Tiger Inn member Jeremy Green '01 recently enlisted the help of 11 other members of T.I. and the Ivy Club to provide English-as-a-second-language tutoring to members of the two clubs' kitchen and house staffs

Every afternoon in Tiger Inn's library, members of TI and Ivy Club rendezvous with members of the kitchen and house staff, not for eating, drinking or making merry, but rather to teach English as a second language to Spanish-speaking staff members.

TI member Jeremy Green '01 organized the tutoring program last month to help eating club employees hone their English skills.

Green said the program aims to help the staff members master the English language. "The people whom we are tutoring come from various levels of English," said Green, who taught English through Community House for three years. "We want to give them a sense of confidence and to make them feel more comfortable with the language."

The tutoring takes place one-on-one for an hour every afternoon. There are currently 12 student volunteers and six staff members participating in the program. The sessions consist of conversations, reading and learning from workbooks.

"We do this every day of the week between 3 and 4 p.m., which is the only hour they have off [from work]," TI member and volunteer Nellie Bardenwerper '02 said. "It's great they're willing to spend it with us learning English."

TI president Tanner Powell '02 said many University students volunteer to teach English-as-a-second-language programs, but this is the first time the program has moved to the eating clubs.

"This is something that has always taken place within the SVC, but usually between members of the town and community and students," Powell said. "The initiative here was to extend it to the staff of the eating clubs and to actively involve the [club] members in this program."

Lauren Silva '02, who also volunteers as a tutor, said she has enjoyed working with the staff.

"Its nice to get to know the staff on a different level," she said. "Now when I see them I can talk to them. I have been talking to one 40-year-old woman whose children grew up here and know English, and she said she is really happy to be learning it too."

Bardenwerper said she thinks the tutoring program will improve the reputations of the clubs. "The clubs are so often portrayed as antiquated and bad for campus," she said. "This is good for refuting that to some degree."

Green echoed Bardenwerper's comments. "I just hope that people realize there is a lot more to the eating clubs than Saturday nights," he said.

Powell said he is pleased to see TI involved in a community service program and looks forward to continuing the effort.

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"Unfortunately, community service is sometimes overlooked at the club, and we haven't always had the best record of it," Powell said. "This is really a great opportunity for members to give back and provide an excellent service for those who do so much for us on a day-to-day basis. We will definitely continue it in future years."