Alumni Update!

This is the first of what will hopefully be many "dispatches" from WC alumni. One of the great things about the Coe Writing Center is the incredible community that we have created, and the sense of continuity and connection between multiple WC generations. Those 60-some students who currently populate the WC make up just a small fraction of the larger CWC, and this blog should be a reflection of that.

So...onto the real news. In the summer of 2007, our very own, much-loved Beth Hayden got hitched!


L-R: Emily Johnson, Luke Johnson (class of 2007), Beth (2006), her husband Nick Kirby, Kate Taber (2006), and Lillian Vince (2007).

She says:

This was taken on July 14, 2007, in Newport News, VA at our reception. The ceremony was at my home church in Hampton, VA.

Nick and I are in the same PhD program in the Mathematics department at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. I completed all the work for my Master's degree this past summer. I'm almost done with coursework and about to enter the wild and wacky world of mathematics research. I'll be working in the area of topology, which is really cool math. I plan (hope) to graduate in 2011. I'm also teaching freshmen 100-level math, which is both challenging and time-consuming, but has some lovely unexpected moments that keep me sane.

* If any of our alumni are reading this and want to have their own announcements (engagement, wedding, baby, new job, new school, graduation, new pet, etc. etc.) posted here, shoot an email my way: jashaw (at) coe (dot) edu.

Updates from the WC

A list, lists are good:
-After a week of rain and snow, the campus is covered, alternatingly, in lovely white wintry goodness and scary slippy ice. Monday evening saw the sidewalks as frozen canals. Just now, Danielle fell on the ice while riding her bike. Ouchie.
-The back wall (where the framed quotations used to be) now has a hole knocked in it, and a door stuck in that hole. A door to the newly-moved Speaking Center, which is slowly being filled with things like carpeting and plastic 3-drawer bins.
-Bob will be in Ireland over break.
-The new spring schedule is taped to the front desk - feel free to make adjustments
-Tues, Jan 13 (the day before classes resume) will be Chili Night in the WC. 7-9pm, or until the the chillay runs out. Bob says: "No formal meeting, no required attendance. It's fine to come, eat, and leave."
-First staff meeting of the year will be Monday, Jan. 19, about 5:30. More details, presumably, to come.
-Mike Huff is a now a model for sciency clothes:

Glitter

Here's my Las Vegas reflection - sorry that it's so late in posting. Also, sorry for my extreme lack of posting for the past couple ... wow, for the past couple months. What happened? Anyway, here it is.

Las Vegas is not a city I would visit under normal circumstances. It’s not because it’s what my parents would probably call “a den of sin” – I just don’t find it all that appealing. Gambling isn’t that exciting, scantily clad ladies aren’t my thing, and neon lights give me headaches. But a trip paid for by the college and including a lot of my friends – sure. Why not.

The conference itself …. Bob mentioned a while back how it always surprises him how bad a lot of the presentations are. I am, too. I mean, I’ve been to great sessions – but I’ve been to some pretty awful ones, too.

Being constantly told how great the CWC is was simultaneously frustrating and elating. It’s nice to have that ego boost, and it’s nice to see all the areas we’re doing well, but it also makes it that much harder to see where we need to improve. I mean, our presentations tend to be fairly well done, but it’s not like we spend a whole lot of time polishing them. I think the reason our presentations go so well is that each consultant is saturated on CWC philosophy, each of us has a pretty sophisticated intuition for how the writing center is supposed to run. That knowledge lets us connect the topic of our presentations to CWC practices as a whole – we’re able to pull in that larger picture. And that’s a good thing – that, I think, is what puts us out there on the leading edge.

But it’s easy to forget that we’re a long way from perfect.

The first session I went to was about writing centers in secondary education. There were two presenters: the first was a woman who started a WC in her inner city, charter school. It’s staffed by high school students, who get elective credit for working. It’s after school, and they train at the woman’s alma mater (St. John’s) with the college’s writing center consultants. The high school WC tells the teachers to encourage, but not require, that students come to the WC. The point is to make it a resource, not a punishment.

The second presenter was a “peer tutor” (that title has always bothered me) who decided to establish a WC in the local high school as a project. The WC is still in its fledgling stages; this presentation was probably given too early. It was staffed by college students volunteering their time, and was used by ten students total in the one semester it had been open. This was one of those presentations that would have been much better had the project been given more time to mature. As it was, it turned into more of a What Not to Do speech rather than a discussion of the benefits and difficulties of opening a writing center in a high school.

I went to a panel discussion composed of directors of WCs from around the world. This was probably the most disappointing of the sessions I attended. It had so much potential to be an engaging, interesting, lively session! But it turned out to be fairly dry. It was structured so each director had a few minutes to talk about their writing center. Instead of an open forum and discussion, it was a series of brief, stilted speeches. There was some interesting points brought up, though. Each WC tailored itself to fit in with the home university. Writing Centers are peculiar and almost completely unique to America – I learned that 99% of all European writing centers are founded by an American. It was also strange to learn that, in most countries, writing is undervalued – it’s considered a solitary activity; reading is important, but writing is not. There’s a lot of apathy toward writing. This was really weird to me – if you can value reading, then it would follow necessarily to value writing, wouldn’t it? The art of creating worthwhile things to read? But I guess that’s a connection that only seems natural to Americans.

The most interesting session I attended was on Thursday. It was focused on racism in the Writing Center. The upshot of the session was that racism occurs everywhere, and the writing center should actively and vocally set itself as anti-racist. “I hear people say, ‘We don’t have problems with racism in our writing center,’” someone said (and I am paraphrasing a little, here), “but that is so wrong. Even if it’s not talked about, it’s there, and it needs to be pointed out and actively fought.”

I was thinking about the CWC. And I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen race become an issue; not in terms of conferencing anyway. Apparently at the school that was leading the discussion, there had been cases of students refusing to conference with a consultant due to the consultant’s race. I don’t think that’s ever happened here. It is uncomfortable to note the lack of diversity in the CWC. But it’s difficult to be a beacon of diversity in a school that also has a very low minority-student percentage. I think the CWC probably accurately reflects Coe’s student population.

