Alpha Nu Adventure to Iowa City

Today, Alpha Nu went to a poetry reading celebrating the birthday of Elizabeth Bishop in Iowa City.

I've been to Iowa City a few other times and I've always love the city. It reminds me of a smaller version of Madison. I feel that the University of Iowa is very similar to UW Madison, although on a smaller scale, as the city kind of becomes the campus. That's a really neat feeling but not quite the right fit for me. So I like going to cities like that and enjoying what it has to offer. I still want to get down to Iowa City on a nicer day, it was freezing cold today, and just stroll downtown checking out all the unique shops.

There were a total of four of us who went: me (Hailley), Alison, Sally, and Emily. Our first stop was Oasis, an awesome restaurant serving falafel. What is falafel you might ask? Well it's basically chickpeas that are soaked overnight and then ground with garlic, onion, and other spices. Put that on pita bread and you've got something fantastic. After filling ourselves up we walked a few blocks to Prairie Lights, the bookstore where the reading was being held. Prairie Lights is a quaint little bookstore where I know I could spend a lot of time and potentially money. There was a full house as other area authors read poetry and a smidgen of prose by Elizabeth Bishop. After the reading, the four of us wandered around the store until it closed, showing each other funny books or writing down titles of books we wanted to read in the future. Then it was back to Coe. All in all a very successful trip.

- Hailley '14

Weekly Feature : Reminiscing the 2010 Fall Retreat

So every Monday we'll be posting a picture and reflection paper from our 2010 Fall Retreat to Sts. Peter and Paul Chapel. We went to the chapel during Labor Day weekend for staff bonding, training, and overall fun.

Enjoy!

- The Blogsters

This piece is by one of the current Blogsters, Katie Selinger.

The events that take place in this work are fictional, not a real account.

There once was a gardener by the name of Albert Pitlik who lived in the town of Vernon. His favorite specimens were the petunias that grew near in the village green. He was content doing what he loved best: being greeted by the morning sun and studying flora that surrounded him. He was particularly fascinated a purple bush that grew inches away from his favorite reading spot on the hill. He studied and observed this uniquely colored shrub, but nothing seemed to click; he had never before heard of a shrub with such an unusual color. The leaves appeared to be black, but if one approached close enough, there were definitely hues of purple basking in the sun. The leaves were grouped together in a think block, connecting by little brown branches with bark turning green. They held the plant ever so tightly, much like a weaved blanket on a loom. One day as he decided to get away from the teasing mystery of the bush he lost his favorite bookmark.

“Why don’t I use a pressed leaf from the bush?” He optimistically reached around the bush and found beside it a fair young lady in a light blue dress.

“I’m Barbara,” she said as she noticed Albert, who looked quite red. “I study the insects that live beside this bush.” She paused as she saw a hawk slicing through the blue sky with its proud dark wings. “And who might you be?”

“Uh,”Albert swallowed hard for his voice somehow became very stuck. “I-I’m Albert. I read on this hill, but I’m a gardener you see, so I wanted to find out what this fascinating bush is and also find my favorite bookmark. I-I-I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but it’s white with a painting of a wild rose,”

“I see,” said Barbara with an interested brow. “I haven’t found your bookmark, good sir, but I have a question for you.” Albert swallowed in anxiety as if he had to take a foul-tasting medicine.

“W-What’s that?”

“Have you found out what the meaning of the bush is yet?”

“I believe its,” Albert stammered as his fingers trembled like melting icicles and his legs became pillars of jelly. “This bush has told me that I have found my first love.”

And that is how it all began: the love and marriage of Albert and Barbara Pitlik. When Albert was recruited for the war, Barbara sent him letters and occasionally enclosed leaves and flowers that she had discovered. When Albert returned home, they were still right as rain despite having very little. But then came the dark time when the flu epidemic swept through the town, snatching Barbara right under Albert’s feet. That summer was very dismal for Albert, who felt so alone without his beloved friend and wife.

Years later on an August morn, he quietly wrote his will and tucked it in an envelope with the research that he and Barbara had compiled together over the years and left it all in the names of their children, Anna and Joseph. Among the dying streets, he quietly and silently took his life for he couldn’t bear the burden of the things that he had witnessed over the years: the stuff of war, grief and sadness. But the truth of the matter was that he longed for nothing more than to be embraced in Barbara’s gentle arms once again.

Barbara and Albert loved many of the things they discovered together, one of which was a rather unique, lemon-green moss. You may find this moss alongside the majestic grey stone where both Albert and Barbara’s name hide themselves in the shade and only emerge when the sun hits the tombstone just right. The stone itself stands proudly against the whispering trees and the bright sun upon the very same hill where Albert occasionally read his favorite books. For every day the sun still shines its warmth down upon the grass that always stays green and moist with the morning dew. But if you look closely, you will find that they are above a purple bush, the very same one when they first met.

The Blog is Back!

After a little hiatus, the WC Blog is up and running. Expect three wonderful posts WITH PHOTOS a week from the Blog team (also known as the Blogsters). Here's some of the ideas we have brainstormed (can this count as a conference?)

- WC Photo of the Week

- Recipes from the Bakers

- Birthday celebrations

- Traditions (such as Tuesday tea and Sunday night dinner)

- Staff Profiles

- Other team project updates

- And MORE! :)

- Blogsters

The Beauty of the "I."

Thinking back on my first three semesters of working here in the writing center, a number of conferences stand out in my memory. I had a number of series of conferences with fascinating individuals last year, many of whom became friends of mine because of the experiences. But among the conferences that weren't series with the same few people, I remember with the most interest the conferences with other writing center consultants.

The most recent of these has just finished, as a matter of fact, in which I had the opportunity to conference over a term paper for an independent study with a fellow writing centaur. It wasn't the most exciting conference ever, and it probably won't be the one that I remember for the proverbial movie montage of me working here during my time at Coe, but something about this conference, something about the relaxed, calm demeanor as we talked through her paper, strikes me as a little bit profound.

Upon a little bit of quiet reflection as I finish out my two hour block shift, it comes to me. It isn't anything that I did, it isn't anything she did, per se. The striking, profound happenstance of this conference is that we both go into this one knowing more or less what we should expect. She mentioned to me afterward about how she had wanted to work with me on this because she thought I could be blunt enough for her to hear what she needed to hear and get down to business on the paper.

That, friends, is the beauty of the incestuous writing center conference.

