Writing Center: "Read-In" reading failure?

Hey Readers,

So our first event was  uneventful.  At hindsight, the day chosen wasn't a good one.  We totally forgot to check for other campus activities that might compete for students' attention.  If you were a student and you had a chance to attend Belly Dancing or a Reading promoting literacy, which would you choose?

The show did go on.  I read an excerpt from Booker T Washington's work about public speaking and rhetoric.  Colleague N read Rita Dove's poetry.  Professor R recited from memory.  Professor ? with an awesome French accent? read from Langston Hughes, and Professor T read a poem about a cello.  At least there are many chocolate chip cookies left.

I was surprised that the English Department was underrepresented.  Whatever happened to supporting your colleagues or the bigger cause [English as a field]?  Were they busy trying to maintain tenure? When they finally get tenure and attain "security", do they stop caring? I wonder if I'll be one of those professors, who'll be buried deep down in my research and thus neglect other aspects of "life".

Regardless of the seeming failure, it was enlightening to see a different side to our supervisor, how the professors interacted with each other, and what's in their minds.