I don’t know. I have issues with making a writing center a political entity. I’m not okay with making it partisan for any cause, no matter how correct or noble. There was another phrase thrown around during the session – “if you’re not against racism you’re for it”– but I think it’s weird to attribute some grand cause to a writing center other than writing and reading. It’s a writing center, not a social justice center. I think it’s the duty of all intellectual people to dedicate themselves, personally, to causes of social justice, but I don’t think that writing centers should be major advocates for (or opponents of) them as an organization.

Then there was a session on conferencing creative writing. It was half presentation and half workshop – we looked at examples of actual creative writing drafts and talked about how we as consultants can help with creative pursuits. The solution the presenting group came up with was to have a working knowledge of the basics of good creative writing. It was difficult for me to think about this, because I’m experienced in workshopping creative writing. I know what to look for. But what I found interesting about this presentation is that there was never once a mention about the consultant acting as a sounding board for ideas. No one mentioned brainstorming. The whole discussion was very logical, very systematic. Writers were classified into three categories – students who write on their own but don’t have experience sharing their work (are often defensive and get lost with technical terms), students in intro creative writing courses with minimal experience (are insecure, interpret criticism as personal attack, but understand and use literary jargon), and students with a lot of experience workshopping their pieces (are often intimidating to tutors who have less experience). Some ideas for handling creative writing conferences were to ask a lot of questions – to just ask about the story itself. We’re all readers in writing centers. It’s good to just be curious. Sometimes you don’t have to be an expert – you just have to be someone who’s interested.

One of the things I dislike about these conferences is the theoretical, detached discussion about “students” and “tutors” and “we” and “they”; it all becomes so divorced from actual practice, from the messiness and nuances of reality. The sessions I attended had less of that than I’ve experienced at past conferences. But it was still frustrating to see how far into theory people get. Theory only works when you can connect it back to people and put it into practice. It’s no good if you work out a perfect system that nonetheless fails to take real life into account.

So, I don’t know. It wasn’t a bad conference, besides the conflict between the hotel’s definition of “breakfast” and mine. Maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention, but I didn’t run across any gems of wisdom or innovation that I wanted to rush home to implement. The problems a lot of sessions were dealing with were things that the CWC doesn’t see as problems, or doesn’t even have. For example, we don’t have to worry about lying to a student about being a teacher or TA and not just a peer tutor (this is the topic of one of the posters I studied), because we only have undergrad consultants. I don’t know. I was just distracted by all the Vegas glitter. We’ll go with that.

- Leta

The Study Abroad List has been updated

Year's Last Meeting

As is traditional for the last meeting of the year, graduating WCers shared their favorite moments and memories of their time in the Writing Center.

-Leigh advises us all to “get married.” Her most memorable experience was getting cited for indecent exposure in Las Vegas. We should all be so lucky.
-Dave is absent. Dave? Dave? Well, happy graduation and all that.

Sort-of graduates going abroad next semester:
Heather tells us that crazy things happen in the WC after hours. Something about rolling around in tubes?
Patricia has no memorable moments. Shame on you, Patricia! But, you know, bon voyage.

Scheduling forms for next semester were handed out. You’re advised to hand yours in to Bob by Friday afternoon. Try to be flexible when indicating preferred hours.

For the rest of the term: you’re responsible for your hours until Wednesday’s closing – if you’re leaving early, be sure to get someone to fill your shift. Thursday will be staffed via signup sheet on the front desk.

And now, the long-awaited Topics Film Festival. Oh, yes.

-Julia Child is apparently not in the house, which is too bad, since I have a special affection for Mrs. Child. Has anyone read her quasi-autobiography, My Life in France? It’s okay.

-Things get off to a magnificent start with the “greatest film ever made about coffee roasting in the writing center.” Emily, Hilary and Andrew Boone take us painstakingly through the coffee roasting process. Amazingly, it is very entertaining, indeed, and well served by the addition of beanbags. Some embarrassing moments for Andrew. I learned that roasting coffee beans involves many, many steps, and basically takes forever. Roasters have gained much respect from me.

-Next film involves Jordan and Ezra in some sort of travel show thing. I don’t know what’s going on. WC as South American biosphere, I guess? Ezra is a sciency guy, and he does a field study of the WC speaking in a scary, raspy whisper.

-These films are much more creative than I would have had the energy to produce, were I in topics. Just a thought.

-Film 3: WC, Celebrity edition, starring Lindsay Lohan, Albert Einstein and Luke Skywalker engaged in conferences. Ellen Burns has a sweet light saber.

-Film 4 (the chronology of these might be off, as the notes were recorded on both sides of a pretty small envelope): An untitled piece detailing the many, boring roles of the Frog: dishwashing, coffee maintenance, hiding in the library. Starring Holly and a very unenthusiastic Marie.

-Film 5: Jack and DC: The Grammar Question. After explication by Joe, we understand that this is a parody of a computer commercial. The moral: we do grammar conferences. You can watch it over and over again on YouTube. Maybe afterwards you’d like to see a few recordings of church services in Amsterdam?

-Film 6: WC as house of ill repute. Leta does a little shimmy as the Beeeeaver. No sloppy seconds for her. Grant as sloth gets some action. Later, in real life (not the video), he references his heritage in the “Club Dub,” by flashing uncomfortable (for me) hand gestures.

-Film 7: The puppet show! Finally! There is a lion, a very cutely accented frog with a beret (get it? cause ‘frog’ is a funny name for frenchies?), and some other adorable puppet creatures going about daily WC tasks.

-Film 8: Just as the last of us stragglers are about the walk out of this, the longest WC meeting ever, the last video plays. Theme is “cooking in the writing center,” but what you really need to know is that Andrew Klingler is featured as Julia Child, hump, monoboob, clown makeup, gobbly accent and all. Well worth the wait.

