On March 12, East Campus Writing Center and “The Community Paper” co-owner and editor Nick Georgoudiou hosts “Typewriter Tuesday”. The event will give students the opportunity to learn about and use a technology long lost to the generation of computers and smart phones. Georgoudiou says, “It’s about seeing someone who is a writer not being able to edit, having that thought process change.” Valencia College students will be able to sit and type out letters while revisiting the joy of analog composition. The Writing Center will be on hand to help coordinate the project and share their student services. While some are familiar through New Student Experience orientations, there are a number of services the center provides outside of editing research papers.

While his collection started in 2016, Georgoudiou says he’s lost count of the number of typewriters he now owns and has gotten the moniker of “The Typerwriter Man”.  People have started donating or giving him new additions to his growing collection. “I got my first typewriter, because I wanted to write analog Yelp review. I wanted to give five-star Yelp reviews as a card and mail it to them. It became content creation.” He explained he wanted to center back on the gratitude of the use of typed letters and now provides this opportunity for students.”

Georgoudiou has helped community members with writing “thank you” letters to volunteers, staff and performers. He explained that “people lose their minds” when they receive a typed message. He guaranteed a heart-felt cry from a mother when handed a thoughtful type-written letter. Georgoudiou also participated in the monthly “Sunday in the Park” at College Park on March 10. He light-heartedly explained, “We will be giving children no-frame lens and turn them into junior journalists.” Participants will look for clues around the event space and report on their typewriter as the old school journalists once did.

Keeping to that same tone, he also dissuades certain application of typewriters citing recent meme-worthy viral videos of college students bringing manual typewriters to class when an instructor prohibits laptops. “If someone wants to borrow a typewriter to use in a class where they aren’t allowed computers, I don’t encourage that.”

The Writing Center

Students may make their way to the East Campus Writing Center through the Learning Support Center first floor entrance and to the left. Located in Bldg 4, the office hosts a number of tutors to assist in composition of assignments. However, what many don’t realize is that the services provided are exponentially greater. Receptionist Yan Miranda explains, “I think you can’t blame students for growing up with tools like Spell Check and the next step is AI, or artificial intelligence, writing a paper for them. They aren’t learning, they are just getting information. Oftentimes, that information is incorrect.”

As an in-person center, students get experienced, human and qualified tutors, some former English Composition professors. “They are teaching you skills that you will use for your college and career,” said Miranda. Tutor Yogini Joshi, UCF ’09, is a former EAP Adjunct Professor. Joshi observed, “Understanding the student’s need and being open about it is a tutor’s focus; they come asking so many questions, so it’s important to understand what it is they want from you. It’s not just about fixing a term paper, but about becoming a better writer. They can take something from the Writing Center and use it again and again.”

Services from the Writing Center include writing consultation, speech lab, group project spaces, presentations, professional letters such as resumes and scholarship applications, as well as organization station to help with planning. “In the beginning of the semester, students came to get help with FAFSA appeal letters,” explained Miranda. Tutors offer invaluable experience having the knowledge to know what and how most documents should look as well as formatting in writing styles such as APA, MLA and Chicago.

“It’s a very friendly space, we have a nice view and offer coffee or tea while they are writing. The staff is really friendly; once a student has worked with a tutor, they will come back and request the tutor.”

When asked how the Writing Center planned to help with typewriting enthusiast Nick Georgoudiou on Tuesday’s typewriting event, Miranda said, “People are on their computers or on their phones; not writing pen to paper. We had an event last month writing Valentine’s letters. These events help to encourage students to be creative and just gets them to write,” said Miranda.

For those students looking to avoid the risk of plagiarism, work hands-on with skilled tutors, and gain lifelong skills, visit the  Writing Center and come out to the Mall area on March 12 for Typewriter Tuesday.