-Ben B. '13

WC Staff Meeting Minutes Location

Okay so the location of the Staff Minutes have changed : they are now located on their own separate page which can be accessed near the top of the blog under "Staff Minutes" and next to the tab entitled "Home." Enjoy!

- Hailley '14

2011

Hey folks! It's 2011 here in the Coe Writing Center (and everywhere else, too).

Here's some good news for you:

The WC was recently awarded a monetary gift from the Diversity Discussion and Study Group of the Transamerica Life Insurance Company for our dedication and input on articles in a book they've created. This money will help us finance future off-campus staff trips.

CONGRATULATION CONSULTANTS! I knew you could do it.

In other news, the bakers are baking what smells to be delicious chocolate-chip-oatmeal-and-honey cookies. (There are also WCmade rice krispies too.) So feel free to stop by for warmth, a good chat about academics and writing, coffee/cocoa/tea and treats. (Side note: what do you think about having a bake sale?)

And don't forget about taking a peek into the Speaking Center to see what they're up to.

- Taylor

The Writing Center: A Profile

The Coe Writing Center has a different mood at different times of the day: and you can see that when you visit. I’ve worked the 8 am shift, where everyone is sleepy and the people coming in mostly just want some coffee, except for the rare time someone has a paper due the next hour. The WC is almost dead quiet, and not much goes on. And then there’s the noon shift, where we have fresh bread and people are in here studying or talking and the WC feels more awake, but it’s not as active as it gets in the afternoon. Then there are always people working on the computers, reading out funny jokes or interesting quotes, and unwinding from their last classes of the day. This is when the WC is the liveliest, but don’t come expecting to get homework done unless you’re really determined or very good at not being distracted. Things quiet down for dinner, because almost everyone (except for our dutiful consultants, of course) is in the caf eating. The energy picks up again in the evening, around 8 or so, as people start settling down to do some serious work on homework—or take a break from serious stuff and chill, have some coffee, and wait until they get inspired again. Sometimes we have baking adventures late at night: brownies and cookies, maybe even bread or cinnamon rolls. Sometimes they’re absolutely delicious, and sometimes the mishap is simply worth the story. The moral is there’s no “best” time to come to the WC in general: it depends on your mood and how much you need to get done. There are always interesting people, who are always willing to talk or help with a paper, but the real fun is coming down here, spending some time, and seeing the different people come into the WC as the atmosphere changes.

-Justina Cline, '13

2010 Retreat Photos

Hey all your WCers!

I just wanted to post a link to some AWESOME photos from our 2010 Writing Center Retreat to Saint Peter's and Paul's Church near Solon, Iowa. The photos were taken by the lovely Ms. Haley Welby, a first year here at Coe. The link is to her blog and she's captured some great moments from the day. Thanks Haley!

http://haley-throughmylens.blogspot.com/2010/11/writing-center-retreat.html

- The other Hailley '14

ESL Professor Speaks to CWC Staff

At last Monday's staff meeting Joanna Shaver, an English as Second Language (ESL) Professor came to give an informational talk about the types of aids that she expects the writing center to provide to her students, and strategies for us as consultants to use in order to most effectively serve them. In a hand out, she constructed a pyramid that listed priorities that she wanted to see in her students' papers. She deemed expression of ideas as the most important element, and grammar, spelling etc as the least. In this way, she viewed the writing center as a place more for her students to come and discuss the ideas in the paper first, rather than simply dealing with just the conventions of paper writing.
A large portion of the "walk in" students seeking conferences are ESL students, who are primarily Japanese, so this talk will be very useful to us as a staff moving forward.

- Matt Barnd, '13

Coe Football Team makes Playoffs

For the second consecutive year the Kohawk football team has made the Division III national playoffs. O why do you care? Well maybe you don't...But that's okay! For those of you who do it's really quite the feat. You see, there are over 420 teams in NCAA division III athletics, and just 32 of these teams qualify for the playoffs. That's 7.6% for all you math majors out there (over half of Division teams go to a bowl game by comparison). But the really incredible thing is that out of those 32, 26 of them qualify by winning their conference and earning automatic bids, leaving just 6 at large bids for the remaining teams. Coe has earned an at-large bid each of the last two years, marking the first time in school history that this has occurred. The team travels to Wheaton, Illinois to square off against the Thunder this upcoming weekend.
O yeah I also play football for the Kohawks (I am just one example of essentially all writing center staffers involved in numerous activities)...I actually had to miss the staff meeting tonight due to practice...whoopsies...But in any case that's the update for now! GO KOHAWKS!

-Matt Barnd, '13

Friday Fun Times...Writing Center Scavenger Hunt

Hey all your WCers!

An important consultant skill is the ability to find literally anything to keep a conference on a happy note. We need to satisfy the needs of our student writers and if they ask for a hot dog bun, well gosh darn it, we should know where they are. So, the two o'clock Friday consultants put together a scavenger hunt, can anyone find them all? If you can, come to Hailley to pick up your "semi-valuable" prize.

1. Bob Dole
2. Red tape dispenser
3. Inquiry : Questioning Reading and Writing
4. Dr. Bob
5. Writing Center Scrapbooks
6. Hot dog buns
7. Half a cup of bottle caps
8. Bob the Builder and friends
9. Wigs
10. Fire extinguisher (because Courtney M. says that everyone must know where that is)
11. Yellow sign that says "Workshop Corner"
12. Coffee beans
13. Find the Macaroni and Cheeseaspargus crayon

Baltimore Highlights!

Hey gang!

The crew from Baltimore is back and we are now in the process of catching up on all the homework we missed since our train didn't have Wi-Fi. It was a blast and here are some highlights from the people who went:

- Amber running out to the train platform with the tickets high in her hand saying, "I've got the tickets from Dr. Bob!!" - Amber and Holly

- Wandering around the harbor in Baltimore and the seafood on Friday night. - Katie Selinger

- The free food. - Emily Hipps

- Mango Laisses. - Krista

- When I (Alex) texted Amanda asking, "Are we boarding the train yet?" Amanda texts back, "Yeah we're already on the train and we saved you seat." (This was problematic for Alex because she was still in the station) - Alex

- Interpretive reading of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on the night train complete with Gryffindor scarves and hat. - Hailley Fargo

More highlights to come! If you did come and have highlights, comment on this post! :)

Hailley


P.S. Here's a group photo, compliments of Anna Barton!

BALTIMORE INFORMATION

Hey kids! I'm reposting Dr. Bob's email here for point of reference. Information on Baltimore!!

