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

come one, come all

Hello!



The Coe Review will celebrating the publication of our annual Poetry Issue with a reading and reception tomorrow, Thursday, February 26th, from 4:30-6:00 pm, in the Perrine Gallery (located on the second floor of the library).

Here your fellow students and professors read their published poetry, including Nick Bertelson, John Thornburg, Joelle Ryu, Leta Keane, and Ezra Stewart-Silver. We will have delicious hors d'oeuvres, as well, so come schmooze with us.

What: Coe Review Release Party (poetry and free food)
When Thursday, 2/26 from 4:30-6:00 pm (tomorrow)
Where: The Perrine Gallery

See you there!

(above image: cover art from the 2008 fall issue, Take II, a viscosity print by Gary Webb)

mis-estimated

Well, it seems that I mis-estimated the amount of time it would take to have dinner with the visiting poet, Philip Schultz, so I missed the meeting. Luckily, I found a replacement to take down the minutes. Unluckily, it turns out that the person I asked was also attending the dinner. So, Clarissa helpfully summarized the meeting for me:

-We are informed, once again, not to make two pots of caffeinated coffee at the same time. Use the WC Roast first, then move on to "the klatch." This sounds like a disease.
-Sign up for conferences and interviews with Sam, the UI guy writing his thesis on the CWC
-A form was filled out. Maybe ask Bob about this.
-Orgies were mentioned. Again. Something about the gangly people ratio?
-Next fall the retreat is in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. Some people may be visiting Clarissa's family.

Okay.

Tomorrow, Monday, Feb. 23, at 7:00 pm (immediately after the WC meeting), you should all make your way over to Kesler Hall to hear this year's Paul Engle Poetry Reading, the Pulitzer-winning poet, Philip Schultz. The event is free, no tickets required, and you should all go bask in the literary culture.

Here's a sweet picture of Willie ('09) living the good life in Stockholm, Sweden this past fall:



While in Sweden, Willie hung out with a lot of awkward Germans, didn't attend much class, got ripped off by a Swedish stranger, went camping, and basically had an awesome time.

maybe she just wants free tea

Bob is absent, but Holly reads his words:

-Don’t make WC brew and the other coffee at the same time – it’s wasteful

-We need 20 people to sign up for conferences on Moodle before the end of the week. The University of Iowa student writing his thesis on the WC needs conferences to observe. edit: Every person on staff is to schedule, on Moodle, one writing conference during the next two weeks and to record that conference in the database. As of 8pm this evening, only two people have done this. That's a response rate of under 4%. Come on, people.

-If you must miss a shift or will be late, you need to call ahead of time (and preferably find a replacement). No exceptions.

We have two guest speakers at the meeting: Japanese exchange student from Waseda, Ikue, and ESL professor, Phyllis Rupert. Ikue is overwhelmed by our sheer numbers, but he tells a story about writing three papers for a marketing class: one was WC-conferenced and the others not. He did well on the WC-conferenced paper, not well on the others. That’s good, right?

Hm. Then she gave a nice presentation about what the ESL department does. They split intl. students into three unofficial categories: beginner, intermediate, advanced. As beginniners, they work on clauses and writing and speaking with specific details. Intermediate students focus on grammar and asking/responding to questions. Advanced work on paraphrasing, learning citation, and organizig arguments.

The goals of intl. students are twofold: to make friends and gain English fluency.

Our American-ish names all sound the same to the Japanese students.

A WC success story: after conferencing with Kevin, a Japanese girl named Aie asks Phyllis if she can come back to the WC every day. Then again, maybe she just wants free tea.

Fin.

Mini Minutes, 2/9

No way could these minutes live up to the greatness that was last week, but here goes:

We started out with a whole bunch of shift shifting. People going to the conference in Chicago create scheduling problems.

Hilary advertizes the charms of her shift by saying, "It's a nice shift - no one ever comes in." Bob responds that no one coming in does not make for a nice shift, "unless, maybe, if we were an AIDS clinic."

Bob also suggests the purchase of a WC Harley to go with Jacquie's leather jacket.

It doesn't seem like there are that many people here.

If you want to meet with Bob this week, you must do so before Wednesday; he'll be in Chicago Wednesday through Friday.