That's it,
Jenna

-Be sure to bid "bon voyage" to the following consultants going off-campus next semester:
Heather, Patricia, Emily, Holly B., Kacie, Andy J., Chris (Asia Term), Vaclav (Greece), Joe (NY Term), Kelly (Washington, D.C.)
-If I forgot you, don't feel bad - I'm forgetful. Leave a comment and your name will be added.

WC Minutes 11/17

The subject of the evening is apparel. At last week’s meeting someone brought up the fact that the “store-room” of WC shirts/hoodies is almost empty. Bob took action, coming to the meeting armed with samples and ideas. A sampling:

-Nulla dies sine linea, “never a day without a line.” My personal favorite (my preference, sadly, falls on deaf ears)

-“Comma sutra” cartoon

-“The Coe Word Trade Center: We’re Still Standing.” Deemed inappropriate.

-The classic swirling “WC” symbol with a Wittgenstein quotation

-Vasec nominates “Death to Carthage” in Latin, giving a bad name to Classics majors everywhere (ahem). Bob responds: “When you have your own writing center you can do that.”

-Fleeces are eliminated because they’re expensive (and lame).

-Despite my valiant effort, polo shirts (so cute! so retro! so business-chic!) are also overruled.

So many choices. We narrow it down to six options and a vote is taken. The breakdown (with commentary from Ezra):

Karate/kung fu thing: 25 votes (“that’s a lot”)

Baseball style: 15 (“a decent amount”)

WC tree: 3 (“not many”)

Multiple languages: 9 (“somewhat”)

Latin: 6 (“a smattering”)

Comma sutra: 20 (“we have two winners”)

The choice is now between the karate thing and comma sutra. A voting sheet is on the main desk – you have till break to make your voice heard.

Other business/news:

- WC alumni Tanner Curl and Emily Dussault are engaged, upping the statistics on WC marriage rates. Bob has been invited to officiate the wedding, which he will, “If scheduling allows.”

-There are fewer than three weeks of classes till break. So there’s that.

-Ezra is so loud.

-Re: the grocery list. Nothing will be purchased till after break. We have very limited funding, especially since this year our coffee business is “not running in the black.” Our yearly budget is about $750. So far this year we’ve gone through $500. People should pay for coffee unless they are getting/giving a conference or working a shift. Bob suggests “appointing someone as a badass,” but ventures that this might be petty.

-No meeting next Monday

-December 1^st will be “film fest” night – Topics people will be showing their short films. We’re told that there will be puppets. Should be a hoot.

-Nina warns us all to back up our computers. Her big deal science presentation thing was lost, so the event is happening tomorrow at 4:00 in SH203.

-Also tomorrow: the creative writing seminar people are presenting their writing tomorrow in Kesler, also at 4:00. So, choose wisely. You should note that Nina is offering baked goods in exchange for attendance at her event. Keep that in mind.

Now some serious business:

-Some of Bob’s students will be coming in to pick up gift certificates. They need to sign a form in the back room before taking them.

-On Friday of this week FYS portfolios are due. Literally, a collective sigh. All FYSs are arriving at the same time. People working Friday from 12:00 on – don’t schedule any conferences. Come to work on time. We will be incredibly busy sorting. If you’re behind in hours, we could use some extra hands. Should be “wild and tense.”

-ORCHID FORMS.

1) Some people have zero entries. To retain your position in the writing center, you need to have recorded 25 conferences over the course of the year. That’s one conference/week (12-13 per semester). If you don’t meet this number, you’ll be fired. Seriously.

2) Conference summaries have been terrible. You need to provide detail and information. One sentence is inadequate. Be precise, present an accurate, thorough portrait of the conversation. What did you talk about specifically? What advice did you give? What types of ideas did you generate? The WAC program is heavily dependent on this data for maintaining funding and credibility. Record all conferences.

3) Do not be sarcastic or derogatory in your descriptions of students or professors. This is public information that can be accessed by students and instructors at any point. Consciousness of your tone and attitude is critical. Be professional.

Things I Learned in Las Vegas

1. Clocks are an optional accessory in any establishment
2. Marriages are far more comman-place than one would expect
3. Always bring a box of blister pads while traveling
3b. Shoes are for comfort, not for show
4. There is a significant gap between IWCA's idea of breakfast and my own idea of a breakfast
4b. Bring your own food
5. When everyone in town is on vacation, they're all friendly
6. Diversity is important

- Johanna

Las Vegas

support your peeps

There are two important events which you are requested to attend this week: Sakinah and Nina are giving science-y senior presentation things today and tomorrow, and they want your support to diffuse actual questions from actual biologists. So. You should all attend.

Sakinah: Today (Tues) at 4:00 in Stuart 203
Nina: Tomorrow (Wed) at 4:30 in SH 203.

Also - thanks to everyone who sent me headache-diffusing tips. They all sound exciting and I'll probably try them in the future (though a reasonable night's sleep worked for me yesterday). And sorry for embarrassing you, Grant.

Also: We all survived Vegas (even Andrew K, sort of).

sittin' pretty

To start things off, Casey ♥ Grant. I don’t remember why, exactly. He also gave woefully unprepared me a sheet of loose-leaf paper, which was so nice. And four doses of non-prescription pain reliever (Which, sadly, has not been working. Clarissa suggests drinking more water for headache relief. I will try this. Any other ideas?). Thanks, Grant.

Other WC men are apparently in need of love. This is too bad.

The feature presentation is introduced by Andrew, who, along with other members of the service committee (is that right?) “searched high and low for ways to help.” They found Wendy Rodriguez from the Catherine McAuley Center.

This is a non-profit, independently-funded adult education center in Cedar Rapids with the mission of providing free basic education to adults, with a particular focus on literacy, language acquisition for non-native English speakers, and GED preparation. The Cedar Rapids branch serves people from 46 different countries, mainly in Central and South America and Africa.

