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Flying high--Barbara Cassani '82 has been chosen by British Airways as chief executive officer of its new no-frills, low-fare European airline, which hopes to start flying this spring. Cassani, who has been with British Airways since 1987, will launch the as-yet-unnamed airline, which will carry passengers among the European Union countries.

Maid-to-order--A Houston Chronicle article on a trend among middle-class people toward hiring household help turned to psychology professor Fran Deutsch for comment. "There's an incredible time pressure on people, especially with more people working, and the time that people do have, they don't want to be washing the floor," Deutsch noted. Nearly one in 10 American households now pay someone to clean their homes, according to the Chronicle. Unlike the happy homemakers interviewed for the article, however, Deutsch not only understands the "life's too short to scrub the toilet" phenomenon, but also "ponders the societal implications and class-war scenarios" of one group of (mostly) women hiring another group to do their dirty work.

Summer Theatre seeks winter help--John Grassilli, producing director of the Summer Theatre at Mount Holyoke, announced January 9 that "the theatre will undertake an aggressive program to raise $75,000 by January 30, to keep the theatre's doors open and assure a 1998 season." Despite increased ticket sales in 1997 and loyal audiences throughout its twenty-eight years, "ticket income alone can't sustain us," according to theatre trustee president Andrew Searle. As reported previously in CSJ, MHC was asked to increase its contribution to the Summer Theatre, an independently incorporated organization. While the College could not increase its support of the summer theater, it assured the theater that current levels of in-kind support would continue. Additional information on the theater's plans is available from the summer theater staff, at extension 2632.

Virtual life, virtual death--In a Daily Hampshire Gazette article on the computerized gadgets known as virtual pets or tamagotchis, lecturer in Russian Susan Scotto noted that she "sees it as no accident that virtual pets are a big hit with schoolgirls, especially at the middle school age." According to the article, "She saw the nurturing aspects of the virtual pet [which must be regularly tended by a real person or it will 'die'] as a marketing strategy on the part of toy makers looking to woo girls into the electronic game market." Scotto explained a virtual pet's appeal to a thirteen-year-old girl's "really narcissistic" psyche: "She's looking to establish some sense of control in her life. A virtual pet gives you a bit of control over something without having any real responsibility. It's the perfect teenage experience."

A contented first-year--When the Union News interviewed three area freshmen about their first semesters at college, Amherst resident Kari Stanek '01 seemed the happiest with her college choice. While a University of Rhode Island frosh complained "there's nothing to do on weekends," Stanek said the best thing about being away from home was "the social life, being able to live on my own." She noted the strong friendships and school spirit at MHC and said that, although she was glad to have time to herself over winter break, she was looking forward to returning here for spring semester. "It was great. I really enjoyed the semester," she told the Union News reporter.