Then...we split into groups of five and do a writing exercise. Everyone gets a sheet of loose-leaf and the pages get passed around in a circle, with everyone contributing 5 paragraphs in a story: setting, character, conflict, crisis, and resolution. My group's stories involved a city in Eastern Chile, Ezra and Andrew Boone dropping microbe slides, residence hall yeti, and a "scrimshaw cooliba."

Stories finished, Bob brings out his whistle. Eek. Some reminders: your two weeks are up; it's time to clean up the Moodle.

Lasagna and a Movie

You read that right--enterprising first years Ariel and Emily actually made meat and vegetarian (so good!) lasagna, garlic bread, and salad last night, and played "A Princess Bride." In my opinion, it was delicious. And it was all concocted in the Armstrong/Douglas kitchen--everyone was impressed. And then there were root beer floats! So heavenly.

I had the vegetarian recipe, then I lost it while trying to find Dr. Bob's camera (which I found, but had no batteries). Does that count as an ironic situation, or is it just something Alanis Morissete would think was ironic?

Good times and conversation were had by all. Later in the night, stimulated no doubt by the convos and food, three enterprising students (Katie Blanchard, Ben Kaplan, and myself) taking Contemporary Political Theory decided to have a read aloud of their dense theory textbook. To our surprise, this actually worked.

Conclusion: first years need to make food for me more often.

--Johanna

una lista

Things I like about Costa Rica, by Malyssa:

1.Mannequins have asses
2. There’s a national holiday for everything and everyone.
3. Spanish guitar instrumentals of Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak my Heart.”
4. The automatic bond formed between white people.
5. Getting my hair braided on the beach to experience something new. Being told flatly and in English, “Nice hair” by a local.
6. Spinning classes to Madonna music. Seeing my spinning instructor dancing on Ladies’ Night at Congo’s Bar.
7. Spotty translations, such as “Remember: Always love never fails.”
8. Trying to explain that Applebottom jeans song in Spanish and realizing that it is, in fact, worse than I’d thought previously.
9. Seeing lots of zeros on my ATM receipts and feeling rich.
10. Home remedies to everything.



Number 10 merits a story. I was having a hard time one night and trying to explain to my host mother what was bothering me. Since she didn’t speak much English and the program required that we spoke only Spanish at home, my efforts were lost in translation. After tiring of trying to understand me, my mom got up and grabbed a suspicious bottle of something from her cupboard, squeezed a few drops into my glass of water and told me to drink it.

I did, and then I passed out and slept through my alarm the next morning. When I asked her what had been in that bottle, she showed me the label, which said “Rescue.” I asked what “Rescue” was made of, and she simply replied, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Those were the only English words she ever spoke to me.

wc old skool

Chock Full O'Minutes

Oh, it was a content-rich meeting.

Bob handed out tickets to see Jared Diamond speak on Tuesday night. For those not in the know (ie: me until a few days ago), he’s a professor of geography and physiology and UCLA and won the Pulitzer for Guns, Germs and Steel, “a short history about everyone for the last 13,000 years.” Should be interesting at the very least.

It seems that the Peterson recycling system is now “sort of going.” It gets picked up Thursday morning and Tuesday afternoon.

There have recently been complaints about the quality of the WC non-home-roasted coffee (the stuff we get from the freezer, which are cheap beans from Sam’s Club). Some of the complaints may have come from me. We are now getting them from Coffee Klatch, a company in California – the blend is “Bourbon Supremo.” Ezra says the new coffee is actually pretty good.

In honor of this, we will, for the first time ever, be introducing three (3) coffee pots. Whoa. Prices have also gone up to 80 cents per cup. Bob reminds us that because these fancy beans are twice as expensive as the old variety, we might try to be reasonably conservative in our use.

An interesting thing: A student at the University of Iowa is doing his doctoral dissertation specifically on conferencing at the Coe Writing Center. His focus will be on what happens after the conference ends. You’ll be getting questionnaires in your mailbox, which you can fill out if you want.

Willie took one of my five remaining Lucky Charms marshmallows, but makes up for the theft with another interesting fact: she says that both Lucky Charms and Cap’n’Crunch cereals are illegal in the E.U. because they contain some sort of sinister substance. Well.

You can now win prizes. Prizes! There are many varieties of prizes being given out, to both consultants and writers, and the trick to winning them is…do a lot of conferences. Prizes are bookstore gift certificates and dinner coupons to the Lighthouse Inn, which is supposedly the oldest restaurant in CR, and the place where Al Capone ate when he was in town. Bob says they make the best ribs he’s ever eaten. It’s my birthday next week: anyone want to take me out for dinner?

