The CWC Printer

 

The first week of working in the Writing Center, I expected to learn many different things. What I didn't expect to learn was that the lights in the Writing Center flicker when something is printing.

When you walk into the Writing Center the printer is located in the far left of the room, tucked in a corner next to a broken lamp that doesn't look broken when you first look at it but trust me, take a closer look and it is. 

It looks like a normal printer but I would argue that just like everything in the Writing Center, it has a bit of a personality. We're going to explore our wonderful printer by looking at the function of the printer and the effects that it has on the Writing Center as a whole.

Will it print?

The function of a printer is to "accept text files or images from a computer and transfer them to a medium such as paper" (https://www.britannica.com/technology/computer-printer). So what if your printer does not do this job?? This is unfortunately not an uncommon occurrence with the printer in the Writing Center. In fact it is common enough that our wonderful printer has a sign to give a little guidance for when this does occur.

Close up of the sign on the printer

Open all drawers + top cover

Yes maybe opening the drawers and messing with a few things helps but it also feels a little silly to me. We're not really doing much of anything to actually fix the issue that our paper is not printing. But still we do it and still somehow this works. It's almost like the printer just needed a bit of space to take a breather, know that we're right there with them, through the difficult process of getting words on the paper. 

The more I thought about this, the more I felt that it actually really connects with what we do as consultants. A writer comes in and asks for our help and our job is not to write the paper for them but to give them a space to work through the issue that is stopping them from getting their paper to meet a satisfactory level. 

I was working with a client the other day and I hardly ended up saying anything at all during the conference, the client just needed a safe space to talk and work through their paper with someone. We don't need people to fix us, to fix our writing, to fix whatever malfunction is going on; a lot of times all that is needed is the space to figure whatever it is. As consultants we can provide that space for others, just as we can open the drawers and give the printer a second to reset itself. We don't need to be an electrician or an expert in printers to "fix" our printer, just as we don't have to know every answer and small grammatical rule in writing in order to be a good Writing Center consultant. We just need to be there to guide and give space.

WAIT!

Let's be honest, patience is not something that many of us are good at. But unfortunately we have to do a lot of it in life and when it comes to the printer in the Writing Center sometimes that's all that we can do. Why do you think this instruction is in all caps? Patience is key to fixing anything.

And how does this connect to the work that we do in the Writing Center? 

1. The writing process can be very long and is not something that should be rushed. We have to understand this as consultants. We are here to help our client. Not to just quickly do a 10 minute read through their paper and give them a big thumbs up. We have to be patient, focused, and present in order to give our clients the best help that we can.
2. The 7 Second Rule! An important thing as a consultant that we have to do is listen and allow time for the client to process or think about a question that we may have asked them. Waiting for 7 seconds after asking a question, even if the silence might be awkward, is an important conferencing technique. 

Flickering Lights

If you didn't notice by now or haven't been in the Writing Center when something is printing, many of the lightbulbs in the Writing Center accompany the sound of the printer hard at work by flickering. The lamps themselves are an important part of our Writing Center, helping to create the cozy and welcoming atmosphere that we strive for.

It is definitely a bit off-putting the first time that you experience the lights flicker but most consultants are now completely unfazed by the lights when something is being printed. They flicker, you acknowledge subconsciously that someone is printing something, and then go back to your homework, a conference, or creating another masterful art piece to put on wall for display and enjoyment for your fellow consultants. 

I appreciate the lights flickering because once you know about it, it feels like you're almost in on this little secret of the Writing Center. You feel like you're a part of this community. And isn't that what we want at the Writing Center. To build a community. A place where you can walk in, no matter how bad or good your day has been, smile at the soft light from the lamps and the other students sitting working on homework or doing a conference, make yourself a cup of tea, answer the question on the whiteboard, and then sit down to work your shift. 

I don't think that the lights flickering are scary or eerie but instead something that makes me smile whenever the light dances across the walls and a fellow consultant stands up to go pick up there paper from the printer. It reminds me just how thankful I am to be able to work in such a great community.