Sick, delirious, and tired

For the past week, I suffered from a case of the dreaded swollen gland virus. The doctor prescribed Augmentin to cure my sickness, but I ended up experiencing an allergic reaction to the medicine (I'll spare you the grotesque details), and as a result, my condition worsened. While my friends enjoyed their drunken adventures on Saturday night, I enjoyed a four- star stay at St. Peter's Hospital (Oh yeah!) I'm now on four prescriptions, but I shall stop my self-loathing. On the green and grassy side of the fence, I may actually quit smoking this time around. Anyway, my delirium helped me (believe it or not, my brain works in weird ways sometimes- the gift and the curse of an English major) think about the different topics we discussed in the Writing Center staff meetings over the past few weeks. As a tutor who always wants to help people, what happens when I feel I cannot? I encounter this problem not only with certain ESL students, but with students who struggle greatly with the writing process. When a student becomes aggravated, how can I help him/her alleviate their stress? What techniques can I use? Most of the time, I can calm the student down and encourage him/her to keep trying, but what can I propose in severe cases, which require more than just my advice and wisdom? Any suggestions? Excuse me for any grammatical errors (ha ha), I'm delirious right now.

A question to think about for Wednesday's staff meeting- With all this talk about democracy, and its relevance to the Writing Center, if your were the UAlbany Writing Center flag, what would you look like (Colors, images, slogans, etc.)? What would you want your message to convey?