Um, there’s a new remote for the non-functioning tv. You can use it to watch DVDs if you can decode the elaborate system of button-pressing involved in operating the remote. Ask Melissa for more details.

Then we came to the main portion of the evening. You read that right. We haven’t even gotten to the main part of the meeting: the Study Abroad Panel. Here’s a brief(ish) rundown of the conversation:

Willie: Sweden. Classes about movies. Her town is called “Dragon City” because it burnt down three times. Mountains. Baltic Sea. Baltic Sea! She has sweet boots on. Went Xtreme camping with Germans in a forest. Ate noodles by a lake. Jumped in a melted glacier. “That was so cool.” Literally. Ha.

Katie: Pune, India. Class in film. Sensing a trend here. Rode an elephant. Had some girl power time.

Malyssa: San Jose, Costa Rica. Read a great list which will be posted here soon. Took $2 out of the ATM on her first day because she’s not used to being a millionaire. Was drugged by her host mom.

Jackie: Bangor, Wales. 30k town/10k university enrollment. Took a class in scriptwriting. What? Involved with BBC-Wales. Drove through World’s End. Got knocked to the ground by some beastly wind on a Welsh mountain.

Nathan: Ghana. His university had 75-90,000 students enrolled. Took classes in theater. What is this? Drummed, danced, traveled. Went to Burkina Faso. “Mali-wood” movies. Rode a camel, slept with goats. Bob says, “That sounds very kinky.”

Kevin: Sweden. Lived in a cottage in the woods. Shovelled many “metres” of snow. Got robbed in Spain. Hung out with nice English-speaking Dutch people who had a car. Sweden sounds exciting.

And that, my friends, is it.

oh, yes

This year's freshman class: je vous adorez. Or whatever the Italian for that is. The point is that Ariel, Emily and Ann are hosting a Writing Center dinner and movie night. Not just any dinner, oh no. Not pizza, not Zio's, not even chili (although chili is very nice, indeed). They are making homemade lasagne (carnivorous and vegitarious), with salad, bread and root beer floats.

Let me repeat: homemade lasagna. root beer floats.

Plus, a showing of the Princess Bride. It will be like having a romantic date with the whole WC. Be there or be sad and alone. Come on, don't pretend you've got better things to do.

This Wednesday, the 4th, at 6pm in the Writing Center.

A Little Lonely

When you're alone in the Writing Center (which rarely happens) you discover wonderful things. This yellow chair is a prime example. Take note of the amazing zebra print pillow and the lovely little...redheaded table. Glorious.

I can't wait until next year's retreat. And my next conference. Whenever that may be.

Yours most truly,

Taylor

wcers are so exotic

Kevin Dyrland spent fall semester in Östersund, Sweden, Ryanairing it across the continent and studying silly things like economic policy. But...he clearly took a little bit of WC spirit with him on his travels, as evidenced by this excerpt from his travel blog:

I also read some Hemingway while over here, in a craving for good English. My first encounter with the man–and I think Hemingway had dementia by the time he wrote it, because his ‘oldman’ which is probably intrepreted as a personification of himself at that age, repeats himself in a delirious state. Anyways, it was good. I’d also recommend Billy Joel’s ‘Downeaster Alexa’ if you want a shorter version of what the sea is about, without the whole ‘death’ thing.

Welcome back. Read more of Kevin's Scandinavian adventures here.

no waves

nathan nass used to be in the writing center. then he moved to korea. now he lives in honolulu, hawai'i, where he is studying ethnomusicology. today in cedar rapids it was an unseasonably warm january day - almost 40-degrees, but i still wish i was in honolulu. cedar rapids does not have waves.



anyway, nathan nass sent me a poem:

"blue heaven honolulu eyesore"

exploded boxspring
kapiolani & date
diamond head's shoulders

late night plate lunch
gina's bbq don't kill the
cockroach it can't fly

Coe College Satellite

Taylor here, writing to you from the Writing Center Satellite. It’s pretty lonely to tell you the truth. I have only my homework to keep me company. However, such solitude brings great thoughts. How many stellar black and white photos are in this room? Fifteen. How many blue chairs? Six. How many people will come visit me for some indepth conferencing? Probably not many. Yet I have hope, my friends!

