The Mt. SAC Writing Center acknowledges that rapidly developing generative artificial
intelligence tools are changing the ways that all of us interact with text. This has
and will undoubtably continue to present both opportunities and challenges to students
and faculty alike.
We want to take a moment to affirm that our central purpose at the Writing Center
is to build student confidence and skills in writing, reading, and thinking. We are
not here to police their writing or shame their processes, and this includes individual
choices made about engagement with AI. We acknowledge and are grateful to occupy such
a privileged space, and we also understand our precarious and fragile position at
our institution—one that depends on both our ability to earn and nurture student trust
and our ability to be good partners to faculty, staff, and administration. Therefore,
we want to declare our purpose as educators and be upfront that our intent will not
be to participate in reporting or punishment. We will seek honest and open conversations
and occupy a space of shared learning.
Lastly, our collective belief is in the power of students, their ideas, and their
abilities. We know that the skills of writing, communicating, research, and critical
thinking are critical, and it is our charge to help students understand this as well.
Therefore, we see our role in this conversation, for now, is to teach students to
value their own academic growth, build their own academic efforts, and respect the
boundaries on AI use that their professors and the institution ask them to adhere
to.
This is not the first time we have needed to adapt our practices, pedagogy, and principles
in response to changes in our world. It will not be the last. We are committed to
being a support and a champion of the Mt SAC students we are here to serve, and we
invite your questions and conversations in the hopes of continuing to adapt in informed
ways to our fluid academic landscape.
