Writing Center: operation outreach

 Hello Readers,

It's amazing how 1 year of no Writing Center can make a difference in the students' collective memory.  It's as if the Writing Center didn't exist at all.  Colleague N speculated how the Writing Center could be wiped out of the collective memory:  the incoming freshman class came in without any stories about the Writing Center ( except how it's defunct ), while the juniors and seniors prepared to graduate ( they got by without the Writing Center in their 3-4 years; why should they bother for its revival? ).  How do we establish a presence on campus and sustain it?

The faculty conference I attended a couple of weeks ago reminded me of the most obvious answer to the inquiry above: Facebook.  I created the most simple account, which included our info, contact, and mission statement.  Once the internet is installed in our space, we'll be able to do constant updates ( appearing in our "friends" newsfeed ), and be able to upload photos from Writing Center events and video clips.  We know that there are no guarantees, but at least we're using a medium popular with students ( showing them our effort to connect with them ).

Good thing we finished our Facebook page before we attended the freshman seminar classes ( another idea from the faculty conference, where I was able to chat with Professor R about this collaboration ).  We shifted some of our hours so we can come in and do a presentation.  We encountered at least 200 students, and at least 35% of them ( around 75 ) accepted our request to be their Facebook friend.

Another way we tried reaching out to them is by setting up a poster board session on strategic locations.  We tried the library and the Student Union.  Students in the library passed by and went straight to the computers, but students in the Student Union were a different story.  They felt more comfortable asking questions and conversing with me ( no librarian to 'sush' them I guess :)  The next stop is the main cafeteria, which has a large flow of students ( according to the seniors I talked with ).

Flexibility is definitely helping us.  I already attended 2 English classes ( Eng 1 and Lit 1 ).  It was fun giving the Writing Center Services speech, and also presenting a mini lecture on writing a tentative thesis ( discussing claim and the "so what?" question, which reminded me of my teaching days [oh nostalgia] ).  I also talked with Residence Life for a possible collaboration in the future ( RAs educational programs ), and there are 2 more scheduled seminar class appearances this week.  Our progress is slow but steady!