This spring, Northeastern will become one of four schools in the country to offer a study abroad program in Cuba.

Cuba, which operates under a communist system, is like another planet to Americans, said modern languages professor Alan West-Dur’aacute;n, who helped set up the program for the Office of International Study Programs (OISP).

“You’d think we’re going to Mars or something,” said modern languages professor Alan West-Dur’aacute;n. “In some ways, it practically is like going to Mars.”

The program will send 20 students for a 12-week semester to the communist country’s capital city of Havana. West-Dur’aacute;n said he began planning the program last summer after several students expressed interest in visiting the country.

The U.S. Department of State’s latest report regarding tourism to Cuba, released Dec. 12, 2007, dictates that American travel-related transactions to, from and within Cuba must be licensed by the U.S. government. Tourism to Cuba remains illegal.

Northeastern is now among the four American schools, including Brown University, Hampshire College and the University of California Davis, to offer semesters in Cuba.

“I think it’s a rather unique place in the Caribbean, culturally speaking,” said West-Dur’aacute;n, who was born in Cuba. “The different mixes of African and European cultures make it a very interesting place to be.”

West-Dur’aacute;n said he must reapply for the license annually, something that differentiates Cuba’s program from other study abroad offerings. The country is also set apart by its high rates of illegal emigration, as recorded by the CIA World Factbook, and its contentious history with the United States, including the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

History professor Charissa Threat, who spent two weeks studying in Cuba in 2004, said the study abroad program shows “the winds are shifting in another direction.”

“It reflects an opening in acceptable travel,” she said. “Overall, and especially in the past two years, the fact that this program has been allowed does reflect a change in perceptions on U.S. and Cuban relations within the Federal government.”

Threat said that Havana’s residents were very welcoming to Americans, despite the differences in the two countries’ governmental systems.

“[Communism is] so different from democracy,” Threat said. “Good or bad, it has remained in place for 50 years.”

Cuba’s change in leadership from President Fidel Castro to his brother Ra’uacute;l this spring did not affect the program’s planning, West-Dur’aacute;n said. Still, he said it may have an impact on students’ experiences.

“I think it will be a big issue for students when they go to Cuba and see some of the changes,” he said. “For example, people can get cell phones much more readily.”

David Schmitt, the Edward Brooke professor of political science, said that the Cuba study abroad program represented one more opportunity for openness between America and the communist state.

“My own viewpoint is that the more open our relations are with Cuba, the better chance Cuba will move in the direction of becoming a democratic and free market country,” he said. “It would be a good thing if the United States were to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba.”

He said “the greater the openness, the better,” as it would likely lead to Cuban reform.

West-Dur’aacute;n said students in the program will live without many “creature comforts,” like American credit cards, traditional fast-food restaurants and the ability to communicate with many locals in English.

Bruce Ronkin, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the university’s international focus is reflective of its role in the global society.

“America is not alone in the world. We’re part of a global economy and the more we can prepare students for that, the better we’re doing our job,” Ronkin said.

Sophomore journalism and cinema studies dual major Taylor Adams said the program offers students a unique opportunity.

“It does sound very interesting, especially if you get a chance to visit Cuba, which is not something a lot of us can do, given the political climate,” he said. “As someone taking Spanish courses, I’d definitely be interested in something like that.”