General Announcements From Quarantine

General Announcements


Another week at the Virtual Coe College Writing Center commences, and this week, we have a few announcements.


The Writing Fellowship assignments have recently gone out to our consultants! For the freshmen consultants, this is an exciting time, and brings hopes of new connections in the fall when we return. The list of FYS classes offered has been sent out. Please remember to check your class and professor, and to reach out to contact them by the end of the week!


Virtual Tuesday Tea was held this week by religion professor Geoff Chaplin. The topic was on a letter-writing experiment he conducted, in which he offered to write letters to anyone online who saw the post and wanted one. To his surprise, he received 17 requests and multiple letters in response.


If you’re interested in keeping the art of letter-writing alive, and you’d like it to remain cheap and easy to send letters or packages, please contact your local representative to inform them that the Post Office should continue to receive funding, or text USPS to 50409 and answer some basic questions.


From my collection of photos taken in the writing center, here’s one of our old and dearly missed whiteboard prompts:








Recommended Reading


For those interested in economics, communication, or the intersection of the two, I would recommend the article “The Rhetoric of Economics” by Professor Diedre McCloskey, Distinguished Prof. of Economics, History, English, and Communication at the University of Chicago. It can be found at http://www.jstor.org/stable/2724987.


The Rhetoric of Economics was recommended to me by my grandfather, a retired economics professor who has rather overestimated my capacity for understanding any and all trade journal articles about economics, but if you know what ‘logical positivism’ is, then this is the article for you, as it seems to be about the various attitudes and linguistic approaches that economists use to explain their work.


For those who are interested in easier and fun reads that are very much not about economics, I would recommend the satirical article: “A Poirot Novel Where No One Is Murdered And He Gets To Eat Everything He Wanted Without Interruption, at https://tinyurl.com/ycwsn5m3.


If you’re a fan of Hercule Poirot, I would very definitely recommend it, as it is exactly what it reads on the can- by which I mean the title. The article offers you a delightful array of chapter titles that would belong in a book where Poirot just enjoys some really good food.


For those interested in the continuing slide towards insurmountable inequality and the hoarding of resources by the rich, I would recommend “How Goliath Won: The Future Implications of Dukes vs Wal-Mart.” It is not a cheering read under current circumstances unless you are rich and an unethical corporate ceo. If you are rich and an unethical corporate CEO, please consider making a substantial to Coe College’s Writing Center. If you’re not rich, after reading this article I would recommend re-reading the Poirot one, because it’s very sad, but particularly relevant in light of recent Supreme Court rulings, if you’re up to date on the political news.


The New York Times and several other newspapers are currently offering free Covid newsletters and coverage without a subscription, and, as usual, NPR has excellent and comprehensive free coverage.


What are you reading in quarantine?

The Bingo Trend

If you are anything like me, you are stuck on Zoom or Moodle.

You struggle to not procrastinate, as you watch Joe Exotic Tiktoks or do Snapchat Bingos.

 How exactly these bingos started and the trend caught on, is a mystery to me but they can be pretty fun even if they expose you sometimes.

Personality Bingo

Personality bingos are those that expose your traits such as “looks happy but is internally having an existential crisis”. There are many variations of these but the ones I have seen most often are the Introvert and the Extrovert bingos. 

Zodiac Bingo

Next we have zodiac bingos that describe the traits most commonly associated with a specific zodiac sign. I would imagine these have less of an appeal to people who do not believe in horoscopes or zodiacs. I subscribe to them so I would say the Sagittarius one is pretty spot on. It’s currently Aries season but Taurus is next so enjoy the Taurus bino I have attached. 

City/State Bingo 

Based on the people I follow on social media I have only seen Iowa, Illinois, and Chicago bingos. However, I am pretty sure you can find one about a random state like Wyoming, if you tried hard enough. 

Our Very Own CWC Bingo 

Ok so no I did not see a Coe Writing Center bingo on social media (unfortunately). So I decided to make my very own CWC bingo.

Writing Center Consultants as (Jazz?) Sherpas

My high school Jazz band director is one of my favorite people. A stereotypical dad if there ever was one, many of his passions are related to music, fish puns, and unusual metaphors. One of his more prolific metaphors is his self-made role of the “Jazz Sherpa.”