"What follows is travel schedule, housing information, and some basic guidelines on our participation in the conference. For those of you flying to Baltimore, I will send you a separate e-mail tomorrow morning; I'll also send some suggestions/guidelines for the final steps in preparation of the posters.

Travel schedule for folks driving to Chicago on Tuesday, Nov. 2. We load the two 15-passenger vans and the two automobiles (my Honda Odyssey and Jacquie’s vehicle) at 12:00 noon. Meet at the Writing Center, and we’ll load in the loading dock driveway. Our goal is to be on the road by 12:10. Be sure all Baltimore support materials for poster presentations are packed and ready to go by 11:00 a.m. Each team will be responsible for getting their poster materials to the conference. We will not stop to eat after we depart, so be sure you have either eaten before hand or bring food with you.

Luggage and clothes: everyone can bring one small travel bag and one book bag or school bag. If you need a pillow or sleeping blanket or Teddy Bear to help you sleep at night, be sure those items are packed in your travel bag. There may be instances when you will have to walk some distance with your bags, so travel light. There’s also a chance we can be walking in rainy or inclement weather so plan accordingly. And we could enter some fairly chilly weather so bring clothes that are appropriate for early November. With regard to your choice of clothing at the conference, we do want to give a good impression so nice, casual professional clothing. If possible avoid clothing with insignia or advertising (exception: items with Coe College; it would be okay to wear Coe Writing Center shirts/sweaters at some points at the conference).

Travel Schedule on Train
When we arrive in the Chicago area we will park our vans & autos (at a place not yet determined) and then take the train (or some other public transportation) to Union Station. We are all traveling by train on one group ticket (Reservation # 10BFF7). Our travel schedule is as follows:
Depart on Train #30 out of Chicago at 6:40 p.m.
Arrive in Washington D.C. on November 3 at 1:10 p.m.
Department on Train #198 from Washington, D.C. at 8:45 p.m.
Arrive in Baltimore at 9:26 p.m.

Between our departure at noon on Tuesday and our evening meal in Washington on Wednesday, you will be responsible for your own meals. You will each receive $10 to help cover your food costs; food will be available on the train, but you might also want to plan on traveling with some food to prevent starvation.

We have dinner reservations in Washington, D.C. at 6:00 p.m. at the White Tiger restaurant, an Indian cuisine restaurant about two blocks walking distance from the train station. At the dinner we will be joined by some Writing Center alums and perhaps my son and his wife. I think there should be lockers at the station where we can check our bags so we don’t have to carry them while walking around D.C. It’s not likely the train will arrive exactly at 1:10, but I trust we will arrive early enough that folks will have several hours for seeing the sites. You will be on your own schedule while in Washington, D.C.: we will make no effort to travel as one large group so you will be free to visit what you want to visit. I would recommend that you travel in small groups and you might want to do some planning ahead of time. It will be your responsibility to at the White Tiger at 6:00 p.m. That meal will be paid for by Coe.

When we arrive in Baltimore, we will go to the Mount Vernon Hotel, located in the historic Mount Vernon District at 24 West Franklin Street. Their web address is www.mountvernonbaltimore.com. For a web tour, you can visit www.easyviewmedia.com//Mount-Vernon-Hotel/index.html. This is a 2 ½ star hotel so it should be okay but not luxurious. It does come with complimentary hot breakfast, and it’s about half of the cost of staying at the conference hotel. We have 10 rooms reserved: one room for Singleton and Marrs, one room for the other three men on the trip, and 8 rooms for 32 women (I’ll let you ladies decide how you want to divide yourselves up).

The conference is at the Sheraton Baltimore City Center Hotel, just a few blocks from the Inner Harbor. Here’s the web site with full information, including the schedule of presentations for the conference: http://www.mawcaonline.org/iwca/index.html. The conference begins Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. On Thursday you will be on your own for the noon meal; the Friday schedule includes a luncheon at the conference. Conference events are over by 6:30 on Thursday and 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both evenings you will be free to do whatever you wish in the evening; on both evenings we will arrange for a group meal in the area for folks who want to eat a meal paid for by Coe.

Our poster session is scheduled for Friday afternoon, 2:10-3:10. There are no other sessions scheduled at that time so we should meet a lot of people.

With regard to participating in the conference, here are the basic ground rules:
• Everyone is expected to participate fully in the conference and attend a broad sampling of sessions. In addition to keynote addresses and our poster session, you need to attend a minimum of six sessions–which will ensure that you have time for escaping the conference and doing some sightseeing in the daylight hours.
• Everyone is required to keep a detailed journal during the conference and submit a report on your conference experiences. That report should be submitted no later than midnight on Sunday, 7 November to a forum on the Writing Center Moodle site (same site where we keep the database). For those of you in Topics, this trip and report can take care of your “publication” assignment.
• During the conference, please divide into small groups; except for meeting for evening meals or preparing for our poster session, there should be no big mass of Coe consultants traveling around together. This includes spreading yourselves out during the Friday luncheon. A major reason for going to this conference is to meet as many people as possible from as many different Writing Centers as possible. It’s okay to talk about Coe if people ask, but my advice is to ask people about their Writing Centers and about their programs. Ask questions during presentations. When presentations are concluded, go up and talk to presenters. Pick up handouts. Be active participants, looking for ideas and practices that might be applicable to our Writing Center. Prior to the beginning of each day, we will distribute groups to different sessions so we ensure a broad sampling of presentations.

Our train (#195) departs Baltimore at 1:40 p.m. on Saturday, so we will be leaving the conference at approximately 12:00 noon on Saturday. Our return trip will go through Washington, D.C., but we only have about 90 minutes before our train departs for Chicago. We are scheduled to arrive in Chicago at 8:45 a.m. on Sunday morning, November 7. Depending on the time of our arrival (and how people feel), we will have a final group meal in Chicago–and then drive back to C.R.–or drive part of the way and have a noon meal (paid for by Coe) somewhere between Chicago and C.R. Assuming the train is not too late and we don’t have any other unforeseen problems, we should be back in C.R. before 5:00 p.m. If everything went perfectly, we might be back as early as 3:00–but I wouldn’t count on it.

Tomorrow morning I will send out a travel information e-mail for the folks flying to Baltimore and send another e-mail with updated information concerning final preparations for the four presentations." - Dr. Bob

Baltimore Preparation

Hey gang!