We need to get the word out about this place. I’m a cool chica. I don’t bite. I smell pretty good. I like to converse and I like to think I’m pretty decent at it. And all of the other Satellite controllers are equally as splendid. Come visit us! Come play!

Otherwise, I will become one wily cat.

some old retreat photos, just because

not skimping

This was quite a succinct meeting. I am not just skimping on the minutes.

Bob says: Go to see Jared Diamond. If there aren't enough people left working in the WC during the presentation, it's okay to close it down for the duration. Next Tuesday, 7:20pm. Tickets are $5 for students.

Dinner was "Peruvian chicken." The secret ingredients were cinnamon and squirt.

We are advised not to totally ostracize the Speaking Center people. Ie: be nice. And does everyone know about the weird moisturizing hand wax heating thing they have in there? It's an experience.

On Feb. 4th at 6pm one of the committees (social activities?) is hosting a WC dinner. On the menu is homemade lasagna. Ezra says, "I hope they can cook." I bet they can.

We split into committee groups and discussed plans for the semester. If you missed the meeting, find the rest of your group to catch up.

Finally, something loud and apparently hilarious happened involving Justin Lord, Andrew Klingler, and a bowl full of spaghetti.

Over and out.

CWC alum studying in Haifa, published in the Gazette.

Angriest voices lead the crowds, but to where?

by Nick Barnes

The Cedar Rapids Gazette, 18 January 2008

Haifa, Israel –

It’s New Years Eve and low clouds came rolling in off the Mediterranean this morning. The holiday season has been especially cheerless. In this part of the world, but it has nothing to do with the weather. As I walk to class, the outlines of the buildings are barely perceptible and, unfortunately for the pro-Israeli Defense Forces demonstration that was to take place in the courtyard, just a few people have showed up.

Visibility is the essential ingredient to any good demonstration – otherwise the flags, banners and clever sayings hastily scratched on posters all come to naught. Instead, they are just angry voices in the mist, chanting muffled slogans and diatribes. I run into two friends who had hoped to see some genuine public upheaval. They told me that there weren’t enough people for anything exciting to happen. Sometimes I guess I don’t mind a little inclement weather around the holidays.

A friend gave me a Palestinian scarf for Christmas and today, the students are handing out Israeli flags to anyone that would take them. I have stopped seeking out conversations on the war because I just seem to be repeating the same disappointing dialogue. I have had to stop counting the number of times I hear the phrases, from either side, “I hate them,” or “they don’t make any sense” and “I don’t care what happens to them.”

Otherwise, life seems to continue on much as normal: classes attended, bars packed and movie theaters full. Maybe it’s that they have gotten used to war in this part of the world. Surely if I had gone to Ben Gurion University in the Beer Sheva, life would be very different for me with the prospect daily rocket fire. Israelis are rightly angered by this but none of even my more dovish friends have ever once mentioned their misgivings about the numerous missiles killing innocent Palestinians. Collateral damage, I guess. Similarly, you hear very little outspoken condemnation of Hamas’ behavior in the Arab street.

I like to think of it like our weather on the top of this mountain: The clouds have arrived and since no one can see very well, those with the loudest, angriest voices are the ones driving the crowd in a direction that is not going to lead them out of the fog anytime soon. The really depressing thing is that many here believe there will never be peace.

So, according to an editorialist here, Israel is “teaching them a lesson, again: and the government says that the will destroy the Hamas infrastructure and make them think twice before bombing the South. I’m not convinced. This is clearly what Hamas wanted, and the longer this conflict goes on, the more popular Hamas-type sentiments will become. Some say Israel is re-establishing its deterrence against a terrorist organization, but this grossly misinterprets how Hamas came to power and its role in Gaza. For a starving, unemployed, overpopulated Gaza Strip, killing and violence will not moderate the population or leadership and almost always calls for a similar response. What do they have to lose?

So the once-cautiously integrated communities here at the University of Haifa are now polarized after powerful nationalist emotions have sprung forth. Racialization, already well-embodied within society, has become a stronger force, as both sides seem to be saying you are either one of us or one of them. Many wear the Palestinian scarf or an Israeli flag.

But I refuse to pick sides. I wonder what would happen if I put on the Palestinian scarf my friend gave me while waving one of the Israeli flags. Is this a contradiction? Can there be no middle ground?

