At 6 p.m. Wednesday, students in Ladd Library鈥檚 Academic Resource Commons helped themselves to chai as they pulled out their books and opened Word docs on their laptops.
The Thesis Caf茅 was open for business, its goal to support any student writing a thesis, says Bridget Fullerton, assistant director of Writing at 乐播传媒.
鈥淲hether you鈥檙e communicating directly or just sitting next to each other, there鈥檚 support and power in being in a space with other writers and going through the process together,鈥� Fullerton adds. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 my job to facilitate that.鈥�
At the heart of the Academic Resource Commons is a large corps of students who support fellow students. (Theophil Syslo/乐播传媒 College)
"ARC will always be in my heart" is written on a window of the Academic Resource Commons in Ladd Library. (Theophil Syslo/乐播传媒 College)
Zofia Ahmad '19 of Palo Alto, Calif., and Kiyona Mizuno '18 of San Francisco, laugh while choosing a title slide for a class presentation. They are student managers of the Academic Resource Commons in Ladd Library. (Theophil Syslo/乐播传媒 College)
Students come and go on the stairway outside the Academic Resource Commons of Ladd Library.(Theophil Syslo/乐播传媒 College)
Conor Regan '20, Jacqueline Buonfiglio '19, Claire Sickinger '19, and Sara Buscher '19 study together in the Academic Resource Commons. (Theophil Syslo/乐播传媒 College)
The ARC and Thesis Caf茅 offer a 鈥渘ice environment,鈥� says Durotimi Akinkugbe ’18 of London, especially since the usual end-of-semester misery loves company. 鈥淚t helps to be with other people getting on with their work.鈥�
Fullerton, who earned a doctorate in writing and rhetoric at the University of Rhode Island, works with students in the humanities, social sciences, and interdisciplinary fields, helping with everything from formatting a table of contents to checking the clarity and consistency of a thesis argument.
On Wednesday, she sat with Chloe Oslin ’18 of Edmonds, Wash., who was working on her thesis on art history and criticism. Oslin鈥檚 thesis adviser, Erica Rand, the Whitehouse Professor of Art and Visual Culture, had recommended that she call on the caf茅.
鈥淏ridget helped me figure out the organization of the last chapter and what would give the most effective conclusion to my thesis,鈥� Oslin says. 鈥淔or somebody with that much experience to have a professional opinion on my writing is really cool.鈥�
Even the student tutors themselves say that the ARC鈥檚 helpful atmosphere is, well, helpful for them too. 鈥淚f I have a question about something I鈥檓 writing I can go to any of the tutors that are here and even sometimes the other students,鈥� says Claire Sickinger ’19 of Simsbury, Conn., who is a peer writing and speaking assistant as well as a peer tutor.
鈥淚 came here twice my freshman year, probably just for an hour. Now, I can鈥檛 even tell you how many hours I鈥檝e spent here this semester 鈥� it鈥檚 pretty cool.鈥�
The ARC home is in Ladd Library, but it was in action across campus Wednesday night. Three separate Peer Assisted Learning sessions for students in physics, biology, and chemistry took place in Carnegie Science, Pettengill, and Hedge Halls, respectively.
As the name indicates, the sessions are led by fellow students who know the material and are trained to help. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good way to get help outside of class with someone who has taken the course and knows the subject,鈥� says biology major Natalie Givens ’20 of Fort Collins, Colo.
Givens began attending sessions last year. 鈥淢y intro chemistry professor told me people who go to PAL sessions do statistically better on exams, so now I come pretty much every week,鈥� she says.
On Wednesday, she attended the Pettengill session for help in her cellular and molecular biology course, popularly known as 鈥渃ell hell.鈥� 鈥淭onight I came here to learn how to do serial dilutions because I don鈥檛 understand it. And I learned it!鈥�
