{"id":222349,"date":"2026-05-06T19:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/222349\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T19:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:43:08","slug":"petition-calls-on-st-johns-to-reverse-decision-to-relocate-universitys-writing-center-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/222349\/","title":{"rendered":"Petition calls on St. John\u2019s to reverse decision to relocate university\u2019s Writing Center \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over 600 people have signed an online petition<\/a> calling on St. John\u2019s University to stop the \u201cdisplacement and downsizing\u201d of the university\u2019s Writing Center, which provides students with free consultations to assist them with written assignments.<\/p>\n

Employees at the Writing Center said they were informed on May 1 that the center would be relocated to a \u201cquiet study area\u201d behind the Einstein Bros\u2019 dining area on the St. John\u2019s campus, which employees said would impact the visibility of the center\u2019s services.<\/p>\n

Owen Taylor, a St. John\u2019s student who launched the recent petition, claimed the relocation would \u201cgreatly reduce foot traffic\u201d at the center because students would find it much more difficult to locate the facility, which has received over 1,600 unique visits during the ongoing academic year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalk-in appointments are a primary service of ours, and increased difficulty in locating the center would put a major dent in our service output,\u201d Taylor said in the petition.\n<\/p>\n

St. John\u2019s University pushed back strongly, stating that the relocation of the Writing Center is part of a three-year strategic plan focused on three critical areas. The first area of that plan aims to implement a new academic advising model for all students, an enhanced structure for \u201cat-risk students,\u201d university spokesperson Brian Browne said.<\/p>\n

Browne added that a new blended model of academic advisement will take place at the St. Augustine Hall space currently occupied by the Writing Center. Browne further stated that the relocation would not impact the services offered by the Writing Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe University Writing Center offers students support throughout the writing process by scheduling one-on-one consultations with student writing consultants,\u201d Browne said in a statement. \u201cThe Center is also used for meetings and event space. The relocation space, although slightly smaller, will continue to offer the same engaging opportunities for our students and community members.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that the decision came after several focus group discussions among undergraduate students.\n<\/p>\n

But students and faculty pushed back against the move, stating that it would have a detrimental impact on the services offered by the Writing Center.\n<\/p>\n

The online petition, which has received 636 signatures at the time of writing, said access to the new location is extremely limited. The petition states that students and faculty are required to pass through the Einstein Bros\u2019 dining area in order to reach the new location, stating that the dining area is congested at all times of the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the Writing Center were to be relocated there, the traffic would consist of: Einstein Bros\u2019 customers, students seeking to use the bathroom, students looking for printers, students using elevators, students looking to access the University Learning Commons, and the University Writing Center\u2019s clients,\u201d the petition states.<\/p>\n

The petition further argues that the new location would downsize the Writing Center to a space roughly half the size of its current capacity, impacting the ability of the center\u2019s 26 employees to provide one-on-one consultations and other services.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe structure of the quiet study space aligns with the name itself, it is a secluded, largely window-less squared surface that promotes an isolated, independent and silent environment. All adjectives which are contrary to the Writing Center\u2019s core collaborative, lively and community-based activities,\u201d the petition continues.<\/p>\n

The petition alleged that all 26 Writing Center employees learned of the relocation shortly before noon on May 1, with a team of designers showing up within an hour to start the redesign process.\n<\/p>\n

David Farley, an associate professor at St. John\u2019s, also alleged that faculty and writing staff at the university only learned of the relocation early on May 1.\n<\/p>\n

Farley and St. John\u2019s faculty are currently locked in a dispute<\/a> with St. John\u2019s after the university\u2019s President Rev. Brian Shanley announced in February that St. John\u2019s would no longer recognize the long-standing faculty unions. The St John\u2019s chapter of the American Association of University Professors and the Faculty Association recently filed an unfair labor practice charge against university leadership over the issue.<\/p>\n

Among other issues, faculty and students have claimed that the move would lead to program elimination and \u201cacademic contraction,\u201d with opponents claiming that the move will prevent faculty from having a voice in academic decisions at St. John\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Farley said the university\u2019s decision to relocate the Writing Center is \u201cemblematic\u201d of the kind of decision making that would take over at St. John\u2019s if the faculty loses its voice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect to see more and more of this,\u201d Farley said. \u201cAdministration can also expect to see more and more turnout and pushback from faculty, and now from students as well, who are intimately aware of what the loss of this beloved space means for the St. John\u2019s community.\u201d<\/p>\n

St. John\u2019s has maintained that the decision to end union recognition was necessary to advance the university\u2019s \u201corganizational mission.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will allow St. John\u2019s the flexibility required to innovate while continuing to support our faculty and, most importantly, deliver on our promise to our students,\u201d a university spokesperson said in a statement in February.<\/p>\n

The decision would allow St. John\u2019s to remain \u201csteadfastly\u201d dedicated to its Catholic and Vincentian mission, the spokesperson added.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the landscape of higher education undergoes a profound transformation, our commitment to providing an exceptional and sustainable educational experience consistent with our mission requires us to be agile and innovative.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an updated statement on March 11, a St. John\u2019s spokesperson said the university was working directly with its faculty and adopting a \u201cdirect-engagement model that is the standard for the overwhelming majority of universities nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over 600 people have signed an online petition calling on St. John\u2019s University to stop the \u201cdisplacement and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[87488,61574,9,24,63,3616,122,124,123,13630,87489,12668,87490],"class_list":["post-222349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-david-farley","tag-faculty-union","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-petition","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-st-johns","tag-st-johns-aaup","tag-st-johns-university","tag-writing-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}