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Georgia ho! The Russian department, in cooperation with Williams and Wellesley Colleges, is putting together an exchange program with Tbilisi State University in the Republic of Georgia. Under the new, two-credit program, students from the three institutions will spend three weeks in Tbilisi during this January term, soaking in the culture, history, and politics of this budding state through internships, English-language lectures, and involvement with Georgian families. Driving the creation of the program from Mount Holyoke is the College's resident Georgia expert, Professor Stephen Jones of the Department of Russian and Eurasian Studies.

According to Jones, the fledgling program will aim for J-term sessions for the next two or three years, then hopes to expand to a semester-long affair. At the same time, the three Massachusetts campuses will see the first visit by Georgian students next October.

Jones says Georgia--a former republic of the Soviet Union that is enjoying its first years of independence--is a perfect place for students to see a new democracy in its formative stages. Georgia, in its move from a state-run economic and political system, mirrors the struggle and challenges faced by many nation-states throughout the world.

The program picks up on a similar effort that took place for a number of years about a decade ago at Williams College. Four Mount Holyoke students and one UMass student will be among the first participants. The Mount Holyoke foursome are Katherine Gilman '01, Christine A. Gobeille '00, Stephanie S. Gaj '99, and Jennie-Sue Nuccio '00. Interested Mount Holyoke students may still get on board for the J-term program but must speak to Professor Jones as soon as possible.

Tell us what you really think A new section of the MHC Web site features op-eds and opinion essays by faculty. The first two entries are Martha Ackmann's article about how NASA's sexism has gone unrecognized in the nostalgia over John Glenn's recent spaceflight, and President Creighton's speech at the kickoff of the Campaign for Mount Holyoke. Ackmann's piece has already been picked up by eleven newspapers across the country. You'll find the op-ed page at http://www.mtholyoke.edu/offices/comm/oped/.