ROWAN UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF WRITING ARTS
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The Writing Arts Club Brings Our Community Together, Even When We’re Apart - Diana DeSimine

4/24/2021

1 Comment

 
Picture
Before the pandemic, the Writing Arts Club was a flourishing in-person club, with weekly meetings taking place in Bunce Hall. This photo was taken at one of their last in-person meetings. Via @rowanwritingartsclub
It goes without saying how quickly the lives of Rowan students changed in March 2020. The rejuvenating Spring Break we were looking forward to turned into a lonely period of confusion and uncertainty. We came to learn that for the remainder of the year, there would be no more in-person classes, let alone in-person events or readings. Our expectations of what our college lives could be were suddenly uprooted.

And yet, the Writing Arts Club has remained afloat. 

This past year
’s Writing Arts Club e-board, comprising of President Eric Uhorchuk, VP Adam Goskowsky, Secretary Paige Stressman, Treasurer Madi Cook, Senators Bryan Best and Cole Goetz, and graduate advisor Thomas LaPorte, were faced with converting a once bustling in-person club into a fully virtual hang out. As students and professors alike learned to navigate the new normal of “Zoom University” over the rocky Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters, the Writing Arts Club reinvented itself, taking to a chat platform named Discord.

In the past, the club met weekly in Bunce Hall, focusing on collaborative story-telling and creating one big zine. Instead, for the Fall 2020 semester, members met for weekly voice chats. Shifting focus from the hard work of creating a zine, the e-board helped members develop their skills individually by shining a spotlight on new genres to play with each week.

​Just like old times, members had a chance to share their work, share praise, and share laughs. Even though members were separated by distance, there were still plenty of chances to collaborate and ask for help using different voice chat channels and texting. Plus, to de-stress from our scholarly burdens, the Writing Arts Club held occasional game nights, generating roars of laughter with games like Cards Against Humanity, Among Us, and Skribbl.io.

During Fall 2020’s virtual finals week, the Writing Arts Club took time to de-stress with a hilarious game of Skribbl.io.
For Spring 2021, however, the club has reinvented itself once again. With “Zoom fatigue” a growing concern among virtual learners, the Writing Arts Club set its sights towards larger, occasional events rather than weekly meetings. These have included a Romance Night in February featuring workshops on the romance genre, and a Story Battle where members took part in a hilarious and flurried competition of who could write the best original story. The Story Battle was a smash hit, with Tara Grier coming in first place with a wistful story of the relationship between a singer and a strange fan.

Their last big event of Spring 2021? A fully virtual Open Mic Night held on Zoom, co-sponsored by both Avant Literary Magazine and the Communication Studies Club!

The Open Mic, generating a large turn-out from members of all three clubs, was a heartwarming affair despite the virtual setting, featuring passionate performances from e-board members Eric and Madi, as well as from Avant leaders Hannah Tran and Dina Folgia. This is not to mention the awesome work that students Matthew Berrian, Joanna Flynn, Gunnar Griggs, Kelli Hughes, Daria Husni, Kaitlyn Kratz, and Michelle Seitz had the courage to share that night – so moving that even my painfully shy self felt inspired to share a poem of mine.
​​
Defying this past year’s difficulties, the Writing Arts Club has continued to act as a positive space at Rowan University, fostering a community grounded in creativity, encouragement, and support. Students of all majors and backgrounds are welcome to join in the fun of creative writing with the Rowan Writing Arts Club – and in spite of Zoom fatigue and distance, this writerly community is still going strong.
1 Comment
Michael link
10/12/2021 06:05:30 am

Great Article! Thank you for sharing this very informative post, and looking forward to the latest one.