As November 2nd draws nearer, I can't contain my excitement for the Baltimore conference. I'm psyched for the night train, time in Washington DC and then the conference in Baltimore. Right now my group, Do We Practice What We Preach, is working hard to get our project done. Big meeting on Sunday to finish the presentation up. I have never been to either Washington DC or Baltimore so I'm excited to explore both cities and see all they have to offer. Well, off to work on Baltimore preparation, I'll will write more later, maybe an update from Baltimore!

Hailley

PARKA

Beth, another consultant in the parka! I think is catching on!

PARKA

Karin C. Writing Center Consultant in the parka!!

the winter cometh

Folks, maybe you haven't noticed, but it's getting cold outside! I even see snow in our near future! What does this have to do with the Coe Writing Center, you ask?

The answer: THE WRITING CENTER PARKA.


(Me. In the parka...)

Getting cold just means getting warm in the Writing Center. Come drink coffee, tea or cocoa. Cuddle up with your papers and a consultant AND get work done! And, if you have the guts, try on the parka! (If you try on the parka, take a picture and send it to me. It may appear here!)

- Taylor E.

"Take a Loaf Off!"

Hey everyone!

It's Hailley, a newbie consultant, writing my first blog post of this school year! Today was priceless and showed me why I love the Writing Center so. I came into the WC around 12:15 to wait for my roommate, Heidi, to finish her shift before heading to the caf for lunch. Ashley C. and Jon A. were also working with Heidi. We were all just relaxing and catching up on some homework when Heidi informed me that someone had put some bread it and it would be done soon. After confirming with the Speaking Center it was our bread, Heidi and I waited, somewhat impatiently, for the bread to be done. The buzzer rang and Heidi took the bread out of the bread maker. Then came the challenge and the fun part. I tried to pry the bread out but couldn't since the bottom was attached to the spinner. After a few unsuccessful tries, Heidi and I switched places and she too couldn't get the bread out of the bucket. By this time, bread crumbs were everywhere and Ashley came onto the scene. She tried to pry it out but she also failed. The three of us were now laughing at how hard it was get the bread out. Finally Heidi used her big muscles to pull the bread out. Success (finally). We put the bread on a plate and gathered around the table near the coffee. Jon joined us and we chowed down, devouring the bread like there was no tomorrow. The bread was delicious and the four of us thank whoever made it because it was WONDERFUL. In my slightly crazy mood I imagined a scene where a student would come in, looking for a conference. We would tell them to "Take a loaf off and have some bread!" When I told Heidi, Ashley, and Jon this I truly believe they thought I was crazy because that was definitely a horrible pun. But horribly funny as well.

Well there's your random story of the day! :)

- Hailley

writing center minutes

September 27th WC Meeting

The meeting was only required for those going to Baltimore on the conference, where we are responsible for four different poster presentations. A two-page handout that summarizes the information on the poster will also need to be made for each poster.

The four different posters that will be presented at the conference include:
1. Tybee Island Staff Development Course (a.k.a. The writing center beach orgy)
2. Moodle as a Writing Center Management System
3. A Writing Center Assessing a WAC Program
4. A Writing Center Staff: Do They Practice What They Preach?

We broke into semi-equal groups to discuss plans for the poster presentations. One group member was selected to communicate the group plans to Dr. Bob, and he would like to hear sometime this week about any plans that have already developed.

If you were not at the meeting and you are planning on going to Baltimore, you need to talk to Dr. Bob about being placed in a group. Work has already started on the plans so doing this sooner rather than later would be appreciated by the rest of the group.

Dr. Bob will be sending out an email to staff and faculty, excusing those going on the conference from class November 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. If you encounter any problems with staff or faculty just let Dr. Bob know and it will be taken care of.

ringing in the new year (on the blog)

"The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn't being said."

A man by the name of Peter Drucker said that. When I stumbled across it, I thought about how well it sums up our jobs in the Writing Center as consultants. We are, after all, communicators. We are listeners. We are fellow classmates, searching for what isn't being said.

The fun part has been learning how to listen for it and what to do with it once it's been found.

On another note - this is officially the first posting of the 2010 - 2011 school year. May many more follow after.

- Taylor E.

On Coffee and the threat of Disestablishment

February is already half over... time flies by. There was a Cosmos article recently talking about the different organizations that all sat outside the Cafeteria in Gage fund-raising over Valentines day. From the FDAC's breakfast in bed for Flunk Day activities to Choir's singing Valentines to support a tour to Thailand, the diversity of the petitioners was rather spectacular. The appeal of such an organizational drive is also difficult to match; choir, for in stance, made over $2oo alone. Why do I bring this up? I bring this up because I fear that this is the way the Writing Center might be forced to conduct business in the future.

It is a relatively open secret that the Writing Center is willing to lose money to keep providing its food and coffee services, and recent signs put up around the Writing Center seem to suggest that people are willing to take full advantage of this generosity. The message I would give to those people: Stop. The Writing Center offers these functions on an honors system of payment, and when you choose not to pay for your daily cup of coffee, you jeopardize that. You jeopardize the legitimate use in providing beverages, which we would like to have at least break even. Free drinks with a conference or one during your hour of work are one thing, and you are entitled to that. Outside of this case, however, and in the words of the handbook (p. 8, as a matter of fact) "you are responsible for paying for your drinks--just like everyone else."

- Ben B '13

A Play to Remember

"It looked like a writing center conference up there."
The words of Dr. Bob Marrs when he spoke about "She Would if She Could" at one of our Monday meetings. Featuring notable WC consultants Katie Blanchard, Nathan Raymond, Britt Anderson, and Andy Johnson among the principals, it was a three hour romp through all of the lewdness of a restoration comedy, and one of the funniest stage shows that I have ever seen.

I'd go see that again, and I have already seen it thrice.

- Ben B. '13

MWCA CONFERENCE

Hello all! Fifteen hours after leaving Cedar Rapids and one lost shoe later, the Coe Writing Center has made it to Rapid City, South Dakota for the Midwest Writing Center Association Conference. Woohoo! For the next two days, we'll be here giving presentations on wonderful subjects such as, Writing Center as an NGO, the 15 committees, and Writing Across the Curriculum Research. (We also got to explore the Badlands, caves and Deadwood.)

Here's a picture of us hard at work:



That's enough fun for now.
-Taylor

Ah, will you look at that; fall break has come and gone. How quickly time passes when you're hard at work at Coe. However, fall break was convenient in some respects: I figured out what you, the reader of this fine blog, are entitled to next. Namely, the results of some thinking inflicted on me late one evening.