The idea is that in any one of his Jazz ensembles he can guide and support its musicians, but he can never perform in place of them, much like a Sherpa can never climb a mountain in place of someone else. This is a bit of a fun idea so I thought it might be interesting to think about our roles as Writing Center consultants in a similar way. Here are some ways that we’re also (Jazz?) Sherpas:

1. We can't climb mountains for writers

The temptation for consultants to take on the heavy burden of rewording vast swaths of text is present in many conferences. We are compassionate people; it seems only natural for us to help another by doing the hard work ourselves. Despite this innate desire we have to seize a writer’s work and polish it off the way we think it should be, we must remember that we cannot climb mountains for our clients. Not even the best Sherpa can climb a mountain for you. Climbing a mountain, like writing a paper, is a task that requires the help and guidance of others, but is ultimately a personal responsibility. To that end, we should remind ourselves frequently that we serve writers, while writers serve their writing.

2. Each writer faces unique challenges

If I went to climb Everest today and my Sherpa gave me a pack that weighed half as much as I did, I would not make it to the top (I wouldn’t make it to the top regardless of the pack, but). I have the upper body strength of a seven-year-old, and while plenty of people could probably handle that pack, I certainly could not. A good Sherpa wouldn’t let me take more weight than I could realistically handle. 

The point: different writers will need to be challenged in different ways. It’s easy to look solely at grammar and uncomfortable wordings in every paper. It’s easy to look solely at the organization of a paper and read through it quickly before sending a writer off. The reality though is that writers will struggle differently, and a one-size fits all approach to conferences doesn’t serve writers well. We know to focus on the higher-order concerns related to the organization and reasoning present in a paper, what we refer to at the Coe Writing Center as “big rocks.” When it seems like a writer has these big rocks taken care of though, it’s okay to challenge them with some of the smaller concerns too.

3. It's our responsibility to prepare the way

First and foremost, the Sherpa’s job is to give climbers the perspective and support they need to reach the summit. If a Sherpa gives me twenty different routes to take, I’ll probably end up getting lost because I wasn’t quite sure which way to go. Sometimes it is easy to overwhelm writers with dozens of suggestions until ironically, they might be even more confused about where to go next with their papers. 

It might be better to focus on just a few major points throughout a conference that writers can evaluate for themselves and use to develop their own work. Write the big ideas down for a client, or better yet, try to get them to write down their biggest takeaways. We cannot climb the mountains for writers, but preparing the way for them to climb the mountain themselves is at the heart of what we should do every conference. 

Perhaps the title of “(Jazz?) Sherpa” has a slightly more heroic appeal than the bland “consultant.”  Regardless, hopefully the image of consultants helping guide writers up mountains of words, fuelled by Jolly Ranchers and hot chocolate is an image that will let us see what we do from a fresh perspective.

Oh, How I Wish They Knew... 

by MyKeisha Wells

It is fair to say that we have all experienced writer’s block a time or two.

At which time, a magical place called the Writing Center came through.

Now, it makes us sad when some of  our peers truly have no clue.

Oh, how I wish they knew.

About all of the conferences that we can do

From brainstorming to revising, every consultant is great at improvising. 

In the writing center, we can help writers with brainstorming, which most writers are unaware of. They often have the misconception that we can only help them once their papers are complete; however, we are available and more than happy to help writers with selecting a prompt, making an outline, organizing research, and more. We can also offer writers conversational conferences, where we will discuss the ideas that a writer has, and share the ideas we have. We can help a writer with copy editing and revising, too.

Oh, how I wish they knew...

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About all of the places we can sit, too

On the couch, in a chair, at the table, out in the library, we can sit anywhere.

In the Writing Center, we understand that writers are being very vulnerable when they come in for assistance, so we make it our priority to make sure that writers are comfortable. If a writer would prefer working out in the library, we will accommodate; if a writer wanted to work in one of the private work rooms, we will accommodate; and if a writer wanted to conference on our comfy couch or at our tables, we can do that as well! We also have been able to make accomodations with distance education. As of recently, writers are able to sit at home and have online conferences M-Th 2pm-10pm and F 2pm-5pm. Some writers have the misconception that the Writing Center is like the classroom, when in fact it is more like your living room... literally!

Oh, how I wish they knew...

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That helping them is all we want to do

The Writing Center is an amazing resource for students to utilize when they are having a tough time with their writing. As students ourselves, we know what it is like to experience writer’s block or to not know where to start or how to end an essay. That is why we all love working here, because we are able to help our peers with something that we know all too well. At the Writing Center, we do not judge a writer’s writing or tell them their ideas are wrong. We listen to writers, ask them what it is that they would like to work on, and focus on that.

