For any governmental institution, a peaceful transfer of power is the hallmark of stability, and the Institute of Politics (IOP) is no exception.

The IOP has been in transition since its Student Advisory Committee (SAC) was disolved by IOP Director Sen. David Pryor last November and has been running under an interim government consisting of a popularly-elected president and programming committee.

But with high study group attendance, overflowing forums and many projects on deck for the rest of the semester, the IOP seems to be running smoothly despite its transitional state.

"I thnk things are going very well," said Executive Director Catherine McLaughlin. "The programming committees are up and going and a lot of new faces are participating."

Now, in addition to its day-to-day events, the programming committee of the IOP has a greater mission: the creation of a long-term student governmental structure.

"We have a task force that is currently researching what the best way is to manage our student-staff organization," McLaughlin says.

Last November, Pryor said he thought the Institute had become insular and exclusive, and that it was not achieving its purpose--to inspire undergraduates to get involved in politics.

One of the reasons for this deficit, said Pryor, was a failure of the self-selecting SAC to reach out to students.