As it turned out, on that rather dreary Minnesota night, a friend of mine asked me over the internet to take a quick glance at a paper he was working on. This wasn't a particularly unusual request; I've done quite a few things like this for my friends in the past, but on this particular instance, I had some new abilities available to me. Or at least a new perspective. In helping Thomas fix his paper, I this time took a more backseat role and focused on helping him make the paper better rather than on editing. As the paper was going to be subjected to a class workshop the next day, I focused on the type of criticism and commentary that we so often fall back on in the Writing Center here at Coe. It made me think, "I really do belong in the Coe Writing Center."

- Ben Buckmaster '13.

Ladies and Gentlemen...Andy Johnson

 
- Chris Hughes

They Call Me "Swine Flew"

2814 11.1282

We had a great time on our annual WC retreat a few weeks ago. Returning to Wisconsin (where our retreat was held my freshman year) and the American Players Theatre was a great throw-back for me, but the real treat was the opportunity to once again drive a 15 passenger van. I drove one of these beast my first year at Coe on a going to a Writing Center conference in Houston, and that was quite a trial. At 5’1” I am barely able to see over the steering wheel, and also have to take a running start to get into the driver’s seat. This particular road trip had been very Little Miss Sunshine with each of us stoically playing our parts. I of course got to be Olive, the little girl. But that isn’t so important.

We were driving through the boonies of Oklahoma in the middle of the night. Rob Synovec and Catie Stienman had both gotten too tired to drive, so it was my turn to take the night shift. Driving through the plaines of Oklahoma in the middle of the night is a dull experience, and so Malyssa Oblander was put in charge of keeping me awake. She failed miserably at this job, and about 2:30am Rob switched with her and took up the post of navigator and driver’s entertainment. Around 3 am we decided it was time to stop for the night, and pulled off of the main highway headed toward a town that had signs for hotels. Driving down the unlit road leading from off-ramp to town, a figure suddenly appeared in the road. It was large and bulbous and rather lifeless, but I did not have time to think or react much less slam on my brakes. Instead I proceeded to straddle this creature with the tires of the 15 passenger van. After passing over it, I came to a stop and looked at Rob. I thought I was hallucinating, of course as it was 3 in the morning and I had been going crazy in that van for the past twelve hours. The look on Rob’s face confirmed my sanity when we both realized that I had just run over a dead pig. It wasn’t just any pig, but a very large, very pink, potentially pregnant dead pig. We are talking Blue-ribbon sized pig.

We found the motel a few miles down the road and Rob got out to get us some rooms. Another van pulled up, and out came about 15 haggard looking railroad workers. One of them may actually have been a reincarnation of John Henry. He was in the top five biggest people I have ever seen. I would have liked him to be on my football team. Or really any team for that matter. Once Rob got inside, John Henry leans over to him and asks if he is the one with the van full of women. Rob says yes, and John Henry responds, “You are one lucky man.”

We went back down the same road the next morning, and there was no pig to be seen. Rob and I both saw it though. We promise. Needless to say, I love 15 passenger vans.

-Katie B.

So we here at the Writing Center have a slight problem: while we love baking things, we (more often than not) have no eggs to work with. This was, unfortunately, the case this evening down in the WC when our dear friend Jess decided that it was time for brownies. We lamented the lack of eggs and the absence of baked treats that said lack would cause. That is, until Amelie suggested:

"Hey, why don't you just do a vegan recipe? They don't require eggs or anything like that."

Apparently, vegan recipes (especially for things like cookies and brownies, we don't really aim for healthy things down here) have been an ongoing theme in the Writing Center, especially with folks like Clarissa and Patricia last year. And while I haven't been privy to such knowledge up until now, I am feeling all sorts of educated and ready to munch.

So please, when trying to bake something in our beloved basement abode, think of your fellow consultants: don't let the lack of any one ingredient get in between you and baked goodness. Be creative and even if your concoction turns out to be awful, those in the WC will still appreciate it.

For personal reference, here is a vegan recipe for brownies:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Pour in water, vegetable oil and vanilla; mix until well blended. Spread evenly in a 9x13 inch baking pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until the top is no longer shiny. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

Fo sheezy

- Chris Hughes '10

Anne Fadiman Visits Coe

Nationally acclaimed author and essayist Anne Fadiman recently visited Coe College. Fadiman is perhaps best known for her award-winning book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down. All incoming freshman were required to read this book (myself included). This book covered the account of a young epileptic Hmong – American girl (Hmong is a group of people from Laos and Vietnam) and the cultural misunderstandings between her parents and the American doctors who treated her. The book deals with the very sensitive topic of racial and cultural differences, and has been received in both very positive and negative ways. It, however, did win the National Book Critics Circle Award.

The writing center staff attended one of her speaking events on Sunday, September 20 in exchange for the weekly staff meeting. This event was largely based on question and answer. Students posed a wide variety of queries, and Fadiman addressed most of them. She explained the process of writing her book, which took over eight years to complete. She also answered questions regarding her experiences with writing and education, publishing, her critics, and her writing style.

The following day, Fadiman addressed a larger of group faculty and students in Sinclair auditorium. She spoke for roughly forty-five minutes, talking about the time she spent with the Hmong during her research, and elaborating on the larger themes of her work. There was another question and answer session following her talk.

Ten writing center students also had the opportunity to have lunch with Fadiman on Monday afternoon. This was initially going to be a lunch with faculty, but Dr. Bob advocated the value that students could extract from the experience. Because of this, Dr. Bob was able to produce 10 students from the writing center to have lunch with the acclaimed author.

- Matt Barnd '13

LWS: Longitudinal Writing Study

One of our projects this summer is the Longitudinal Writing Study that Tara has been working on. Here is what she has to say about it:

"Work on the Longitudinal Writing Study (LWS) began steadily through the first part of the summer until the end of June hit. After a few bumps in the road (i.e. finding a few research flaws, backtracking to correct them, and the researcher’s inability to read), it is mid-August and progress is slow.

I am swimming in data and charts, trying to provide helpful analysis and commentary for Coe faculty. But the end is in sight.

For anyone wondering, the LWS is a long-term study looking at the writing program at Coe and more specifically, student perceptions of it. Year one has been completed with a database of collected surveys, interviews and writing samples/reflections from students. Plans for year two are currently underway and will begin to be implemented with the arrival of new and returning students.

