The Writing Center is a vital resource on campus that students utilize to get support for any writing project that is academic or not. Recently, there have been a number of changes to the facility implemented with the intent to increase the number of students taking advantage of the Center. 

 The most notable of these new changes range from the addition of snacks and tea for Writing Center appointments to new student artwork displayed. As the director, Joseph Johnson expressed “We want students to be comfortable and almost have a dorm-like feel. We wanted the Writing Center to be a social environment. We wanted the chairs so students could relax and focus on their work. Snacks because students love snacks and we wanted this to be a creative space.” 

These changes along with the warm lighting and layered rugs used, create a home-like atmosphere for students who utilize the space. The number of students utilizing the space has already grown and Johnson noted  “We have already seen that more students are coming to the Writing Center. The space itself has inspired students to focus on their writing. It has also allowed students to focus on their writing assignments in a collaborative way.” 

The ability of the changes to draw more students in has proven crucial, as the highly devoted staff will now be able to help the students even more. The comfort and dorm-like feel of the space invites students in and allows their minds to work in a more creative fashion on any writing piece of their choosing.

The new changes to the Writing Center will also prove valuable to the student’s mindsets as they work there. The nature of having tea and snacks will allow the space to become more focused for the students and allow them to really concentrate on bettering their work. The mental health aspect of the changes is also crucial as students work best in comfortable, creative environments. The paintings and furniture will allow the students to feel at home in the Writing Center and gain quality work from their appointments. Above all, the versatility and uniqueness of the Writing Center will draw in many students who see the place as a cool place to get work done. With the addition of the changes, students will feel even more comfortable walking inside the Writing Center no matter what writing they are working on.

The Writing Center is a student-staffed program that assists students in writing both academic and non-academic papers. The Center provides one-to-one 50-minute meetings where students are helped from developing an idea for an article to polishing a draft. All majors seek the help of the Writing Center for their writing projects. 

The staff consists of trained undergraduate mentors who are available by appointment to assist the students. The goal of the Writing Center is to “promote excellence in writing and thinking in the liberal arts tradition across the college”.