Graduate students continue push for separate writing center

Graduate students have collectively lobbied for more than a year for the creation of a separate writing center entity.

This issue remains a salient issue on the the Graduate Student Government's agenda this year, GSG president Anupama Kothari said.

Last semester the Graduate Council — a council of elected and appointed faculty members that meets twice a semester to advise the Dean of the Graduate School on policies and procedures covering graduate education — failed to address the graduate students' need for a writing center.

"I was disappointed that no progress was made on the issue last spring, especially given that Graduate Council meetings were canceled," said  GSG vice president of academic affairs Aaron Tobiason.

In support of the GSG's request, the Senate Educational Affairs Committee last year told the University Senate a graduate writing assistance service was needed. The plea seemed to fall on deaf ears, as the Graduate Council has yet to address this concern.

"The Graduate Council is a big black hole where several central issues disappear because no action is taken on these issues," said Kothari. "The Graduate Council should function in a more efficient way and clean up its act."

The university writing center only provides assistance to undergraduate students, save for a couple of graduate services. It hosts a free English Editing for International Graduate Students program. It also provides a contact list of editing and tutoring services that graduate students can pay for.

Several university peer institutions offer free writing services catering to the writing needs of graduate students.

University of California, Berkeley, houses a Graduate Division Academic Services Unit that assists its graduate students with individual consulting services that help with grant writing, dissertations and articles for publications. According to Kothari, Berkeley has a great program. Penn State runs a small graduate writing center for its graduate population. Matt Weiss, the coordinator of Penn State's graduate writing center, said it offers a peer consultation service that focuses on writing itself, not editing services.

"We are willing to consult with grad students about any writing they're doing. From CVs to proposals, dissertations, master theses," said Weiss. "Anything that grad students want to bring in we'll take a look at it."

Although GSG assembly members mostly agreed the issue still exists as an obstacle to graduates at the meeting earlier this month, one student said he saw no need for a graduate writing center.

Orhan Torul, an economics doctoral student, said graduate students are too busy to consult a third party when preparing papers.

"To be honest, I don't think I will be able to benefit from a graduate writing center," said Torul.

Nevertheless, many students insist the issue is an important one for the university's graduate student population.

"The writing center should provide the same services for graduates," said Roberto Münster, a graduate public policy student and university senator. "It doesn't make sense that we should be paying for writing services when the service should be provided for free, especially if the writing center is funded by our tuition."

Kothari  said she promised the GSG will continue to lobby intensely for legislation allowing the creation of a graduate writing center.

"Graduate students need a writing center just as much as undergraduate students do," she said.

"There is no reason why graduate students are denied this service," Münster added.

quijada@umdbk.com