Next stop: Presentation at the Midwest Writing Center Association Conference in Rapid City, South Dakota."

Summer ESL Comes to a Close!

Summer is coming to an end, folks!

Today was the last round of conferences for our summer ESL students.

Every summer a large group of students from Waseda University and Nagoya-Gaukin University (both in Japan) come to Coe to get some preliminary ESL training, and to develop a stronger knowledge of American culture. I have been working as a mentor and conversation assistant for these students, which is always a challenge, but incredibly fun. Two of my students will be staying here at Coe for the year, so it will be nice to see their progress as they become more comfortable with our American way of life.

As summer WC consultants, it is our responsibility to make ourselves available for conferences with these students. This evening, Karin, Tara, Malyssa and I did 12 conferences, which although not a WC record, it was indeed a hefty number considering we haven't been opened all summer.

On of the most interesting and challenging things about ESL conferences has always been the varying levels of English proficiency that these students come in with. Some are nearly fluent while others are struggling to form complete sentences. And some are quite excellent writers while they remain completely hesitant to speak in English. So are the woes of a WCer! My favorite part about the summer ESL students is how eager they all are to learn. All of them make great efforts and show significant improvement during their week or two weeks at Coe. It is really quite remarkable.

Katie B.

Summer Musings...you needed an update.

Hello, Hello, Hello WC folk!
Well it has been a fairly average and mundane summer in the Writing Center. It has been a long time since a post has been made, so I'll try and update you as best I can.

This summer we have Amber, Tara, Karin, Andy, Malyssa, Clarissa and myself (Katie) working in the Writing Center. We are doing the usual projects, and have added a few fun things this summer, so here is a bit of an update on that:

The summer newsletter went incredibly smoothly, only a few minor hitches including Dr. Bob trying to crop out his "pimping ain't easy" shirt, but we managed to keep that intact. Hopefully this will be posted on the website soon so people who are not current staff members can take a look at "The Albuquerque A-Bomb."

As for the Alumni Newsletter, it is a slower process. We are trying to compile a current list of alums and their locations and get plenty of info on those individuals who may have eluded us in the past. Andy and I are beginning to feel like stalkers, so hopefully those of you who have avoided being contacted for the last several years will suck it up and send us your info!

Andy and Karin have made some wonderful videos discussing Writing Center theory and execution. These will be used to introduce people to the Writing Center, help train new staff members, and hopefully at least one of them will be used at the MWCA conference in Rapid City, South Dakota this fall.

As some of you know, last year we started a project entitled "The WCWC" or Writing Center Water Closet. A few times a semester we put up newsletters in all of the bathroom stalls on campus with some Writing Center news, event info, and some fun stuff to read while you are..er...taking care of business. In an attempt to be more environmentally friendly, an accurate count of all of the bathroom stalls on campus is being taken. No longer will we over-print!

Amber would like everyone to know that the Colere website is finally up to date, one of her summer projects. She says: "The Colere website is now amazing and everyone should take a glance at it. www.public.coe.edu/wac/colere For once, it's not three years out of date." Do it. You know you want to.

Other than that, it has been a lot of gardening and planning for the new incoming class. We seem to have a great group coming in this year, so get excited!

More to come!
- Katie B.

hard work, good luck, red bull

Update from alumna Alice Obrecht, currently working on her PhD at the London School of Economics:

I've been thinking about the writing center a lot lately, for two reasons: one, I think my life would be better if I had a bread makingmachine. Two, exam time is looming here at LSE.

The brilliance of the British system is that students are politely asked to do various chores throughout the year - for example attend class somewhat regularly, participate in discussion, submit written work that is marked and returned to them-but 100% of their grade for a class is determined by a single 3-hour exam sat in a large, often sweltering, hall in June. In this 3 hour exam students are expected to write 3 essays, by hand. There is also a pit of tarantulas they must avoid falling into as they exit the hall. Unfortunately that last part is not true. Yet.

So I am thinking of the WC at the moment, as I always do this time of year. On the one hand, focusing course assessment around written work is a good idea. On the other hand, this way of doing it seems to take the writing process and pump it full of Red Bull and extreme anxiety and the search for the Perfect Essay Structure that can be learned and repeated over and over.

Hence my procrastination in preparing for the revision class I must teach tomorrow (and hence this as another chance at procrastination). But basically I will say what I always say, which is that writing a good philosophy essay is like good cooking or having a good sense of personal style. Outside of some basic guidelines, like don't switch around the salt and the sugar, or don't always expect people to understand the irony of your clothing choices, there is not much to say. You are free.

And it is your choice: will you be inspired by that freedom, or terrified?

Then I will tell them to work hard, and wish them luck, and remind them of the health side effects of drinking too much Red Bull.

She also writes: " I would have liked to send you a picture of me on the boat I'm living on, but forgot to bring my camera with me to school. Perhaps later."

Farewell from this year's graduating seniors!


(front, L-R: Nina, Johanna, Heather, Whitney, Marie, Leta; back, L-R: Sarah, Clarity, Sakinah, Jenna, Patricia, Andy)

We will miss you very much, indeed.

cookout

this coming monday (april 27), in place of the usual staff meeting, there will be a wc cookout on the peterson patio. there will be hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, and a very good chance for a pinata. there's a sign-up on the front desk, or email emily c. with mealplan info.

what: wc cookout
date: monday, april 27
time: 5:30 pm
place: peterson patio

kids against hunger

here are some photos from last week's meeting, in which the writing center sponsored a "kids against hunger" food drive. each consultant donated $5 (and bob matched the consultants with a $250 donation) and participated in packaging food for underprivileged children.





photos by kevin dyrland

around the world, part xii

Nick Barnes in Amman, Jordan, 2009.

around the world, part xi

"CWC Around the World." Ezra Stewart-Silver (09) in Thailand, 2006.

around the world, part x

Marie Hunt (09) in Ireland, 2007.

around the world, part ix

"CWC Around the World." Rob Synovec (07) in Japan, 2008.

around the world, part viii

Deborah Kwan (08) in Wu Han, China, 2007.

around the world, part vii

Brad Bosma (08) in Chiang Mai, Thailand

around the world, part vi

Katie Becker and Brandon Scodius (07) in Prague, Czech Republic, 2005.

Not Penultimate (but something-ultimate) Minutes

We are presented with nine different conferencing scenarios (scenaria?) and split into groups by table. The goal: to present on the conferencing quandry. Here’s a quick breakdown of the events:

1) Do we follow our own advice? How often do you use the WC? How often do you do what you advise others to do? Food for thought.

