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Program Spotlight: Print Futures

Part two: the cohort effect

By Monica Rolinski,
Contributor

A promised in my last
article, “In Plain Sight,”

examples are being gathered of
how and where Print Futures
students have left their mark
on Douglas College. They will
appear in The Other Press in the
beginning of April with my
third and final article of this
series.

In the meantime, I'd like
to share with you what I think
is the most amazing element
of this two-year program: the
phenomenon of the cohort
effect. Oxford defines a cohort
as a group that is banded
together in a common cause.
The cohort effect has long been
the focus of much sociological,
psychological, epidemiological,
and political attention—that’s
some big time attention! There’s
definitely more to the cohort
effect than simple collaboration.

We all began as strangers,
nervously introducing ourselves
around the room during our
first class. We were encouraged
to talk about what brought us to
the program and what we hoped
to become as a result. Every

one of us wanted to be a writer,
but it seemed we weren’t sure
how to successfully bring our
desire to the world. From the
start it was clear that we were a
practical group with concrete,
feet-on-the-ground thinking.

The transition from “I” to
“we” was imperceptible. One
of the ways it happened was
during group exercises, where
we were tasked with things like
interviewing each other. The
first few times this assignment
was introduced, a collective, yet
quiet, groan rippled through
the class. But we did as we were
asked and over the months,
talking about ourselves to each
other got easier. The group
projects and collaborative work
drove our transformation from
strangers to cohorts as we all
moved forward through this
engaging, transformative, yet
challenging program. Within
weeks, we were cheering each
other on. Somewhere along the
way we had banded together in
a common goal.

Some days it was nothing
more than keeping the printer
going by making sure the paper
tray was full. I can close my
eyes and see the synchronized
dance that so often took
place in our workroom as
we proofread, printed, and
stapled assignments together.

The common experience of
seemingly insignificant things
like a jammed or empty stapler
made us cohorts as we dug
through backpacks and pockets
for paperclips to offer each
other.

Our common goal of
becoming professional writers
became our bond. We shared
exhaustion, uncertainties, and
the occasional meltdown. We
shared successes and victories.
We even shared the odd lunch
on some of our excursions to
the local pub. We bowled (oh
yes we did), played pool, and
drank together. We watched our
families grow and celebrated
community successes.

Now we are pulling out all
the stops and putting on our
portfolio show. We're tough,
talented, and ready. We are the
2013 Print Futures: Professional
Writing grads. As former Print
Futures student and 2008 grad
Duncan MacKinnon said, “It’s
writing boot camp.” That makes
us writing boot camp cohorts.

Read more from Duncan and

15 other grad students from
previous years at Ask a Grad on
the Douglas College website.
http:/ / www.douglas.bc.ca/
programs/ print-futures / for-
applicants/ ask-a-grad.html

DOUGLASCoOlLEGE

Welcome

 

 

and ease all in one dish

By Aidan Mouellic,
Contributor

here are not a lot of
foods that can pass
for an acceptable meal at
breakfast, lunch, and dinner,
but crepes are one of them.

Crepes: taste, nutrition,

 

Long-considered to be merely
dessert or quick Parisian food
cart fare, the quintessential
French food has much more to
offer and should be considered
one of your culinary staples.
The dish is easy to make—
from the moment the thought
of eating enters your mind to
the moment you are eating the
crepe, only 15 minutes should
have elapsed. The recipe
demands nothing exotic,

Campus Cuisine

unless you wish to go over the
top and garnish your crepe
with something fancy like
bourbon or pear chutney. The
beauty of crepes lies in the fact
that they’re nearly impossible
to mess up. You can use your
imagination to make your dish
unique. If you think it would
taste good inside, throw it in!
For breakfast, add
scrambled eggs to your cooked
crepe. For lunch, throw some
ham and cheese inside, and
for dinner add some chicken
and spinach. For dessert, you
can’t go wrong with Nutella
spread all over those layers
of goodness. The options are
endless and almost always
delicious. You can buy a
special crepe pan and tools,
which do help, but these are
not a necessary part of the
crepe experience.

Ingredients:

1 cup of flour

2 eggs

1 cup of milk

Dash of salt

2 tablespoons of melted
butter

Throw all of the
ingredients into a big bowl
and mix until the consistency
is fluid. Then find a big wide
pan and spread a thin layer
of batter on the hot pan. Let
it cook until you get big air
bubbles, then flip. You will
likely mess up a few until
you find your technique, but
don’t give up! Add your filler
food while the crepe is still on
the pan, close the crepe over
the filling, and before it all
burns—serve it up!

Yield: About six large
crepes

 

Photo courtesy of David Ascher (Flickr)

 

 

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