Staff and students from Mount Saint Mary College presented a panel titled “The Writing Center as a Location of Agency” earlier this month at the Northeast Writing Centers Association Conference at the University of New Hampshire.
The group consisted of Gina Evers, director of the Mount’s Writing Center and the First Year Experience program; Tisha Dunstan, Writing Center administrative assistant; and Writing Center tutors Julia Flynn of Naugatuck, Conn., a Nursing major; and Makayla Green of North Baldwin, N.Y., a Psychology major.
The panelists noted that college writing centers like the one at the Mount are in a unique position to equip students to advocate for themselves and their classmates. For example, what if a writer has lost points for incorrect citations, but their tutor confirms the original draft was correct? What does a tutor do if they see that an instructor has made a culturally offensive marginal comment on a draft?
“Through empowering its writers and tutors, the Writing Center equips students with the skills needed to hold their colleges and universities accountable for exclusionary institutional practices,” the group said.