Stop the Hate Campaign @ URI: "The Time is Now"

In light the recent offensive, inexcusable events on campus (noted in an email sent to all students, entitled "Memo: From President Dooley," & a list of which may be found on this event's facebook page) Christina Knoll, a URI student, has launched a Student Movement Against Hate Crimes at URI. Christina encourages students and organizations on campus to create anti-hate t-shirts, displaying "I will not stand for hate crimes at URI," and wear them as many times as possible in the coming weeks. T-Shirts are also being printed and handed our for free on campus.

In addition, Christina has organized a demonstration for Wednesday, November 18th at noon. She urges students to meet her on the Quad for a 15 minute moment of silence, protesting hate crimes at URI. Professors on campus will also be alerted about the demonstration and encouraged to host the 15 minutes of silence in their classrooms at noon, too.

We will be in our weekly Wednesday WCenter meeting during this time. I move to have the URI Wcenter tutors participate in this 15 minutes of silence, or -- as I understand we have a mere 50 minutes of time together to reflect and discuss -- at the very least discuss tolerance and/or intolerance with regard to tutoring and the WCenter. While I am aware we already dedicated one meeting to diversity earlier in the semester, these recent events clearly stress the significance of this topic, and I believe mention of it during next week's meeting would be not only be educational but -- if these recent events are any indication -- necessary.

If you are interested in learning more about the Stop the Hate Campaign on campus, contact Christina Knoll via Facebook, or pick up a flyer in the Memorial Union. I will be bringing copies of these flyers to the WCenter tomorrow morning.

An Effective Session

I feel like my last few posts have all been when I'm upset or pessimistic, so this time I'll mention a session that I had last week that was really good.

The student I worked with was writing a paper for her WRT 104 class (I think that's what it was). She had to describe an antique store that she went to and make it realistic to the reader, kind of like a portrait of a person would be. When she came in, she brought all of her notes from her trip to the store and a draft. Her draft wasn't long enough, so she wanted to add some length, but her main concern was that she wasn't capturing the right feel of the antique store--she wanted to add some more "creepy" feeling to her paper.

Needless to say, that was an awesome session. We spent forty minutes going through her paper, with me telling her every time her paper freaked me out like she was trying to do to her reader, and we made a list of several other items in the store that she could describe, like a portrait of a scared man looking out the window. Unlike many other students that I've worked with, she was really receptive to my comments and criticisms and actually had a pen out the whole time, writing down suggestions and brainstorming new paragraphs. It was a real treat for me not to spend the time fixing basic problems (she was a really good writer), but actually getting creative and helping her make a great paper. I'd love to find out what her professor thought.

I guess my point is that often, good stuff happens here, and this case reminded me that I'm not always a tutor, but most of the time I am a student too and I can learn from the people who come here. So this is a happy rant...

I can't believe this actually happened..

Okay, the picture above taken thanks to Kate Stone and her Blackberry. It is so horrible that I had to laugh. This student came in with the sheet (for those who can't read his writing) that said he was "finished" with his paper and his goal was a "slip." I did not let him off the hook and I read through is paper with him before giving him the slip. I just thought It was something I should share. Also, I did give the student a slip because he was willing to sit with me for a half an hour and go over his paper. I had to admire his bluntness. Any thoughts?

Here comes the Lipid Lab. . .

Just gave a talk to about 20 members of the Lipid Lab, many of whom will be coming for sessions soon. They'll want to talk about everything from concept mapping and outlining to editing and proofreading, including editing and proofreading citations/references.

FYI, here are some links to a couple of commonly used reference styles:

From the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

Information for Authors: References

From the Journal of the American Medical Association:

Instructions for Authors: References

Number format! Have fun. . .

H1N1 and the WC: Gives "Contact Zone" a Whole New Meaning

In light of Jeremiah's announcement during today's meeting, the recent increase in flu-like symptoms on campus and the three H1N1-related deaths that occurred last week in the state, my personal H1N1 paranoia has definitely increased recently. Moreover, my concern for WCenter tutors has definitely spiked. The inherent structure of a tutoring session constructs a Contact Zone -- not only a space wherein persons from diverse backgrounds (heritages, cultures, etc.) interact, but literally a place where people are undeniably in close quarters, making almost literal contact! With regard to H1N1 prevention, this situation doesn't exactly cater to the "social distancing" strategy proposed by the University. Of course, we cannot tutor through walls (Well, I suppose we could try.. very Virginia Woolf, no?) and therefore can't practice this prevention technique realistically. I see this is as the precise reason why we should become more cognizant of the other available, simple prevention techniques -- perhaps even become some of the most informed individuals on campus.

The University has released an H1N1 Prevention Flyer, (complete with eerie sick-people images and lots of bold text) suggesting a list of basic prevention techniques to students, including:

• Washing hands FREQUENTLY with soap and warm water, or alcohol-based hand sanitizer
• Coughing or sneezing in the crook of one's elbow or a tissue
• Avoidance of touching one's eyes, nose and mouth, and
• Staying at home if feeling ill

In addition to the above suggestions, I've stumbled upon a few more simple choices we can make to stay tip-top and tutoring-ready:

• Probiotics: My boyfriend's mother is a Nurse Practitioner and thrust a bottle of these at me over Sunday dinner. Probiotics are found in yogurt and a number of other foods, and maintain balance in the body while, additionally, boosting the immune system. If you're not a yogurt lover, taking two of these side effect-free pills a day is a recommended form of prevention -- remember to store the bottle in the refrigerator!
  
