The GWU Writing Center has reopened for the Spring 2010 semester in a new location, with reduced hours due to budget cuts for the program. The changes have been received with mixed enthusiasm, and a fair amount of complaints, by the writing center staff. Tayler Lofquist, a newly hired tutor at the center, was hoping to work between 12 and 15 hours a week this semester. She was scheduled for 11 hours before she found out just last week that budget restraints would only allow her to be working for 9 hours. Lofquist does not have any other jobs at this time. “It’s unfortunate because everything you read about writing center work shows that it has a positive impact,” Lofquist says. The new location, the former WID Studio on the first floor of Gelman Library, will provide the Writing Center with much-needed visibility, but it is also significantly smaller than the spacious area previously occupied by the center on the 5th floor of Rome Hall. “Gelman is a central academic location,” says Tayler Lofquist. “People naturally come here anyway when they are doing work, so the Writing Center may become part of their writing routine.” Although Lofquist is excited that the GW Writing Center might now develop a more “robust presence” as a result of the move, she is concerned that the budget cuts will have an adverse impact on this growth potential.
Other tutors expressed similar concerns. Lauren Weidmaier balances her jobs as a tutor at the Writing Center and as a House Scholar in the Dakota residence. She is also worried that the staff cuts have come at a particularly bad time. “Students usually have a relatively difficult time finding one-on-one tutors or other support for their classes.” Weidmaier says. “The Writing Center is one of the best and only constantly-available academic resources on campus. Just when it seems more and more people were starting to use it, this happens.”
Despite the concern, appointments at the writing center since it has opened have been fairly sparse; it is still early in the year and students don’t have big assignments yet. Since the opening date on January 24th, tutor Tayler Lofquist has been at the writing center for about 8 hours, but she has only had one appointment with a graduate student. Other tutors share similar stories of sitting and doing homework for hours when no appointments are scheduled or when students don’t show up. Tutors agree that the reduction in hours in non-peak times will have the most effect later in the semester, when students are faced with looming deadlines for larger papers. “Last year, one professor assigned a paper about Cuba and the writing center was deluged with students from that one class for a whole week,” Lofquist says. “We don’t have teachers’ syllabuses so we can’t predict when there will be a flood of people here.”
Lauren Weidmaier is also concerned about the physical size of the new location. “I personally always recommend the writing center to my residents and sorority sisters, and now I question whether or not the new space can accommodate all of my referrals,” she says. “Our literal inability to accommodate more than a few sessions at a time is an obstacle to the purpose of the Writing Center.” Despite the setbacks, tutors remain optimistic about the upcoming semester. “The kids I've seen come in always seem relieved and glad to be receiving help,” says John Meserve, one of the few male tutors employed at the center. “Their papers improve, and it's without the stress of going to a professor.” “I started coming here for almost every major writing assignment since freshman year, and now that my writing has improved exponentially, I am working as a tutor to help students improve their writing and give them the one-on-one attention that students typically don't enjoy in their courses,” says Lauren Weidmaier.
No comments:
Post a Comment