdiA & puBlicity rAchEl loos, Senior Editor JuliA BuBEn, Assistant Editor WEB Editors minKi hong, Senior Editor KEvin chEn, Assistant Editor fAculty Advisor JAson cAvAllAri Dear Readers, In light of the current political, social, and cultural turmoil in which many countries around the world find themselves, it has become increasingly im- portant for academic research to posit questions that strive for truth and progress. Recently, one of the most significant developments has been the spread—both conscious and unconscious—of false information through- out society, which has resulted in seemingly irreconcilable disagreements on basic facts. The lack of agreement over these basic facts has allowed statements to be made that perpetuate various misconceptions, and the ar- ticles published in the Spring 2017 issue of Elements demonstrate a com- mitment to challenging these falsehoods and the status quo through aca- demic research. Several articles touch upon issues that are salient to ongoing political and cultural discussions within both the United States and throughout the rest of the world. The cover article, “A Pageant Politicized: The Rise of Intersec- tional Activism in 1968,” questions and explores the role of the media in portraying a falsely antagonistic relationship between the Women’s Libera- tion Movement and the Black Nationalism Movement. Author Haley Corm- ier analyzes the ways in which the media was able to pit the two movements against each other, emphasizing the profound influence that the media has within society. Breck Wills, Samina Gan, Patrick Sheerin, and Jordan Mind- lin’s article, “Brain Circulation: A Case Study of High-Skilled Immigration from India,” touches upon a central topic of the 2016 U.S. presidential elec- tion: immigration and employment. Wills, Gan, Sheerin, and Mindlin dis- cuss the increased migration of educated, high-skilled Indian laborers to the United States and the effects that this has had on the economies of the U.S. and India. Carly Barnhardt’s article, “Avert the Gaze: An Anti-Self-Por- trait of the Disabled Female Body,” focuses on artist Laura Swanson’s chal- lenge to traditional understandings of disability and gender through art. Finally, “Confronting Cultural Imperialism: Limitations of Secularization and Western Feminism in the Muslim World,” explores the concepts of Western cultural imperialism and its role in the Middle East. Author Emma Howe challenges the widespread notion of a backwards, oppressive Muslim world, and instead causes us to reconsider ways in which Western thought has attempted to impose its ideals onto other countries. Analyzing literature can often shed light upon the political and cultural cli- mates of both the time when the work was written as well as the present. Sabrina Black’s article, “Writing in a Surveillance State: Otherness in Chris ta Wolf’s What Remains,” examines the positions in which writers found themselves under the surveillance of the German Democratic Republic state, and this topic of surveillance and censorship of writers and intellectu- als is one that offers daunting implications for today. Author Monica Coscia consider the concepts of truth, justice, and modernity within The Brothers Karamazov in her article, “Trial and Error: The Malleability of Truth in the Conviction of Dmitri Karamazov.” She concludes that the failure of Western court systems to seek and recognize truth prevents justice from taking its course within Russian society. This relationship between truth and justice is particularly important to the present, especially when considering the increasing prevalence and proliferation of false information and news. Often times, research can call attention to and question aspects of society that are either taken for granted or forgotten. Elizabeth D’Altrui’s article, “Curb the Thirst: Efficacy of Bottled Water Bans in Reducing Plastic Waste,” discusses the need to reduce the use of the common plastic water bottle through policies, while Zackary Park’s article, “The Road to a Cure: Charac- terization of a New HIV Antibody,” reminds us of the complex (often unac- knowledged) research that is required to develop and improve life-changing medicine. Meanwhile, Kyle Baranko’s article, “The Point of Payment: A Comparison of Commercial Behaviors Across Regions,” studies the ways in which informal economies operate across several countries and are margin- alized by the government, and author Caitlin Sullivan examines the cost and inefficiency of incarcerating the elderly in her article, “No Country for Old Men: An Economic Analysis of the Incarcerated Elderly.” Elements seeks to support undergraduate research that is diverse and of the highest quality, and we also strive to facilitate discussions that inspire you to reflect upon and ask questions about society. We hope that the articles published in this issue of Elements will spark such conversations. Sincerely, Annie kim Editor in Chief Editor’s NotE