2) Plagiarism: what to do if the writer doesn’t think it’s wrong? “If you plagiarize, the terrorists win,” offers Jackie. Other ideas: lay out the consequences (failure, expulsion) for them.

3) Some beat-boxing (is that what the cool kids call it) illustrating cliches. Mike grinds. Kevin and Andrew Klingler make hand gestures. Leta does not got back. Um.

4) My group. What if a student’s paper has errors, but he corrects them when reading aloud?

5) Jorduhn Loord wears some tight tights. Grant is hung out. People enjoy this. Ellen does a great accent, and writes about birds. What to do when a writer doesn’t think her (bad) paper is bad? I’m not sure that a consensus was reached.

6) Ezra is a great friend, but a really bad writer (this is a fictional tale): how do you conference a paper about “book” when the student hasn’t read said book?

7) (the numbering is way off – my notes got a little hazy) – You hate poetry. Someone wants poetry conferenced? The solution is...conference it anyway. Be polite and useful, ask questions.

8) A faculty member’s “corrections” for a student’s paper don’t make sense and are grammatically incorrect. No solution reached. Any ideas?

9) We only had eight tables.

A reminder: if you signed up to send a postcard or call an accepted high school student, be sure to get on that, right quick.

Next week will be the Kids Against Hunger pack-athon. Be sure to bring in your $5, and sign up for a 20-minute shift. I believe people are still needed for the 6:40-7:00 time slot.

I’m still running way high on “Coe cash,” for the semester. Does anyone have any suggestions for things to buy in the Pub? So far I’ve been stocking up on toothbrushes and toothpaste, chapstick, hot cocoa, and cinnamon gum. Those are no-brainers. Some experiments:

--“A Taste of Thai” instant pad thai: surprisingly not that expensive or cholesterol-laden, and tastes pretty good, though not, of course, like actual pad thai)
--Kashi “Strawberry Fields” cereal: insanely expensive – almost seven dollars! – and, for me, a little high on the grain flakes and low on the freeze-dried berries. There are also little weird grain pellets that will assault your molars, even if you let the cereal sog-up a little before chewing
--Triscuits: again, overpriced, but you can’t really mess up Triscuits
--“Mary’s Gone Crackers” Organic, wheat-free, gluten-free crispy crackers: grossly expensive (I’m sensing a theme), but what can you do. These are apparently really healthy, and contain no ingredients that will make you break out in hives. I wanted to like these crackers. I really did. And, to be honest, they’re okay. But they’ve got this weird, plastic-y hard texture, like a poker chip, and they’re so very, very brittle and crunchy.
--That popcorn stuff: I haven’t tried the caramel yet, but the “aged real cheddar” and classic kettle corn varieties are entirely satisfactory. And fairly priced.

Can I say something about the Pub “coffee”? No, I don’t want to start. Honestly, as I told Becca in the ninth-floor lobby this afternoon while microwaving noodles, it makes me want to cry. I want so, so badly to like it. This coming from me, a person who enjoys even the dingiest, grittiest of diner coffee. It’s not real coffee. The “espresso” is an abomination upon the lord. I can’t continue with this discussion.

Anyone have any Pub faves?

Gia su,
Jenna

around the world, part v

Katie Roger (class of '08) in France, 2006

around the world, part iv

Tanner Curl (class of '07) in Wales, 2005

around the world, part iii

Hannah Ross-Suits (class of '06) in Gambia, 2008

around the world, part ii

Corrie Ball (class of '06) in Japan, 2008

CWC around the world, part ii (?)

Portland, England - 2007.

around the world, part i

starting with me. cause...no one else volunteered.


Jenna Shaw (class of '09) hiking óros ólimbos (aka mt. olympus) in northern greece, 2007

around the world

we're starting starting a new blog series called "cwc around the world" (does anyone have a cuter title?) featuring photos of consultants (current and alumni) in exotic places (basically anywhere that isn't cedar rapids). feel free to send in a photo if you want to be featured. any sort of comments, anecdotes, stories, lists, advice, whatever related to your experience that you want to include are also certainly welcome.

Hello from some WC folks on Asia Term (pictured in Thailand)!

Goodness Gracious, How about some Minutes

Here’s what happened at the Monday night meeting:

Bob informed us that acceptance letters have been sent out to students invited to join the WC next year. Behind the desk there will be envelopes, stationery, and postcards on which you can write messages to prospies you interacted with during the competition weekend encouraging them to come to Coe. I guess there’s some sort of spreadsheet listing the students, and you should write your name, indicating who you will be contacting. Phone and email is also okay, though be sure not to be too creepy or insistent.

Something happens, and Bob blushes, giggles, and says that he loves Victoria’s Secret essays.

We divide into committees. Discuss committee things. I am on the blogging committee. My fellow bloggers are Leta, Ezra, Johanna, and Taylor.

On April 20th, we will be working with Kids Against Hunger to package 2,000 meals for underprivileged children. The boxing up will happen during the Monday night meeting, and people will be asked to work in one of three 20-minute shifts. Each person is asked to fork over $5. Anyone with fundraising ideas should contact Andrew Boone.

See y’alls next week.

--Jenna

But I've yet to set off the fire alarm!

I keep shocking myself on couches and doorknobs (and Andy, when he's around). Hello, dry Iowan weather. I loves me some static electricity. (The last statement was a lie. I'm sorry.)

I thought I'd write up a list of How Not to Burn Down the Writing Center, possibly based upon personal experience.

1. Do not microwave your socks for three minutes in an attempt to dry them out after a walk in the rain.
2. Clean out the oven before you use it - turns out that food residue left from the previous use starts to smoke when you're innocently trying to make a loaf of bread. Who knew?
   
3. Set the oven to Convection - not to Bake. It prevents the tops of your brownies or muffins from becoming something like charcoal biscuits while the middles remain stubbornly gooey.
4. Don't leave a pot of coffee on a burner and forget about it so it boils dry and the pot cracks/explodes.
5. Um. Don't be a moron, basically.
   

Fortunately, you're all smart, savvy individuals who won't make these same mistakes! And remember, as always, to remain vigilant against nuclear weapons.

- Leta

Minute (my-noot!) Minutes

The meeting is off to a...ahem...rousing start as Bob takes one of Marie's "Love is in the Air" sex toy catalogues and says "love...tools" in a horrifying way. Make it stop. Fortunately there is "business to take care of before your erogenous zones can be activated." Eeeeuw.

