Students writing last-minute papers will now have access to late-night help in the form of a writing fellow in the lobby of their nearest library. The Writing Fellows have instituted a new program that, from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Sundays through Thursdays, will place a fellow in the Rockefeller Library and the Friedman Study Center, sitting with a sign saying, "I will read your paper!"
The program aims to give students "another opportunity to talk through their papers, have another person to brainstorm with, or discuss how to best revise their papers in an informal setting," Writing Fellow Sara Mann '10 wrote to The Herald in an e-mail.
Writing Fellows will be in the cafe in the Rock's lobby and the Friedman Center through Thursday night, according to Mann.
The new program, the result of a suggestion by Writing Fellow Henry Freedland '08, aims to provide an informal setting where students can go "if they just want writing help (or) are thinking about a paper," Evan Pulvers '10.5 wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. Fellows volunteer to staff the programs in the libraries.
Writing Fellow Ryan Wong '10 said the new resource is a good idea because "the writing center can get crowded during finals and midterms. And this gives students an accessible resource where they can just go talk about a paper for a few minutes."
Students' initial response to the program has varied. Mann, who wrote that she was "pleased with the turnout," spent most of her first three-hour shift working on two papers - a graduate student's sociology paper and a Spanish literature paper.
But Writing Fellow Forrest Miller '10, who spent three hours in the Friedman Center Monday night, had a different experience. "People would walk by, make eye contact, holding papers in their hands, but didn't stop." He said that he feels "there needs to be a table in a very central location with a big sign advertisement, that 'I'm a writing fellow, here to help you!'"
Doug Brown, director of writing support programs, said he believes that this new program is a great way to "fill a time gap, making writing fellows and writing help accessible at all times to students."