Reply



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  • Home
  • Programs
    • Creative Writing Minor
    • WA Major
    • Minors >
      • Publishing and Writing for the Public
      • New Media Minor
      • Technical & Professional Writing Minor
      • Writing Arts Minor
    • Certificates of Undergraduate Study >
      • CUGS in Creative Writing
      • CUGS in Publishing and Writing for the Public
      • CUGS in Technical and Professional Writing
      • CUGS in Writing Studies for Educators
      • CUGS in Professional Communication
      • CUGS in Writing for the Environment
    • 4+1 (B.A.+M.A.) Program
    • Degree in 3
    • Graduate Programs
  • Advising
  • WA Major
    • Writing Arts Journey
    • Required Courses >
      • General Education >
        • Science and Mathematics
        • Social and Behavioral Sciences
        • Literature, History, Humanities, and Language
      • Introduction to Writing Arts >
        • History & Materiality of Writing
        • Issues in Writing
        • Technologies & the Future of Writing
      • Methods Choice >
        • Communication Theory
        • How Writers Read
        • Tutoring Writing
      • Creative Choice >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Writing Children's Stories
      • The Writer's Mind
      • Writing, Research & Technology
      • Literacy Studies >
        • Situating Writing
        • Writing With Technologies
      • Senior Seminar: Methods of Analysis and Evaluation of Writing
      • Portfolio Seminar
      • Free Electives
    • Elements of Language >
      • American English Grammar
      • Editing for Publication
      • Introduction to Anthropological Linguistics
      • Linguistics
      • Rhetorics of Style
      • Semantics
    • Concentrations >
      • Creative Writing >
        • Creative Writing I
        • Creative Writing II
        • Film Scenario Writing
        • Fundamentals of Playwriting
        • Magazine Article Writing
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Screenwriting I: Writing the Short
        • Screenwriting II: Writing the Feature
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Teaching the Writer's Workshop >
          • Publishing & Writing for the Public >
            • Applied Media Aesthetics: Sight, Sound and Story
            • Editing the Literary Journal
            • Environmental Writing & Rhetoric
            • Fiction to Film
            • Introduction to New Media
            • Media Law
            • Online Journalism I
            • Participatory Media
            • The Publishing Industry
            • Publication Layout & Design
            • Photojournalism
            • Professions in Writing Arts
            • Rhetorical Theory
            • Self Publishing
            • Writing for Popular Culture
            • Writing for the Workplace
            • Internship
            • Research Practicum
        • Writing Children's Stories
        • Writing Comedy
        • Writing Creative Nonfiction
        • Writing Fiction
        • Writing Genre Fiction
        • Writing Poetry
        • Writing the Young Adult Novel
        • Internship
        • Research Practicum
      • Technical & Professional Writing >
        • Developing Health and Scientific Literacy
        • Introduction to Technical Writing
        • Medical Writing and Rhetoric
        • Professions in Writing Arts
        • The Publishing Industry
        • Scientific Writing and Rhetoric
        • Tutoring Writing
        • Writing to Bear Witness
        • Writing for Nonprofits
        • Writing for the Workplace
        • Internship
        • Research Practicum
    • WA Learning Community >
      • Publishers
  • Internships
    • Internal Internships
    • External Internships
  • Careers
  • Faculty
    • Faculty Resources >
      • Best Practices in Online Learning
      • Syllabus Requirements
      • HyFlex/Remote Learning
      • Canvas Support >
        • Writing Comedy
      • Accessibility in Online Courses
      • Racial Equity Online
      • Supporting Developmental Writers Remotely
      • Building an Online Classroom Community
    • Acknowledgements
  • Blogs
    • Writer's Insider Blog >
      • Spring 2022 >
        • Writing Diverse Characters
      • Fall 2021
      • Spring 2021
      • Fall 2020
      • Spring 2020
      • Fall 2019
      • Spring 2019 >
        • An Interview with Devon James & Rachel Barton
        • Confession Travel Writer
        • Self-Publishing: A Change in Perspective
        • CCCA Career Fair: Having Your Future in Mind
        • Alumni Success: Entering the Working World
        • Behind the Scenes of Rowan's Hiring Process
        • Writing Comedy
      • Fall 2018 >
        • Singularity Press: Rowan's New Start Up
        • Writing Arts Club
        • How Can We Evaluate Creative Writing?
        • More Inclusive Events for Technical Writers
        • Guest Speaker Manuela Soares
        • Glassworks Reading
        • Spotlight: Taylor Henry, Recently Published Rowan Alum
      • Spring 2018 >
        • Publishing and Writing for the Public: A Reconstructed Concentration
        • What You Think You Know About Technical and Professional Writing is Wrong
        • The Toni Libro Medallion Award Winner: Myriah Stubee
        • An Interview with a Publisher
        • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Winner: Sara Skipp
        • The College of Communcation and Creative Arts 6th Annual Student Awards and Showcase Ceremony
        • Rowan Alum, Marissa Cohen, On Self Publishing and Advocacy
      • Fall 2017 >
        • Upcoming Classes in the Writing Arts Department
        • The Writer's Journey Blog by Earl Garcia
        • Rewriting The Department's Social Media Platforms
        • Rowan University Writing Arts Club Reinvents Mission
        • Glassworks Launches Issue Fifteen
        • For Futuristic Consideration: An Exploration of Careers in Writing
      • Spring 2017 >
        • Technical Communication: An Overview
        • A More Inclusive Future for Technical Writers
        • Easing the Tension: Breaking Down Technical and Professional Writing
        • Growing the Technical and Professional Writing Concentration
      • Fall 2016
      • Spring 2016
      • Winter 2015
      • Fall 2015 >
        • 2014 and Prior >
          • Archive
    • The Bulletin Board
    • RU Writing? Podcast
  • Creative Writing
    • CW Faculty Publications
    • CW Course Offerings
  • Writing Center
  • Alumni
    • Undergraduate
    • Graduate
  • Awards
    • 2022 Emerging Writers Scholarship
    • Denise Gess Literary Awards
    • Excellence in Writing Arts Medallion Award
    • AnToinette Libro Graduate Medallion Award
    • Past Awards >
      • 2008 Hollybush Writing Competition
      • Write Rowan, Right Now! Contest
  • Student Groups
    • Writing Arts Club
    • Avant Literary Magazine
    • The Whit Newspaper
    • Her Campus Rowan
    • Odyssey at Rowan
    • Singularity Press
  • Events
  • ECCCA
    • RU Deptartment of Writing Arts - Home
    • News & Announcements
    • Rowan University - Home
    • Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts at Rowan University - Home
    • Student Groups
  • About Us
    • Our Vision and Mission
    • Land Acknowledgement
    • Our Call to Action