You can help by becoming a tutor. The McAuley Center is staffed almost entirely by volunteers (~100 students/week are helped by ~80 volunteer tutors), because its services are free and it receives no government funding. A 10-week commitment is requested (1-2 hours/week), and you will be assigned to work with the same student every week, enabling you to build a relationship with a single person. If you’re a student of Spanish or French you may have the opportunity to practice your language skills by being assigned to a native speaker of one of those languages. There is a set curriculum based on a book series – you are not expected to come up with lessons or materials on your own.

There is usually one morning and one evening tutor training session each month, but the Center can accommodate your schedule if neither time works.

Why you should become a tutor:
-It’s an opportunity to make a difference in the community
-Students are highly motivated
-Coe has a service-learning requirement (and you may be able to count your hours at McAuley toward work study or fellowship hours) which this fulfills
-Looks good on a resume
-Is great preparation for anyone interested in teaching or international anything

The McAuley Center’s Hours:
9am-8pm Mon-Thurs; 9am-4pm Fri; 9am-12pm Sat.

Location (within walking distance): 866 4th Ave. On the corner of 10th St and 4th Ave, next to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.

Contact our own Andrew for a tutor’s perspective or the Center’s director, Wendy Arnold-Rodriguez, for more specific information. Yellow tutor information packets can be found in Andrew’s WC mailbox – feel free to look through them.

__

Final WC business:
--Danielle is looking for a dog sitter over Thanksgiving weekend (next Wednesday-Saturday). Enticements: you can stay at her house and eat her food in exchange for feeding her dog.
--Ariel and Emily (activities committee?) want to know whether anyone is interested in going rollerskating or bowling sometime. It may or may not be free, but will almost certainly be more fun than the question made it sound.
--A fracas ensues after Bob proposes that an orgy would be cheaper than either of the former activities.
--Keep entering orchid forms.
--“Does anyone remember Catie Steinman?” This is somehow related to orchid forms.
--There are only two staff meetings left in the year
--Has anyone seen Leta and Clarissa’s respective copies of the Enchiridion?
--Dave: “I’m sittin’ pretty.”

And that’s the end.

Notes on May Term in the Lake District

Here are the details for Bob's May Term in the Lake District, straight from the source:

May Term 2009: Writers Colony (RHE-335): Walking in England's Lake District

This course involves a 26-day trip to England, departing on Tuesday, May 12 and returning to the U.S.A. on Sunday, June 7. The group will fly to London and stay for three nights at a London hotel. This portion of our schedule combines opportunities for tourist-type stuff (visiting the Tower of London or seeing a West End musical) with academic work relevant to the course (studying 18th- and 19th-century English landscape painting at the Tate and National art galleries). On Saturday, May 16, we travel by coach to Grasmere in the Lake District and stay for two weeks at an estate on the edge of Lake Grasmere. The property–Dale End Farm--is a renovated 17th-century farmhouse and barn; further information about this facility is available at the property manager’s web site (http://www.wheelwrights.com/). After staying at this farm for two weeks, we hike over an intervening hillside and spend a third week in two cottages in the village of Chapel Stile, located on the edge of the Langdales. We return to London on Saturday, June 6, and fly back to the U.S.A. on Sunday, June 7. Our course readings and research will focus on how the Lake District was first described and celebrated by William Wordsworth and other 19th century poets, artists, and travel writers. The class assignments include daily walks (rain or shine) in this remarkable countryside. The writing assignments invite students to explore the Lake District and consider how their perceptions compare with those of previous residents and travelers. The course can count toward a major in Writing or Creative Writing.

The program cost for the course will be $2,175. This fee covers costs for housing, most meals, airline and coach transportation, and fees to museums and art galleries. During the three weeks in Grasmere and Chapel Stile, participants will be responsible for preparing their own meals. Students should plan on having available at least $400 during the trip to cover incidental food, travel, and entertainment expenses. Course enrollment: maximum of eight students.

 

The application should include year in school, academic major, and a one-page statement explaining the reasons for wishing to enroll in the Writers Colony course. E-mail applications are accepted.

A WC Boondoggle

Any meeting that starts out with Mediterranean goodies and a variety of fruit-flavored ice creams is a good one, as far as I'm concerned.

We discussed the question: what do you do when someone comes in for a conference with a, to your estimation, near-perfect paper? We split into groups of 6 or so and discussed for 15 minutes. Groups' results will be posted to the I-Drive at some point in the future.

Next week's meeting will be in the Lynch Room par normal; we'll be doing a trial poster session.

Reminder: applications for Bob's May Term in the Lake District are due on Friday. For more information, talk to Bob, or one of the WC's three 2007 alumni: me, Whitney, Johanna. See photos below.

Now, Vegas stuff:

-Las Vegas, we learned, means: "The Meadows." And I embarrassed myself.

-The vans to Omaha leave at 7am on the 29th; you should plan to be there by 6:45. Sugary snacks will be provided, but not orange juice, because Kaitlyn is allergic. Weird.

-The flight departs from Omaha around 2pm. We're flying Frontier airlines, "the school bus of the sky." Remember: no checked luggage. Pack light, we may need to walk to the hotel. Bob rarely travels with a handbag, but that's up to you.

-We're slated to arrive in Vegas around 5pm, and once you're checked into your room you have the evening free (Saturday evening will also be free). There are 8 menfolk attending and only 4 beds. Nice. So if you're averse to sleeping with Bob, he suggests you bring a pillow.

-Meals in Vegas: you can count on having 2 meals/day provided; plan adequate spending money to cover the rest. We will not have a car, either, so...plan accordingly, I guess.

-As far as WC shifts go while you're in Vegas, check the schedule to make sure at least one person is working.

-While at the conference: You must keep a journal of your experience, whether you're in Topics or not. More details regarding this forthcoming. You will also be responsible for attending a certain number of sessions at the conference. If you don't want to do this, Bob says, no problem, just give him a check for $500 to cover your expenses.

-As a final note: if you plan to enter into a state of marriage while in Vegas, Bob requests that you please refrain from changing your name - it's a hassle with the airline tickets.

--Till next week,
Jenna

More Lake District Photos

--Jenna

Updates!

