Mississippi State University’s Writing Center will move to the second floor of the Mitchell Memorial Library due to the construction of the Jim and Thomas Duff Center.
The Writing Center is currently housed in a small, gray building located on the south side of campus near Allen Hall. The move to the library is expected to happen in the early summer months.
Loreeda Rios, the director of the Writing Center, said that the Writing Center was looking for a central location on campus. Rick Travis, the dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, suggested the library.
“I think that it will be really good for the Writing Center because we will be in a central location on campus,” Rios said. “We already have students who come through the library throughout the day and night, and I think it will make our space more visible and accessible to students.”
Rios said she is not sure what will happen to the old building, but she said it is possible that the house is going to be preserved since it is a historic building. However, it could be moved or torn down.
Rachel Bell, a Writing Center consultant and second-year graduate student, said she will miss the old building and its long, rich history.
Bell said that the house provided a nice environment for the Writing Center because the layout made it feel cozy. She added that the library location poses a challenge in bringing that same comforting atmosphere that was held in the previous building, which she feels is important for the students who come to the Writing Center.
“A lot of people’s misconception of us is that you get sent to the Writing Center if you do poorly on a paper, or your professor sends you to the writing center because your paper was terrible. That’s not what we’re about,” Bell said. “We always try to foster this really welcoming environment, and I think the setup of the house really contributed to that.”
Delvin Smith, a freshman mechanical engineering major and a newcomer to the Writing Center’s services, said he likes the old location better.
“It’s separate from the library, and it’s straight to the point of where I need to go,” Smith said. “I don’t really go to the library because I don’t have a point in going.”
When working with students, Bell said the Writing Center operates on a peer-to-peer type of collaborative process where student workers sit and ask students what they think they can improve on. She further explained that they are not just paper editors.
“We call ourselves consultants because that is a consultation,” Bell said. “I’ve had students taking basic English class come in, and teachers will come and ask if their papers are clear to students. We help any level of writer at any stage of the writing process in a collaborative and hopefully non-intimidating environment.”
Rios said the writing services will remain the same despite the different location. The only significant difference is that the daytime hours will be held in the same place as the evening hours. Currently, daytime hours, held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., are at the former location, and the evening hours, held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., are already in the space designated for the move in the Mitchell Memorial Library. Over the summer, the Writing Center’s operations will fully transition into their library location.
Rios said that the Writing Center will be open during the summer.
“We will be open in summer one and summer two, and we will open on the second day of classes for both semesters.” Rios said. “We do have limited hours during the summer. We’re less busy, and we offer fewer hours, but we will still be open, and people can check our Instagram and our website to keep up with the hours of availability that we have.”
