Emily Cragerud and Katie Merz, Writing Program Co-Director Diane Kelly-Riley, President
Elson S. Floyd and graduate student Malcolm Oliver.
“Once I got past being nervous, it was great being able to express my views on the problem and to have such a positive response from President Floyd,” Cragerud said. “It was great to hear that the letter was making such a big impact.”
“I extend my personal congratulations to Katie, Emily, Graham and their teammates on their winning entries,” Floyd said. “It is energizing to see students get so excited about writing and demonstrate their skills in such compelling ways.”
Though more than 40 letters were submitted to the contest, the winning three were from teams of students in sections of English 402 (Technical and Professional Writing) taught by Donna Evans, a third-year doctoral student in rhetoric and composition. Evans encouraged her students to repurpose some research project proposals to fit the criteria of the “Cougs the Write Way” contest, which Oliver and other Writing Program administrative interns organized to celebrate the National Day on Writing at the end of October.
“I’m pleased and very proud that 10 groups of undergraduates in my two classes participated in the event,” Evans said. “They took research required in the course and gained real-world experience by entering the contest and telling the president about what, and how, they would like some things changed at the university.”
Each letter submitted to the contest by undergraduate, graduate or professional students was limited to 250 words. Letters had to relate to some aspect of WSU community life, identify and propose a solution to an issue, and convey the message “in a civil way.”
The winning letters addressed timely and diverse issues.
Cragerud, submitting a letter with classmates Jay Cadwell, Tyler Stearns, Zackery Butt, and Kenneth Schlaudraff, wants to reduce light pollution in the skies above Pullman, which “limits the amount of starlight that makes it to eyes of the stargazing community.”
“The greenhouses (on campus) hinder the observation of the most recognizable circumpolar constellations,” she wrote. “The light pollution also has a dimming effect on the rest of the viewable sky, making the observation of the planets, the moon, and other cosmic phenomena problematic. Other pollutants include the stadium lights and the streetlights that dot campus.”
In some states there are laws governing light pollution, but her team isn’t asking for that, she said. The members propose exploring the necessity of late-hour lighting of the greenhouses and stadium; replacing existing lights with more energy-efficient, cost-effective lights; having fixtures direct light downward; and replacing bright white lights with LED lights.
Merz, with classmates Andrew Robinson and Sarah Lyman, would like the university to support musicians and student bands by expanding Student Entertainment Board open mic nights.
They wrote, “Students and local musicians possessing an interest in music are not all being heard. What WSU students and Pullman residents are lacking is a way to hear and perform in an all-ages, non-competitive, supportive event that fosters the growth of the arts community that is currently suffering.”
And, Dart, with classmates Halloran Peterson and Normina von Sauer, discussed “the issue of renting in Pullman.”
“There are many tales of exploitation of tenants by their landlords, though much of the evidence is currently anecdotal,” they wrote. They propose an advocacy group “that will help tenants understand their rights and responsibilities.” The classmates are conducting an online survey to assess “the need among students for such a group.”
In addition to lunch and conversation with the president, the winning letters will be posted in the National Gallery of Writing (https://www.galleryofwriting.org/).
The WSU Writing Program specializes in teaching, tutoring and assessing writing in a learner-centered environment. It manages an average of 40,000 student help contacts yearly and serves students as well as the faculty that teach them.
It has been ranked among the nation’s top “Academic Programs to Watch For” by U.S. News & World Report for seven of the past nine years and received this year the “Writing Program Certificate of Excellence” from the Conference on College Composition and Communication.
In addition to providing peer tutoring services to students in person and online as part of a consortium, the program oversees WSU’s unique and renowned Junior Writing Portfolio program for all students.
