The First Time is Scary

I will admit – I had not used the Writing Center before when I first showed up for my observation last Monday. If our syllabus had not mentioned Weinstein 402, I very well might not have found it in time for my 7 o’clock shift. I had never actually gone through a writing consultation before, so I was not quite sure what I would see. While students were supposed to see their class writing consultant as part of their First Year Seminars, I found that my professor only gave us the time necessary to meet with the consultant for our final papers. By then, most of the class had figured out (the hard way) what he did and did not want from our papers, thus really eliminating the usefulness of the consultant. When I went for my observation, there wasn’t all that much to observe anyway, because the student scheduled to meet with the writing consultant never arrived for the meeting. I did, however, spend some time in the Writing Center and I noticed some things.

First of all, Richmond students – if you are reading this – the Writing Center is not in the library. Nor are the Speech Center or the Computer Help Desk. The first two are on the fourth floor of Weinstein Hall and the third is in the basement of Jepson. Unless it is a Sunday evening and you have a meeting with a writing consultant, the place you want to find is upstairs in Weinstein. I know that a lot of people actually are not aware of this fact, and it is probably the most useful thing you can know.

I think the biggest thing that stood out to me was that the environment of the Writing Center was actually incredibly welcoming. The harsh, fluorescent lights were off and a few lamps were turned on instead. There were couches, comfy chairs, and a table in the middle of the room. There were also some computers along the wall in case someone wanted to check something online or bring up Writer’s Web during a consultation. I actually liked being in the room, which was interesting because I was kind of expecting something cold or threatening like a computer lab.

I think this is really important and relates a lot to the work consultants do. Everything we try to accomplish involves helping people without appearing overly authoritative or intimidating, and I thought it was really interesting how even the layout of the Writing Center helps to foster that attitude. I found myself actually liking being in the room (I didn’t really want to leave, actually), which I think is really important. If the space is welcoming, students will feel less threatened and, hopefully, will have a more positive view of the consultation process. So my first experience with the Writing Center, while not necessarily completely productive, really was a good one.