The 2006-2007 academic year has brought many exciting changes to TCNJ, most notably the decision by Phi Beta Kappa to allow the College to shelter a chapter of the nation’s oldest and most distinguished undergraduate honor society. Only 276 chapters have been approved since the founding of Phi Beta Kappa in 1776. Fewer than ten percent of American colleges and universities shelter a chapter. I am delighted to note that several of the contributors to this volume are among the first group of TCNJ students inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

Since its founding in 1998, TCNJ Journal of Student Scholarship has grown with the College. With its 2007 edition, the Journal enters the age of electronic publication. This change brings many benefits. The Journal will be more readily accessible both on and off campus, and, for the first time, we will be able to reproduce color photographs and images and to take advantage of hyperlinks. In addition, all previous editions of the Journal, formerly available only in paper copy, are now also available electronically at https://joss.tcnj.edu/archive/.

The quality of the wide range of essays published in this volume reflects the firm commitment of students, faculty, and administration to premiership among the nation’s undergraduate colleges. I wish to thank the many people who have contributed to Volume IX of TCNJ Journal of Student Scholarship beginning with the students whose papers are contained herein and the professors who encouraged and mentored their work. The administration of President R. Barbara Gitenstein, Interim Provost Elizabeth Paul, and former Provost Stephen R. Briggs graciously provided moral and financial support and release time, without which this volume would not have been possible. Assistant Provost Nancy Freudenthal has been instrumental to the production and publication of this volume. I am grateful for her time and expertise. I also extend thanks to web designer Matthew Winkel for his help in converting the Journal to its new electronic format. For consultation on production matters, I thank Lisa Angeloni, Dean of Admissions. I offer special thanks to the members of the editorial board of the Journal for lending their time and expertise to the reviewing of papers in the midst of many other responsibilities. Paulette LaBar of the Department of English kindly and expertly assisted in the editing of the essays printed in this volume and periodically updated the Web site of the Journal. I would also like to thank my wife, Jeanne Conerly, and our daughter, Katherine, for their support and understanding during an extraordinarily busy year. Finally, I would like to thank Associate Editor Romulo Ochoa for his wise advice and careful editing of the science essays. As these acknowledgements indicate, this volume is the product of a community-wide effort.

For information about the Journal, including submission procedures, format requirements, and application forms, please contact me at: (609) 771-2155 or dventuro@tcnj.edu; or, visit the Journal Web site at: https://joss.tcnj.edu/.

Now, I invite you to click on the essays published in this volume at: https://joss.tcnj.edu/archive/volume-ix-2007/, and to read and enjoy them.

David Venturo

Editor
Professor of English
The College of New Jersey

[Hyperlinks to JoSS Web site and archives updated April 11, 2012]