A strange thought crossed my mind while I was once again noticing how quiet the Writing Center is during the summer: what would the Writing Center be like without the people who use it? It's quiet now, when everyone's home for the summer and we're closed for conferences, but what would it be like if we opened this fall and no one showed up? If we had Beavers on duty at the front desk, eagerly awaiting a conference, and Frogs and Sloths doing their homework at the nearby tables and couches, wondering if they're going to get to practice that new conference technique that they promised themselves they would implement this year, but no one came in. What would we do? It's interesting to think about how much we depend on the students who actually use the Writing Center as the resource that it is. But this is true for any business: without customers, there is no business. The WC is special in that we, as consultants, use it as well, acting simultaneously as customers and business-people (that's the gender inclusive word for it, right?), so we wouldn't be totally without conferences; but without outside students to come in, what would the WC be like?
Just some food for thought on this Thursday afternoon.
- Anna H.
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