eyes peeled

Since its inception, many moons ago, the Writing Center has had only five directors. Tonight we were lucky to witness the coming together of two in one room: Bob Marrs and Steve Singleton. Steve is here to speak about conferencing lab reports. Bob says that chemistry professors are the most thoughtful, interested in writing-type people at the College, and Steve reinforces this concept by starting the meeting with, "I'm kind of winging this...I had to pull it out of my aaa...head." To be fair, he kindly agreed to be here at the very last minute.

Steve recounts that directing the WC inspired him to incorporate the things he learned into his chemistry classes, and caused him to think a lot about the way people learn.

Lab reports: handouts were circulated (talk to Steve if you want one). In science, there are strictly-adhered-to conventions which are designed, "over eons of honing," to ease communication through standardization. This structural rigidity is supposed to make things easier. Steve makes a horribly crude joke about "spots left over from reproduction" that has something to do with punctuation marks on xerox machines. ?

For citations, find a style guide or journal. Basically, science reports are insanely finicky. Focus on implementation of ideas in addition to the ideas themselves - how to present info graphically.

Some sample dialogue:
Steve, to Bob: "That's a good question, Bobby."
Kevin: "Can we call you that?!"

Now, on to this weekend, which, as you all know, is Prospie Weekend. Yes it is. There are 33 competitors (with 9 potential additions). Because there are only nine male consultants living on campus and nine male WC prospies, all WC menfolk are strongly pleaded with to host. Apparently the weekend will include a scavenger hunt and snacks. If you haven't already done so, please fill out the hosting/shift sheet (see Malyssa Oblander or Katie Blanchard). A revised copy of the schedule will be posted on the front desk on Wednesday.

Does anyone have a cot? Talk to Andrew Klingler.

If you want to be a Writing Fellow next semester, you should register for Topics just in case, as the Fellows program hasn't been finalized yet.

Tentative plans have been made for a January Topics in Composition course on Tybee Island, Georgia! Bob used to do this trip frequently in years past, but it has never been offered during my tenure at Coe. I'm terribly jealous. Keep your eyes peeled for more information.


Tybee Island, 1990s

Ta-ta,

Jenna