COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Community Involvement:

Establishing a Community Writing Center in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

04/01/2022

INTRODUCTION

My Mission

As a Ronald E. McNair scholar, my research aims to reshape the coming-of-age genre to empower future generations. I will be examining how the female gaze showcases intersectional identities, and how this display of intersectional identities can assist the target audience of the coming-of-age genre (teenagers and adolescents) in the construction of their own identities.

While my research centers the empowerment of future generations, especially those whom are underrepresented in entertainment, I also want to utilize my knowledge and experience as a McNair scholar to empower those living in my current community: the city of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

To do so, my mission is to begin the process opening a community writing center in the city of Eau Claire before my graduation date in May 2023. I am to development a community writing center to create a safe-space for all populations to write, in the hopes that this environment encourages the production of diverse narratives that can be used to empower future generations, mirroring the objective of my McNair Research.

Below, you can find documentation of the steps I have taken to accomplish goal above.

RESEARCH

Seeking Wisdom

As I researched the process of opening a community writing center, I sought out resources from those who have already opened a community writing center. This lead me to Professor Tiffany Rousculp and her novel Rhetoric of Respect.

Within the first chapter of the novel Rhetoric of Respect, Rousculp discloses that the first step to establishing a community writing center is getting to know the community in which you hope to open said writing center. To Rousculp, getting to know the community means being able to answer what she refers to as the “what,” “who,” and “where” questions (6).

ANSWERING "WHAT," "WHO," AND "WHERE"

The "What" Question

The “what” questions refers to the mission a community writing center wishes to accomplish. During a personal interview with Tiffany Rousculp herself, she wisely recommended to me to center my mission around “bringing resources, not intentions” to the Eau Claire community (Pierce). By this, Rousculp meant that while my vision for the writing center is to encourage the production of diverse narratives, this may not be what the Eau Claire residents want or would utilize the space to do. Rather than pushing my perception about what the community needs, Rousculp suggested that I instead cold-call organizations whose missions align with mine, to see if they are in need resources that the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire's Center of Writing Excellence can already offer. The purpose of cold-calling and offering resources is to determine if there is a demand for the services that I hope to someday provide through my community writing center.

To this date, I have not contacted any organizations. I am still in the early stages of researching the mission statements of local organizations to find alignments in their statement and my aspirations. I am currently compiling a list of organizations to potentially cold-call, including Eau Claire's Chippewa Valley Writers Guild, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, as well as Literacy Chippewa Valley.

The "Who" Question

After answering the “what” question, Rousculp notes that I can now proceeds to answer the “who” question. Part of the “who” question aims to establish what populations a community writing center aims to serve. Broadly, I want my community writing center to serve the minority populations of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Because of my experience serving in the AmeriCorps program Early Childhood Literacy Intervention Program Services and Evaluation (ECLIPSE), I am informed that Eau Claire has a high homeless population, as well a high low-income population. These high rates are additionally confirmed through further research (Emerson; “QuickFacts: Eau Claire County, Wisconsin”). This low-income population is just one of the minority populations I hope to serve through my community writing center. Next, I plan to research the minority ethnic, racial, and gender groups of Eau Claire, so I can better define my target population.

The other part of the “who” question pertains to the staff of the the community writing center. While this has not yet been determined, I am in collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Rylander, director of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire's Center of Writing Excellence, to see if his writing center interns would be willing to extend their tutoring and workshop services to a community writing center. We have discussed how the Center of Writing Excellence could hire additional interns to serve at the community writing center location, as well as utilize the current Center of Writing Excellence's management staff to head the community writing center space.

The "Where" Question

Lastly, after establishing the “who” of the community writing center, we can then begin establishing the “where.” Location is crucial when considering opening a public writing center. I must consider if a given location will be able to serve my target population.

Unfortunately, I have yet to establish a “where” for the community writing center because I have not determined if the city of Eau Claire County is in demand of the services I hope to provide. However, establishing a partnership could be the ticket for finding the community writing center’s “where.”

Although a location has not been determined, Dr. Rylander and I have discussed the potential of partnering with the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. This is because Dr. Rylander already has positive pre-existing relations with members of the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library staff through his position at the Chippewa Valley Writers Guild, which could reduce the time needed to form a partnership.

In addition, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library is being renovated this year, which means the additions could offer a space for a future writing center. If the Dr. Rylander and I forms a positive relation with the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, and there is a demand for the writing center services, then the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire could rent a space from the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library for the location of a community writing center. Because the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library and I have similar aspirations and target audiences, their location could be an asset to achieving my mission for a community writing center in Eau Claire.

MOVING FORWARD

Paving the Way for Future Students

While there is still much work to be done before establishing a community writing center in Eau Claire, I am satisfied knowing that am doing everything in my power to prepare future University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire student to tackle this project. I hope by answering the “what,” “who,” and “where” questions before gradationing that I can pave the way for future writing interns to answer Rousculp's the next set of questions: “why” and “how.”

WORKS CITED

Emerson, Julian. “No Place to Call Home.” Volume One , 19 July 2021, https://volumeone.org/articles/2021/07/19/279952-no-place-to-call-home.

Pierce, Shantel, and Jonathan Rylander. “Community Writing Centers: Meeting with Tiffany Rousculp.” 29 Nov. 2021.

“QuickFacts: Eau Claire County, Wisconsin.” U.S. Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/eauclairecountywisconsin/AGE295219.

Rousculp, Tiffany. Rhetoric of Respect: Recognizing Change at a Community Writing Center. Conference on College Composition and Communication, National Council of Teachers of English, 2014.

IMAGES CITED

*Click on images to be directed to the websites from which they were obtained*