Posters for studiers-abroad are sent around to be decorated and signed.

---Prospie discussion---

(contact Bob if you have something further to say about any candidates)

By this point there are only eight minutes to go until House begins, so a few last minute items on the agenda:

Andrew Boone and the Service Learning Committee have a few activities. If you'd like to volunteer at Johnson Elementary, please contact Hanna Werner.

The other item of discussion is our potential participation in a Kids Against Hunger food drive. Raising $500 will allow us to package 1,200 meals for underprivileged people: we can choose how to divert these meals. Bob generously offers to go halvsies, which means that we would have 70 people to cover $250. Someone calculates that this is about $5 per person, though I can't verify this calculation. The Kids Against Hunger people will bring the food and shipping supplies to Coe, and we will work to package things on a sort of assembly line following a Monday meeting, most likely within the next three weeks.

And, break.

Jenna

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

kevin loves frisbee

This message from Kevin, lover of all things frisbee, and all things ultimate:

Support Waypoint! Play Frisbee!

Coe Egalitarians Supporting the Advancement of Women (CESAW) and Ultimate Frisbee are once again sponsoring The Waypoint Ultimate Frisbee Tournament! The tournament will be held on Clark Field, Saturday, April 4th to benefit Waypoint Services in Cedar Rapids, and we want you to be a part of it!

Any campus organization is welcome to form a team and come out and play with us! We are asking that each team donate a minimum of $10 to play, and the team that raises the most money in addition to that ten dollars will receive a prize. All donations will go directly to Waypoint.

We use the word "tournament" in the loosest sense of the word, meaning we encourage everyone to participate regardless of whether or not you’ve played before. In the interest of fairness, there will be no team consisting purely of those who normally play, rather, we are hoping to have as many organizations as possible show their support and learn a little about Ultimate Frisbee.

The games will be 20 minutes long. Each team will need a minimum of seven players on the field at all times, but you can have as many subs as you want. The more the merrier!

If you don’t have enough people to make an entire team, or find yourself just wanting to play, just reply to this e-mail and we will find a home for you.

Please respond to this email no later than Wednesday March 25th if you want to be involved. Minimum donations and team captains will be due April 1st.

Get us a fricken WC team, please. Perhaps you should mention that merely by responding to me/ultimate@coe.edu I will form a team, and find a captain. All they have to do is sign up...
-KD

nothing much to say

Hello, greater audience of the Coe Writing Center blog. I have been amazingly remiss in updating ... Apologies, deepest and heartfelt.

Upcoming CWC-related (however tangentially) events:
- The Ladies Literary Club contest.
- The James P. Young Essay Prize contest.
- Paul Engle Creative Writing Prize contest.

There will be more information on these events (currently I'm without the poster detailing these things ... I'm just all kinds of unprepared today) forthcoming.

Also: congratulations, Jenna, on a thesis well-defended!

- Leta

bidness

The Original Writing Center Staff, 1987

Okay. What happened at this week's meeting? Several things.

The idea of napkin-collecting as a hobby was brought up by the peeps at my table. Could be interesting.

Prospie weekend is a week from this Friday (March 27). We're encouraged to sign up to host one. Or, "bring a prospie into your den," as Bob likes to say. Shudder. It is best if the prospective students have good experiences here at Coe and decide attend next year, if only to bring in more tuition dollars to fund Bob's salary.

Next order of business: we've been corralled into participating in a letter-writing campaign asking the Iowa Legislature to prevent budget cuts to private IA colleges. The cuts would result in $600 less per year in scholarships for students. If you didn't write a letter at the meeting, talk to Bob or Grant for more information.

Lots of official business, but we still found time for cake.

Tally ho,

Jenna

news from the haunted book shop

As many of you know, Iowa City's Haunted Bookshop is owned by CWC alumna Nialle Sylvan and her husband, Kurt (rumor has it they met at the bookshop). It's a fun place to go for used books, readings, and lots of cats, and the big news is that the shop has expanded. Here it is, straight from the horse's mouth:

I recently bought and merged with a second bookshop. (If Bob doesn't know about this, please tell him so that he isn't confused next time he comes to visit!) Instead of calling it the Northside Haunted Fun Zone, though, we are sticking to the good old Haunted Bookshop name. The Fun Zone was the toyshop we adopted last summer. That's why, besides 40,000 books, we have puppets, glow-in-the-dark flesh-eating zombie figures, Marie Antoinette action figures with Ejector Head Action, and Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot for sale.

Awesome. The new location is at 203 North Linn Street, Iowa City, IA 52245 (Where Northside Books used to be).


Anyone for a fieldtrip?

t-rexs, rabbits and coca-cola bottles

Can you believe it's already March? I think I'm in denial. A happy thing to start off the meeting: Holly tried baklava for the first time and was delighted. People enjoying food delights me.

Cara Cavanagh came in to talk about the Fellowship Competition. Admissions is coordinating it this year rather than the Writing Center. It will be held March 27, and we are instructed to clear our schedules for that evening, what for entertaining the young 'uns. It would also be very nice if you could host a prospie overnight.

Next, we split into groups and discussed proposal ideas for next year's fall MWCA conference, which will be held in Rapid City, SD. I don't want to think about this - I'm too jealous.

Facts about the Badlands:
-They are awesome
-Prairie dogs live there
-There are lots of large, roadside attractions, like giant T-Rexs, rabbits and coca-cola bottles
-You can drive there in one day. Bob has done it.

It is advertised as an "un-conference," and the MWCA is apparently looking for "unusual ways of getting people organized." If you have any additional proposal ideas, email or talk to Bob.

What else...? There was a puppy at the meeting. She is a dachsund-spaniel mix named Penny. She belongs to either Danielle or Clarissa. She was stinky, but very sweet. We should have puppies at meetings more often.

--edit: Danielle has this to say:
The puppy was mine however Clarissa was nice enough to volunteer to accompany me on the trip to pick her up. If anyone wants to come over and play with my dogs you are more than welcome to any day of the week. Penny is cute and fluffy and Olive may seem big and scary however she's probably only capable of licking you to death. So let me know if you ever need a dog break and I will make arrangements!

Doggie Goodness: Olive & Penny

If you haven't yet filled out the self-assessment exercise or the networks of relationships form, grab one from Bob.

That's that.

- Jenna

*Note: I did not take any of these photos