• Plenty of sleep! As a senior in my final semester, I understand this is a tall-order suggestion. Nevertheless, a good night's sleep undeniably helps keep one healthy; it couldn't hurt of us all to try an rack up a few more sleep hours a week.
• Take the stairs. Physical activity is definitely connected to one's overall health, so take the stairs instead of that scary, creepy elevator!
• Drink plenty of fluids. Indulge in a little WCenter tea; there are currently boxes of delicious lemongrass, green, Irish breakfast and ginger tea up on the fourth floor!
  
• A note on social distancing: While we can't help being in close quarters in the WCenter, cultivating a healthy zen bubble outside of the center can also help to ensure tutor health. I'm certainly not suggesting we wear gas masks around our roommates, but perhaps avoiding the super-popular, communal ice-luge wouldn't be a bad idea...
  

In addition to the above suggestions, representatives from URI's Health Services are participating in web chats to address any student questions or concerns about the virus. The transcripts from the first and second chats are already available online. There is also an official webspace established "specifically for H1N1 updates." The last update was posted on the 21st of October.
Finally, the University has released a list of suggested items for students living on and off-campus to have on-hand. Some of these items seem applicable to the WCenter space; perhaps we could consider placing the following in the Center:

• Tissues
• Disinfectant Wipes
• A small package of surgical masks (though, I think this is a bit over-the-top)
• We're already got the sanitizer - go AEC and WCenter!

As Jeremiah announced today, calling out if we're really sick or incapacitated is recommended. If you are suffering from flu-like symptoms, the University encourages you to stay home until a full 24hours have passed since the last sign of symptoms. Flu symptoms include: Fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny/stuffy nose, muscle aches, and an array of unpleasant stomach symptoms.

The H1N1 vaccine will not be available in Rhode Island until December - at least a month from now. Remaining conscious of the above suggestions and prevention tips may help ensure we're healthy and happy and tutoring. I know how dedicated to the writers of URI we all are and, as a girl that was ill for a number of months last year, I know the no-fun feelings that come with having to miss a session/class. Unlike with other illnesses, H1N1 will put one on house arrest (I've always been a fan of the not-contagious-push-self-up-four-floors-of-stairs-to-tutor-maneuver, which just won't do with H1N1!). Let's stay aware so we can stay upstairs!

Make-Believe Grammar

"The sentence which is spliced together out of the ‘parts of speech’ is, in truth, no sentence at all. It is not language any more than a company drill is fighting, or a scarecrow a man. Thought which is living, growing, organic in structure, cannot be conveyed or represented by a lifeless, static, artificial construction. Nor are we studying language by studying such a construction. The sentences which grammar presents to us have in very truth ceased to be language, once they have been cut off from all reference to the various acts of thought-communication which gave rise to them, so that they seem to exist in and for themselves, mere mechanical congeries of words, brought together only to fulfill certain arbitrary requirements of the sentence form as such" (Buck 148-9).

The above quotation comes form Gertrude Buck's 1909 article "Make-Believe Grammar." It may seem a bit random to post a 100 year old quote about grammar instruction on the WC's blog, but as I was rereading it today it reminded me of a session I had yesterday. The tutee was from South Korea and was here to go through a COMM paper with the standard desire for grammar and clarity advice that most of my ESL sessions consist of. As we came towards the end of the paper, I threw out a "comma here before the 'but'" and was startled when she asked why. She explained why she believed there should not be a comma there and it made good sense to me, making me question if my ideas on commas were true or if I've been secretly giving bad advice for years now.
So when I read this passage, it reminded me of not only this grammatical dilema of yesterday, but also it brought up the way in which I go about punctuating my own writing. Where I physically hear a pause or a breath is where I put my comma (I know, I know, there can totally be problems with this approach). It flows organically and is almost a literal life-breath to the words I type or write, especially in my freewriting and journaling. Wouldn't it be nice if all punctuation could move as effortlessly as that living comma?

Reflecting on the Repeat Tutee

I am going to try to be a bit coded here; it occurs to me that there is no way to know whether or not the tutee for whom this post is composed will be able to access this post, and I certainly do not want to hurt anyone.

Therefore, I am going to be rather vague, but perhaps I can fill in some holes at the meeting if anyone is interested.

Here is what I am wondering in this reflection: what ought we to do if we think a tutee is getting too comfortable with us?

I really do enjoy running in to tutees around campus or even in the emporium--especially when they are somewhat socially awkward, quirky, or a bit out there (also known as way too far off of the mainstream mark to have a lot of friends at URI) and it is clear that they are particularly happy to see you because there aren't a lot of folks around for them to talk with.

I have particular sympathy for these folks since I went to a small liberal arts university with mostly snobby and apathetic classmates and very invested in the upper-middle class American mainstream, so my only real friends were my English professors.

This empathy is likely where my hesitation to cut off this tutor/tutee relationship lies, but I am afraid my tutee has crossed some weirdness boundary that I find troubling--a line, in fact, that propels me into a sort of ambivalence about the whole thing. I am drawn in, maybe, by his obvious need for a friend, but am rather repelled by the same.

The trouble is that social misfits tend to slowly latch on way too strong. They catch you unawares. You realize you may, in the long run, actually do more harm than good.