EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

Editing an academic journal carries its own challenges, but it is also a  

labor of love. This holds doubly true for a student-run journal like  

Scientia. Our journal has a twofold mission, one academic and one educational. The  

academic mission is self-explanatory: showcasing our university’s best graduate and  

undergraduate student research. The labor of love, however, truly stems from our 

educational mission. Over the last year, I have had the privilege of getting to know 

both authors and staff, working closely with them through a long and arduous pro-

cess. My pride in both is immense. Although most of our initial submissions receive 

a “revise and resubmit” recommendation, our final acceptance rate for issue 7 was 

less than 33%, making this our most competitive issue yet. Almost all our accepted 

articles underwent at least at least one major revision and usually several additional 

minor revisions. Our authors survived several rounds of rigorous review (peer, edi-

torial, and faculty) as well as copyediting and proofreading. Many of our authors, 

I’m sure, probably groaned when they saw yet another e-mail from me. Nonetheless, 

their dedication and diligence never failed to impress me. Likewise, Scientia’s staff 

this year could not have been more professional. Despite receiving a record number 

of submissions this year (25 in all), our staff—all volunteers working around their 

own coursework demands—kept the machine smoothly running during all stages of 

production. Even beyond producing a high quality journal of peer reviewed student 

research, Scientia aims to prepare the next generation of scholars and researchers for 

the demands of academic publication, and it has been my pleasure to see authors and 

staff alike strive to achieve their highest potential.

Issue 7 features an eclectic and diverse set of articles—the first issue 

since our second, in fact, where literary analysis does not represent the clear 

bulk of articles. Our undergraduate articles represent three different fields:  

international relations, English, and psychology. Our five graduate articles  

feature just as wide a range: two economics, two English, and one social work.

Starting off this year’s issue are our two recipients of the Deans’ Distinguished  

Essay award, an award bestowed by the deans of the Honors College to recognize an  

issue’s best graduate and undergraduate essay. Hillary K. Yeager, a doctoral student 

in English, represents the graduate students for her article about medieval drama.  

Representing our undergraduates is Christopher R. Bearden, who just graduated 

with a B.A. in psychology, writing about leadership strategies in student aviation teams.



Next we have Mary Ellsworth, a masters candidate in economics, writing 
about the impact of incarceration on the labor market participation rate for men. 
Two articles focused on literary analysis follow: Sara Hayes, another doctoral 
student in English, writing about games as cultural expression, and Rebecca 
Clippard, a Spanish and Japanese double major, writing on fears about the New 

Woman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. After these two articles, Muhammad A. 

Yadudu, who just graduated with his Ph.D. in economics, provides an analysis of 

the HOPE Scholarship’s impact on high school graduation in Georgia. After this  

analysis comes an article on foster care, written by M.A. candidate in  

social work Calista Barberi. Rounding out our issue is an article by Kayla  

McCrary, who just graduated with her B.S. in international relations. Her study of  

Euroskepticism and Brexit has been adapted from her MTSU University Honors thesis.

The 2017 issue of Scientia et Humanitas marks my fourth and final year with  

Scientia, and I can honestly say that every year the experience has simply gotten more 

enjoyable. I’ve met and worked with many fantastic people during my time; alas, too 

many to mention by name. Particular thanks, however, must be given to this year’s 

staff for all their hard work, dedication, and love of the process: Erica Anderson, 

Ellie Carpenter, Nick Dalbey, Katie Hickman, Benjamin Kulas, Erica Macon, Kayla 

McCrary, Abul Hasnat Muhammed Salimullah, Sara Snoddy, and Courtney Wright. 

Additional kudos must be given to Nick, Ellie, and Erica Macon for their willingness 

to accept tough assignments, rush jobs, or even extra work. My associate editor, Hillary 

Yeager, made my life considerably easier with her constant assistance and support. 

Finally, special thanks must be given to Marsha Powers and Phillip E. Phillips, Scientia’s 

faculty advisors, who were always available with advice and suggestions. A lot of hard 

work goes into producing an academic journal, much of it behind the scenes, but I 

believe it has especially paid off in this issue. Enjoy.

Dennis Wilson Wise
Editor in chief