Accessibility and Visibility in Writing Centers

Connor Ferguson

During my early years of undergraduate studies, I felt a deep-seated apprehension related to reaching out for academic assistance. While many students experience this fear due to power dynamics, social anxiety, or lack of knowledge of where student resources are located, my apprehension was rooted in my identity: specifically, that of a queer man. Not knowing if my identity would be represented, let alone accepted, in an academic space deterred me from seeking out the help I needed. This illustrates a major problem with university campus resources: if students don’t feel comfortable approaching these resources, then students are not benefiting from said resources.

Writing Centers are a vital resource for students, and pedagogy revolving around the development of these spaces has emphasised the need for a comfortable, welcoming space that will allow for academic achievement. In recent years, Writing Centers have developed new approaches to multicultural student demographics, fighting against “acculturating students” and objecting to a one-size-fits-all model in tutoring protocols (Murphy Sherwood, 2011). Approaches involving mental agility and multigenre literacy have evolved the Writing Center into a more welcoming space for students and developed discourse communities surrounding tutoring practices. Despite this, a lack of visible representation amongst minoritized groups contributes a cultural deficit, which may defer students from using the Writing Center as an academic resource. Producing a better Writing Center and “better writers […] involves understanding the manufacture and dynamics of identity, a process that involves on-going self-discovery and reconciliation with collective identities and discourse communities” (Denny, 2010).

In order to find a way to establish this self-discovery and reconciliation, I first turned to other academic sources in order to build a literary understanding of previous studies that focused on the importance of diversity in education. Harry Denny’s article “Queering the Writing Center” proved to be a key in many ways, as his work interrogated the process by which education exists: according to his reference of Megan Woolbright, “Knowledge is constructed, not transmitted” (Denny, p. 44). Denny also interrogated the usefulness of code-switching, which is the learned or inherent ability to shift between different forms of communication, whether that be language, dialect, slang, or the technology we use to communicate: “Knowledge of and being able to act on codes does not diminish the reality and effect of their existence when these codes privilege certain ways of writing and speaking over others” (Denny, p. 46). If knowledge is constructed and code-switching (while well intentioned) has inherent issues regarding privilege, reliable tools and a comfortable space are vital to harboring that development; based upon code-switching and the importance of diversity amongst Writing Centers, two other topics he explores in the article, I defined these concepts into two concentrated terms: accessibility and visibility.

The accessibility of spaces for minoritized students, such as Writing Center satellite sites placed in pre-existing diversified spaces like multicultural centers, women’s resource centers, and LGBTQ+ resource centers, is a way to establish comfortable environments for students in multiple ways. First, it emphasises the existence of “safe spaces”, where students can feel they are already accepted for who they are and not have to worry about the sociocultural implications of their identity; second, by having these satellite sites in centralized locations on campus not related to specific department buildings (such as the English building), it also removes an academic cultural difference for students who are coming to Writing Centers while not being English majors.

While safe spaces are important, visibility is the more crucial aspect of creating better Writing Centers for a continually growing diverse population. By allowing staff to self-identify with minoritized groups and present themselves as a resource for minoritized students, two problems with Writing Centers (and academia as a whole) can be addressed. First, peer tutors are already predisposed to redefining power dynamics amongst education because they are students just like the tutees, and by acknowledging a shared identity with their clients they continue to break down this power dynamic, allowing for a more welcome and comfortable tutoring session; second, this visibility removes a cultural deficit and a need to code-switch, and by sharing common ground through identity, deeper and more substantial instruction and conversation can take place.

With this understanding in mind, I worked to establish a Writing Center satellite site at the University of Maine’s Memorial Union Multicultural Center, a centralized location on campus that already exists as an open and affirming space for students who identify with minoritized groups. Since the inception of the site, interest from students who frequent the Multicultural Center has turned into Writing Center attendance, further supporting the idea that accessible spaces is part of students using the Writing Center as a resource. Furthermore, as a practicing queer tutor, I am attempting to recruit other tutors who identify in minoritized groups to self-identify and advertise themselves as a resource to underrepresented student demographics. While I am the only tutor currently staffed in the Multicultural Center satellite site due to this semester being the first time it is available, there has been positive feedback from students in regards to the convenience of its location, the openness of my shared identity creating a more comfortable learning space, and the built-in security of having the new satellite site exist in a space that already supports inclusivity and diversity.

Education is depicted as a necessary and beneficial pillar to our society and to the individual, but even as our student populations diversify, institutions and staffing need to reflect this diversity. While there is still much work to be done, Writing Centers are often made what they are by their student staff and locations, and we can begin to enact change through the acceptance and visibility of our own identities and the action to reach out to other demographics.

Works Cited

Denny, Harry. “Queering the Writing Center.” The Writing Center Journal, vol. 25, no. 2, 2005, pp. 39–62.

Murphy, Christina and Sherwood, Steve. The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors. Pp. 1-34.

Author’s Biography

Connor Ferguson is a fifth year student majoring in English and Literary Analysis, with a minor in Creative Writing. Ferguson has an interest in creating a welcoming learning environment to a multicultural campus and providing a safe space for marginalized groups. His writing portfolio spans multiple genres and disciplines, the versatility has opened Ferguson to any and all students with Writing Center needs.