Here are some updates from Bob:

-Tomorrow's staff meeting will be held in the Writing Center instead of the Lynch Room. We'll have delicious, free food from Aladdin, so come early (5:45) to get some chow.

-Topics this week will meet in the library by the downstairs computer lab. We'll be having an e-portfolio workshop.

-For Vegas people: you're responsible for contacting all of your professors to let them know you'll be gone and to take care of any missed assignments. Presentation teams will be meeting individually with Bob sometime this week, and should plan to have completed posters ready for next Monday's meeting (the 27th).

-If you're considering applying for the May Term Writers Colony in the Lake District, applications are due this Friday (24th). "The application consists of a one-page document indicating the reasons why you would like to be enrolled in the class." For more info, contact Bob, or talk to one of the WC's alumni: Jenna, Whitney, Johanna. Here, for solidarity, are some Lake District photos from the 2007 May Term:

--Jenna

go here for more photos

random daily wc pic

andy mans the front desk

turechek tomorrow

FYI:

The Turechek Symposium for Off-campus study is tomorrow. There will be a panel of returning students, Q&A, poster sessions, and probably hors d'oeuvres (well, Sodexho lemonade and cookies, but still). If you're thinking about studying off-campus, have studied off-campus, or just want some free food, then come to Upper Gage between 2:00-4:00 tomorrow (Friday).

--Jenna

Kids make great writers.

- Johanna

Getting Paid!

End-of-the-month Reminder:

If you want to get paid, either through scholarship, fellowship or work study, you need to turn in your hours sheets. Record all hours you work - topics counts, so do staff meetings and any off-hours conferences. Green (fellowship) sheets go to Tresa, and pink (work study) sheets go to Katie S. - put them in their WC mailboxes or hand them in directly to Tresa or Katie. Okay.

And...random WC pic o'the day:

Tiki Hut Tan - WC Minutes 9/29

After a high calorie, low nutrition meal in the caf, the meeting begins. The agenda: posters and conference groups.

But first...general notices.

Whitney is doing attendance - she says that if you want to be counted and she doesn't know who you are you should make yourself known at the next meeting. She is blonde. She is an ASA. She likes show tunes. Whitney.

The social activities committee has a questionnaire about events for the year. If you want to have input, talk to Ariel. My vote is for haunted house tour.

Hilarious request: Leigh's apartment is being fumigated, and her asthmatic cat needs a home for the day next week. Clarissa steps up.

If you're involved in stuff and want a cheerleader, email Heather with dates. Balloons may be arranged. Feel free also to email someone on the blog committee to have events posted online.

First activity of the meeting is making posters for people off-campus. The WC forgot to do this last year (both semesters!) for the first time in 20 years. Hm. I guess now we're back on the wagon. Marie and I (and presumably other off-campus studiers) are very bitter.

On the bright side, we got to break in a brand new pack of gorgeous markers. Sample colors: moonstone yellow, rambunctious red, fandango pink, for-ever-green, prairie berry, and my favorite - tiki hut tan.

If you weren't at the meeting, stop in the WC and add a message to the posters. Also, we need addresses for peeps abroad: Kevin, Willie, Nathan, etc., so email them to Bob.

Finally, Vegas people meet. If you missed the meeting, be sure to check in with your group.

That's the all of it.

--Jenna

"Revising" Garfield

Who knew that cutting out the comic's namesake would (finally) make the strip funny?






(courtesy of garfield minus garfield)

- Johanna

Bare my sole(s)

I've begun picking a random day out of the week when I don't wear shoes. Yes mom, I do look out for pieces of broken glass. But I also got to spend a glorious ten seconds shuffling through the fallen leaves between Voorhees and Gage.

[sidenote--Ok, alums of Dr. Bob's walking class, help me out here. It's a compound leaf, the only tree that has changed color (currently goldenrod), and the leaves are tiny and soft. Not crunchy in that satisfying autumn way, just....swishy.]

Anyway, going around barefoot is great. My feet don't smell like shoe, and if they get wet, they dry fast. It's like a foot massage everywhere I go.

Maybe it's a coincedence, but this day was way better than yesterday. No joke. Yesterday, in typical ineptitude, I forgot to get recommendations for my Fulbright. Today, in a spurt of industriousness, I'm writing a blog entry for the Writing Center.

Oh, bare feet. You ground me so.

- Johanna

A Slow Day for WC Minutes 9/22

Despite Dr. Bob's request to us last week, the Lynch Room was sadly not turned into a conference center. Oh, well. Maybe next Monday?

Updates:
There is talk of the evolution of a new database, but it doesn't exist. Yet. So keep filling out your orchid forms, but don't worry about entering them into the computer. To the database filler-outer person, Casey is apparently missing some vowels. I'm not sure what that means, but take note.

If you're on fellowship, fill out a green sheet every month listing the hours you work (including Topics and Monday meetings); Alonso has retired as record-keeper, so turn your sheets in to Tresa. Work study people: if you don't care about getting paid, don't turn your form in. Otherwise, find Katie S. at the end of the month.

We then split off into committees and discussed things amongst ourselves. If any particular committees have anything particular they want us all to know, let me know and I'll send it out in the minutes next week or post it on the blog

From the blog committee : Read the blog. Andy J. says the blog is boring. We say Andy J. is boring.

Just kidding.