Looking out my window, the clouds appear to be settling in for the last night of the year. I hope the new year brings a break in the weather so that maybe, some day, the sun will come out.

Nick Barnes, 27, of Cedar Rapids, is a student at the University of Haifa in Haifa, Israel, on a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship, studying in the Peace and Conflict Studies program until June. he is a 2004 Coe College and 2000 Cedar Rapids Washington High School Graduate.

Visit Nick in Haifa, a journal of Nick's year as a Rotary Scholar.

Minutes 1/19

Kicking off the new year one minute early. We met in a different Lower Gage room and the effect was that our chairs were arranged like a giant airplane hangar.

Highlights from the meeting:

-Several sheets were circulated: the WC staff directory, the committee and job assignments, and the spring shift schedule. If you have any further changes, e-mail or talk to Amber.

-My coffee/milk glass separated weirdly. Leta tried to use her barista skillz to correct the problem, since I didn’t want to use my finger as a makeshift swizzle stick. Despite her skilled efforts, the drink separated further.

-Full-staff (re)introductions. I wrote down “Ellen Burns is cute as a button” and “Becca pooped worrisome rocks when she was five.” Don’t remember the details of these notes, though, sadly.

-Welcoming back folks from abroad – anyone want to post on the blog?

-There was much job shuffling.

Some notes for the week:

-This Friday from 3-4:00 there will be a WC Open House which coincides with the Grand Opening of the Speaking Center. Everyone is encouraged to attend, and Vegas people are required to be there to present their conference posters. Everyone gets free pop and a single cookie each.

-We all solemnly pledged to, sooner or later, help clean up the Moodle database. Course names and numbers, professors’ names correctly spelled, and, as always, more thorough conference descriptions. What we’re looking for: accuracy of information and details – be thorough, precise, and helpful.

-No Topics Tuesday or Wednesday. Next week Topics meets in the library.

That’s it.

Power outage in WC, rest of campus

The following is a minute-by-minute account of the 5 minute-long power outage which affected most of campus this Thursday's eve:

at 1842 hours (or thereabouts) : all lights, computers, monitors, printers, scanners, hot water heater, coffee maker, and fish tank aerator turn off. Silence reigns. Perhaps for the first time since these offices became the CWC.

1843 hours: Dr. Bob enters the main room, carrying a flashlight. His only words: "I see the emergency lights came on in this room." Indeed they had.

1844 hours: Andrew Klingler decides to play the hero and investigate the rest of the building to see what other lights are off. Hanna Werner and I watch him leave. Dr. Bob leaves in the opposite direction to do a similar survey. Werner and I are completely alone.

1845 hours: I call Security. They already knew about it. Steve Singleton arrives to give us moral support.

1846 hours: Werner and I debate which horror movie this is most like.

1847 hours: Power returns. Dr. Bob returns a few moments later. Coincidence? Or extraordinary brilliance?

Dr. Bob: "I'm just gratified to know that I was able, in the dark, to find my flashlight."
Klingler: "28 Days Later--lot of power outages in that movie too."
Kyn: "...."


- Johanna

Dr. Bob's Chili Feed

The WC’s doors opened Tuesday night for a staff-only chili feed, made even more delicious because of the sub-zero temperatures and snowdrifts battled by staff members on their way to free food. Between sips of lemonade, red cheeked consultants compared Christmas breaks and bemoaned the start of classes. Topics overheard: bowling matinees (particularly the “greasy ball” phenomenon), the allure of small town Iowa (with delightful turns of phrase such as “balls to the wall” and “mello like jell-o”), and Julia Childs’ career in espionage.

Both meat and vegetarian chili had been prepared by the indefatigable Dr. Bob, as well as an array of fruits, carrot sticks, chocolates, and cookies. The cornbread quickly disappeared, and the regular bread barely made it to the table before it was divided amongst us, leaving a flurry of crumbs in our wake.

The biggest development over break is the addition of a door near the kitchen area. This door leads into the Speaking Center. Observant consultants noted the presence of a spiffy Mac. I think this is a bit like adding new fish to an already-populated tank. Hopefully a tank that meets a better fate than the WC’s. If only we could put the speaking center consultants in a clear container in the middle of the WC while we acclimate to their presence. I wonder if we can make them clean our dishes. Most importantly, are they exempt from Dr. Bob’s no-nuclear-weapons policy?

- Johanna

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.