We are not here to make a perfect essay, instead we aim to encourage stronger writers.

Oh, how I wish they knew...

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About the free jolly ranchers and drinks, too

As if sitting wherever we feel most comfortable isn’t enough, at the Writing Center, writers have access to unlimited, free jolly ranchers and warm beverages, like coffee and hot cocoa. Coffee drinking when writing helps a writer process ideas faster! Read about it, here

Oh, how I wish they knew...

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That regardless of if it is early or late, they can come through

We know that college students are especially busy with classes, work, and maintaining a social life. This is why we have a very wide range of availability of consultants and we are open Sunday-Friday. Walk-ins are welcome anytime because there is no manual for when you can expect writer’s block, it just happens. 

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It is amazing all of the things that we can do. Oh, how I wish they knew. 

MyKeisha Wells

CWC Chat Room

     What is the CWC Chat Room, and what can it do? These were the first two questions I had when I saw the link posted on the Online Writing Center Spring 2020 Moodle page.

     It was about five minutes before my first shift and I had already logged in, so I decided to check it out. Upon clicking the link I was whisked away to a chat room that had a simplistic beauty to it. There was a list of everyone who was in the chat room, an area that held conversations, and even a place to write new messages. It had almost everything in it to make it easy to contact, check in with, and carry out conversations with my fellow consultants. 

     Unfortunately, the key word here is almost. Despite the amazing potential that this chat room has it was missing the most vital piece of the puzzle, the people. It is hard to call it a "chat" room when there is no one to chat with. While this may have been the first time I logged into the chat room, it would not be the last and every time I experienced similar results.

     When discussing with Jane about the Chat Room she said, "I put up the chat room because I wanted to have some way for consultants to chat virtually during quiet shifts. I thought consultants might want to say "hi" to each other and maybe chat about conferencing challenges, etc. I figured some might have exchanged phone #s, etc. but wanted to make chatting possible for everyone"

     Right now, due to the coronavirus, we may have no choice whether we are physically separated, but we do have the choice to talk and communicate our ideas and thoughts. This app represents an opportunity for us to spend our work study time together instead of in isolation and silence. I know that for many of us this transition has and still is difficult, but each of us is a part of the Coe College Writing Center. We are a community of consultants and friends who help each other and work together to make better writers not papers. The last thing I want to see are those parts fractured. For I know that "Silence like a cancer grows." 

The Sound of Silence

     I am not saying we should all be forced to use it, or even that we should. However, what reason do we have not to use it? 

Is the Writing Center a Third Place?

Last year I took a first year seminar class on the topic of Sense of Place. The class generally was about the connections you build with a certain space or area, but there was a particular idea by Ray Oldenburg that people and communities should have something called a Third place. Ray Oldenburg defines a Third place as an “informal gathering place in which people gather between home and work”. Some examples given in his book are bars, coffee shops, book stores, and back in the day a drug counter at a pharmacy. These  are all places where people can go freely, hold neutral conversations, feel welcomed, and also have the chance to run into those of their community. When thinking about the sense of place of The Coe Writing Center (CWC) I realized it was much more than a job but actually a Third place for writing consultants.

The two things that make the Coe College Writing Center(CWC) a Third place

1. A place for open conversation

The CWC has been a place where consultants talk about their day, brainstorm ideas, and enjoy other consultants' company. An example of this is the white board that is dedicated to a special question in the CWC. The question is not always related to writing and often starts interesting discussions. These conversations are what makes the time spent more enjoyable and away from the formal discussions that occur at work or even in a home setting.

2. Has a comfortable and welcoming vibe

The environment in the CWC is set up with couches, free tea, and plenty of unique things. Having an informal setting of free tea and couches allows the environment in the CWC to feel welcoming and comfortable. This particular vibe attracts consultants to come and hang out. There are also things like an Abe Lincoln poster, plants, and sometimes even consultant’s art on the whiteboard that make this place more relatable to a coffee shop than a formal job

.

A Third place is important for healthy communication in communities according to sociologist Ray Oldenburg. By having the writing center be a Third place in the community of consultants has allowed strong friendships to form and build a productive working environment. The CWC is still a formal job, but due to the comfort, conversation, and the social aspect it brings I would consider it to be more of a Third place.

Would you consider the writing center a Third place for consultants?

 More info on Third place:

https://www.embracetheplace.com/wp-content/themes/EtP%20Theme/docs/3thirdplaces.pdf