Studiers Abroad

Writing Centerers have studied in places far and wide. Here's a partial list. Feel free to leave comments with edits or additions:

Belgium - Laura Wenk, Patricia Byrne
Cameroon - Brandon Kenhammer
Chile - Patricia Byrne
China – Deborah Kwan
Costa Rica - Malyssa Oblander
Czech Republic - Katie Becker
Egypt - Kathryn McBride
England – Leta Keane, Nathan Barford (London); Jenna Shaw, Johanna Schnell, Whitney Kaefring (Lake District); Abby Pierron, Beth Hayden, Kate Taber, Rob Synovec (London/Florence)
France - Katie Roger, Laura Wenk
Gambia - Hannah Ross-Suits (Peace Corps)
Germany - Alice Obrecht, Nathan Barford
Ghana - Nathan Nass, Nathan Raymond
Greece – Kathryn McBride, Betsy Friedrich, Jenna Shaw, Vaclav Shatillo
India - Katie Blanchard
Ireland – Laura Farmer, Bree Graczyk, Marie Hunt
Israel - Nick Barnes, Kate Taber, Catie Steinman
Italy – Kate Taber, Beth Hayden, Rob Synovec, Trent Edwards, Jane Poynter
Japan - Corrie Ball, Rob Synovec (JET)
Madagascar - Kim Miller
Mexico - Alonso Avila
Mongolia - Alice Obrecht (Fulbright)
The Netherlands - Laura Wenk
New York City – Ezra Stewart-Silver, Jenna Shaw, Brad Bosma, Katie Blanchard, Lilly Vince, Joe Ponce, Tara Richards
Nicaragua -- Johanna Schnell
Nigeria - Kim Miller, Brandon Kenhammer (Fulbright)
Northern Ireland - Kristin Patch, Gen Oroszvary, Sarah Small
Panama - Patricia Byrne
Paraguay - Patricia Byrne
Senegal - Lillian Vince
Serbia - Katie Blanchard, Grant Stevens
South Africa - Geci Karuri
South Korea - Nathan Nass (Fulbright), Marie Hunt, Leta Keane
Spain - Catie Steinman
Sweden – Willie Waisath, Kevin Dyrland
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos - Ezra Stewart-Silver, Johanna Schnell, Kyle Mangan, Dave Woerhle, Andy Decker, Heather Lewis, Patricia Byrne, Andy Johnson, Chris Hughes, Kacie Svoboda, Emily Hipps, Holly Bouma-Johnston (Asia Term)
Turkey – Fatma Zahra, Bree Graczyk, Jenna Shaw
Vietnam - Asia Term peeps (see "Thailand" entry), Jenna Shaw, Iris Garcia (May Term)
Wales – Tanner Curl, Jackie Moore
Washington, DC - Jenny McArdle, Kelly Carlblom

hi, hi tiger-i!

Let it be noted that the Alpha Nu Literary Society has a cheer. It reads as follows:

"Hi, hi tiger-i! Hoo, rah, hoo! Siss, boom, zigera! Alpha Nu!"

Awesome.

-- Jenna

mecca

New thing I've been doing which is agreeable:
Eating lunch from Brewed Awakenings (usually soup - the soup is great) in the Writing Center.

And, yeah, that was a really, shamefully shameless plug.


I've been spending less and less time in the Writing Center. My freshman year, if I wasn't eating, sleeping, or in class, I was here. But since then, I find myself only frequenting Peterson 145 when I work, or need a conference, or have to pull an all-nighter to write a paper I've put off for too long.

But I've been making an effort to be here more often, outside of my working hours. And I'm remembering why I spent so much time here in the first place.

On almost every bit of Writing Center propaganda we produce, there's the phrase coined by WC alum Laura Farmer -- "The Writing Center: the Mecca of random conversations." I've become immune to this statement - it's just something to say to pique interest, a good space filler. But I've been reminded, lately, of how true this statement is. People discuss everything here. I'd give examples, but they probably wouldn't reflect how bizarre and varied the truth actually is.

So I think I'm going to continue this upward trend. I'd forgotten that, when I'm away, I miss being here. It's good remembering.

A cuppa coffee

My relationship with coffee is an intense one. I know that sounds hyperbolic, but hear me out. I won’t forget the first time I got a coffee high. In typical eager nerdyness, I had not only been elected Treasurer of Colere, but I also decided to re-organize the binder of Treasurer information into something coherent. Due to its availability of caffeine, I elected to use the WC as the staging area for this endeavor. Once I lost count of how many cups I’d imbibed, I was giddy, singing, and using the CWC hole punch with extraordinary fervor.

I know, bizarre-o.

During my semester in Nicaragua, I spent three weeks in a village whose main industry was coffee farming. Who knows how many hours I spent with my host family, picking each bean individually. The bean is embedded in the fruit of the coffee berry, meaning that after the coffee has been picked, it needs to be de-pulped. My host family used a hand-propelled depulper, which looked like a circular cheese grater that removed the outer fruit layer so that none remained on the bean.

Then the day’s harvest ferments overnight to loosen up the outer husk of the bean. The following day, all the beans are washed, and the de-pulped, de-husked beans are set out to dry. Family members will spend hours over the drying trays, picking out every bug bitten, green, or rotten bean they find. Then they sell their crop at a fraction of the price we pay, and arrives to us pre-roasted and pre-ground, contained in a tasteful WC mug.

I don't ask that anyone feel bad, guilty, whatever. What I want to be recognized is that real people have picked every individual bean, and that these beans go through a lot to arrive in our cup. One of the faults of an industrial society is that we rarely know much about the origins of our purchases. It's not like writing a paper, where the writer is painfully aware of its inception and tortuous revisions. This is more like reading a Hemingway novel.


- Johanna

9/15 Writing Center Minutes: a play-by-play

After an intense exchange between Bob “Showdown” Marrs and a chipper Sodexho employee, the meeting begins...sort of. Well, we begin waiting for the meeting to begin. Marie and Ezra embark on a discussion of “man pockets.” Ezra says, “They’re glorious!”

Turns out the real meeting is happening next door with the college accreditation committee, so we spend a while milling between the two rooms, leaving the committee clearly impressed with Coe’s student turn out. Whoo-hoo.

We re-gather, meeting begins. What Bob finds disturbing: Bob Drexler and John Chaimov are absent. Just as we’re about to give up hope, Drex saunters in to a round of applause. He’s here to talk about Spring Semester in Asia, which happens every spring and is “hosted” by various Coe professors. This year it’s John Chaimov, who’s focusing the semester around issues of human rights and environmental issues in Asia.

The rundown on Asia Term:
-10 weeks in Thailand , 3 in Cambodia, 2 in Vietnam, with a trip to Laos.
-While on the term you complete an independent project (examples: cooking, political science, volunteering, art, research project) which can usually be parlayed into counting toward your major.
-Four credits. Counts toward your “off-campus internship special thing”
-It’s a Coe program, so you pay Coe tuition, plus a $1500 fee to cover various expenses. This is a really good deal
-There will be an official informational meeting in ~ 2 weeks
-Contact Bob Drexler or John Chaimov for more information, or to add your name to the “master list.”
-See Ed. professor Terry McNabb’s blog from last year to get a better idea of the term: http://terryinthailand.blogspot.com/
-The CWC has several Asia Term alumni: Andy Decker, Ezra Stewart-Silver, Johanna Schnell, Kyle Mangan, Dave Woehrle...I’m not forgetting anyone? Andy became a monk – it was enlightening. Johanna did something for which she didn’t receive polisci credit. Ezra made a lot of curry.
-Everyone is eligible to go (except me, clearly), including freshmen and seniors. If you’re interested, you probably should do it.

Bob says: “Never let your schooling interfere with your education. Your major just doesn’t make a difference. The best thing about Coe is leaving – CR is an okay town, but leave.” This is sage advice. In summary, the reason people go to liberal arts schools...so we can go on to graduate studies in other stuff.
-Major + GPA = 2 lines on your resume. They skip over that stuff when applying for jobs. What’s important is what else you do. Apparently more Coe students study abroad than do all University of Iowa undergrads. Also, most Coe people graduate in four years, while only 28% graduate after four years from Iowa. “We can consistently kick ass.” True, true.
-So...go off-campus. In the next couple of weeks we’ll be putting together some information in the WC and on the blog about where WCers have studied in recent years and who you can contact for personal testimonies/opinions about study abroad. As Bob notes, after you graduate to the real world you’ll probably never have the opportunity to take four months off and go explore SE Asia. Unless you’re a college professor, that is.

Other news: Good job, tea committee, at the Reeve reception. It was very nice and Bob is proud of you.

Also, the Marrs family Dickinson-orama in Sinclair last Saturday was great fun – ask Bob for a copy of the powerpoint if you want. He might even break into a rendetion of “Because I could not stop for Death” to the tune of “Amazing Grace.”

There are still a few extra WC keys available for rent. Give Bob a $10 deposit in exchange for a shiny new key opening the door to the happiest place on campus.

Next week: Committee meetings. If you don’t know what committee you’re on, check in the clipboard in the WC or ask Bob.

--Jenna

FD Reeve is the bomb

F.D. Reeve, on dealing with problems by being a poet:
"I have to write. If you can solve your problems by drinking, do."
Reeve came to the Writing Center and gave a brief lecture this last Thursday. He also read some of his poems. The guy was down to earth. Refreshingly so - he didn't wax sentimental or poetic about being a poet. He didn't strike me as someone who was just literary, with no foot in the real world.
He has a sense of humor, he listened, was easy to talk to. You didn't feel like he was lording anything over you. There wasn't a trace of condescension when he talked, no pretense of knowing the great secrets of writing. He wasn't trendy.
His advice on overcoming writer's block was to drink, and if that didn't work, to translate something into English from another language. Weird. Fantastic.

- Leta

monday meeting

After this week's hiatus, we'll be returning to normal meeting times next Monday. Meeting's at 7pm in Lower Gage.

las vegas!

Some news-y stuff for people going to the conference in Las Vegas... (the rest of you should plan to attend next week’s meeting at the normal time and place: 6:00, Lower Gage)...

Las Vegas!

The theme of the conference is, apparently, "roads converging." Due to confusion created by incompetent IWCA organizers, we will not have any speaking sessions, but will be presenting four posters. They’re more fun, anyway. The topics: Writing Across the Curriculum-Longitudinal Study, Faculty Interviews WAC/WID, WC fellowships as recruiting tools, and something called "Assignment Roundabout."

We’re flying Frontier Airlines and, on account of inexplicable airline economics, we’ll be leaving CR in the wee hours of Oct. 29 and driving to Omaha, where we’ll board a plane to Vegas, via Denver. I’m already tired.

Some trip stuff:
-The WC is baggage-free this time: take carry-on luggage only
-Consultants should expect to be responsible for one meal per day: housing and the other meals will be covered
-Evenings will generally be open – you’re free to check out shows, tourist destinations, gambling, chapels (the WC currently has no policies related to shotgun weddings – consider taking advantage of this obvious loophole).
-We’re staying at a resort. Bring your swimsuit.
-Steve Singleton and Dan Lehn are our chaperones for the week: get excited.

...And that’s that.

aladdin recap

as leta noted, dinner last night at aladdin was a jolly old time. here's some pictoral evidence:

a coffee making reminder

          When using the fancy new red grinder, make sure you hold the cup all the way up on it, so the grounds don't go flying all over.
          Also, when the sound of the grinder changes, getting higher pitched, hit the stop switch; it's not that great for it to run without anything to chew on.
          Before you dump the grounds into a filter, hold the cup under where the grinds come out and whack the dangling plate really hard -- I'm serious, ball up your fist and wail on that thing! Some of the more finely ground beans get caught up in the blades and gum up the machine, which is no good. So vent some frustrations on it! It's therapeutic.

  - Leta

a study of place

If I had to pinpoint a specific location in the writing center I love the most, it would have to be the second computer in the WC library. While I of course stay in the main room if I'm working a shift, the area manages to balance both the element of solitude and company when I’m writing. With the door closed, I can concentrate on whatever it is I’m writing at the time. But the second I hit writer’s block, there’s a room full of people just around the corner being PAID to talk to me about my homework. So I grab a cup of coffee on my way to the next room, and start working out the kinks with somebody. What could be more ideal?

  - Johanna

fine dining

So the first "Dining with the Director" event was pretty fantastic.
          I wasn't sure what to expect from this outing - discussion of Writing Center theories and practices? Or maybe brainstorming ways to make the Writing Center better?
          What actually transpired was this:
          Dr Bob and his wife showed up at the Writing Center in their space-age minivan (the doors open at the touch of a button! Okay, so not really that new or exciting ...) and Jenna, Ezra, Johanna, Chris, and myself piled in. We drove to Aladdin Restaurant and ordered an assortment of appetizers.
          As we ate off of comically small plates (the saucers that came with Jenna and Johanna's tea were larger), we really did just sit and talk. About nothing in particular, really (Ezra: "It makes you alert!" - regarding coffee in the morning). It felt more like a meal between friends, rather than a business meeting. It was just ... satisfying, and fun. It was good to get off campus with fellow consultants and Dr Bob.
          I don't mean to get all warm and fuzzy here, but it was neat to sit there and see how the past few years have brought us together. We've had so many shared experiences, most of them through the Writing Center.
          I'm not sure if this evening went exactly as Dr Bob had planned, but I'm gonna call it a success.

And to echo Jenna's earlier post: spots are still open for breakfast at the Butterfly Cafe on Thursday morning - the sign up sheet is posted on Dr Bob's door. What are you waiting for?

  - Leta

our home, peterson hall

See our Flickr page:
wc_flickr

p.s.

There are still some graham crackers and off-brand marshmallows in the WC pantry left over from the retreat. Spread peanut butter on the graham crackers. Microwave marshmallow 7 secs. Smoosh together. Quasi-s'more deliciousness.

And...change of plans for this week's meeting. Tomorrow (Monday) night, the Writing Fellows will be meeting in the WC at 6:00. At 6:30, the people going to the conference in Las Vegas (departure, Wed. Oct. 29) will meet, also in the WC.

Topics will meet regularly on Monday and Tuesday.

Aaaand...a special event. This Thursday at 4:00pm the WC is hosting a reception for a visiting writer, the novelist and poet F.D. Reeve. A short reading followed by a q&a session; the event shouldn't last longer than an hour-and-a-half. Sign-up sheet on the desk. Be there!

Finally, there are still spots open for dinner at Aladdin tonight and breakfast at the Butterfly Cafe on Thursday. Sign-up on Bob's door. Seriously, who passes up on college-subsidized, off-campus meals?

--Jenna

Shameless plug: If you're interested in becoming a part of the illustrious Coe Review staff, come to our meeting this Monday at 7:00pm, 3rd floor of Hickok (Chuck Aukema's office). We'll start packeting and reading this week.

yummy

A few changes in the WC (current consultants should have received an email).

Attached to the door separating the two main rooms is a small white board split into days of the week. At the beginning of our shifts we're supposed to consult this board to check for requested tasks. Easy enough.

You'll notice that the logbook looks different - TR shifts are being split by the half-hour, and you write your name as well as initial the beginning of your shift. Very easy.

Orchid forms are also being adjusted slightly - the database will now feature a template so you don't waste time entering the same thing over and over. Especially useful for Writing Fellows. Bob writes:

For those of you who are Writing Fellows or planning to do a bunch of conferences for students from the same class, you can load that template, enter in your name as the consultant, fill out other data common to all the students (such as name of instructor and course title), and print out your own orchid forms. No need that your copies must be on orchid paper, but it would be nice if you could aim for your forms to retain the size and shape of the forms we currently use (thus making our filing system a bit neater). I will also bring to the Writing Center and place in the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet on which our main printer rests some orchid-colored paper, for those of you who want your personal forms to fit with the tradition.

And my very favorite of the new changes to the WC is...dining with the director. Yes! Every week, Bob will be taking five consutants, including at least two newbies (first come, first served), out for a meal off campus for an hour of chatting and chomping. Participation is totally optional, and you can attend multiple meals on the town, dates and times will vary. The first dinner is this Sunday (today!) at 6pm at Aladdin. Next Thursday at 7.30am (!) will be the Butterfly Cafe. Yum.

Also, our green-thumbed director recently donated some fabulous produce to the free-for-all wc fund: baby cucumbers, crispy-fresh green beans, and two of the biggest summer squash I've ever seen. I'm thinking...zucchini bread. Any other suggestions?

-- Jenna

I love the WC retreat

For my first WC blog entry, I shall of course cover our recent retreat to the great Painted Rocks. I don't have permission yet to use people's names, so I'm going with first initial until I do.

Before sundown, several beginner consultants, P and J especially, had proven themselves to be superior pyro-technicians at the resort’s fire pit. Confusion ensued when E opened the hot dog box to find them frozen solid. I took action at this point, and micro-zapped the hot dogs until they could be jabbed onto a stick for roasting over the flames. Feeling very proud of myself, I sat around the fire to socialize with the new and returning consultants.

It’s a difficult thing to meet new people. I know I could have done a better job of making the new consultants feel more comfortable. At the same time, I know that as our new consultants work their hours in the WC, at least my face will be familiar and (I hope) welcoming.

Once the fire died out, most were ready for bed. C had the brilliant idea of bringing her pup tent along and I crashed it for the weekend. Nothing like mounds and mounds of pillows for bedding. Below, please note the photograph of me diligently finishing off a tin of baked beans while basking in the extravagant comfort of her plastic shelter.

Saturday, we practiced conducting workshops, conferencing, and writing short papers more or less simultaneously. As a Writing Center Fellow for a First Year Seminar class (so many proper nouns!), I needed the workshop experience so I could later conduct them for the first years as they prepare their Portfolios.

The night’s festivities was a double feature at a drive in movie theater. Passing cars honked vigourously as families, teenagers, and WC consultants enjoyed the canned scripts of The Clone Wars and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. I personally don’t know whether the success of such terrible writing is encouraging or not. In any case, much tickling and buffoonery ensued. Below, please note some documented merry-making.

We wrapped it up on Sunday with some sage advice passed down from senior consultants to our new recruits (my favorites were from L: always take the comfy chair, never microwave your socks, the WC fish will die), some last revising and conferencing, and the grand finale: the WC skits. My personal favorite was M’s portrayal of Kyn, the Center’s mannequin.

And that was it. My last WC retreat. May the year officially begin.

- Johanna