YSU's Long Night Against Procrastination helps spur studying for finals

Youngstown State University’s academic and student support services host the campus’s first Long Night Against Procrastination 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1 in Maag Library.

The free event is geared toward YSU students seeking to jump start their studying for finals or to wrap up their end-of-semester projects.

LNAP started in Germany several years ago and has spread to universities across the globe. The event at YSU, held in conjunction with the International Write-In, is among more than 75 planned at colleges and universities Nov. 29 and Dec. 8. Students are invited to bring their own laptops or utilize a computer in Maag Library for #IntlWriteIn.

LNAP is funded in part by a mini-grant from the Office of Assessment awarded to Carly Carcelli, English graduate student, and Amanda Miller, NEOMFA student. As YSU Writing Center graduate assistants, Carcelli and Miller heard about the event and wanted YSU to also provide an opportunity for students to come together to work on final assignments. “Enthusiasm for the event grew quickly as we invited other campus participants,” Carcelli said.

Joining the Writing Center to offer peer tutoring will be the Math Assistance Center, Center for Student Progress (Chemistry), ConneX lab (Communications) and the peer leaders from the FYE courses. All walk-in tutoring sessions will be in Maag Library for one-stop support when students have questions on writing, math, chemistry, presentations and more. As usual, Maag Library will have reference librarians available on the main level, plus support for creating and editing audio and video files in the Multimedia Center on the third floor.

First-year students should stop by the Selfie Station to meet First-Year Experience Director Karen Becker. The English Language Institute, also based out of Maag Library, will host a study session beginning at 5 p.m. for students who will be taking the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) the following week.

Every good study session needs some break time, so the Maag Café, operated by Chartwells, will stay open until 6:30 p.m. Then students can meet Student Government Association representatives and enjoy coffee, cookies and cocoa in the lobby from 7 to 9 p.m. Students, faculty and staff can wrap up the night with a Meditation Mindfulness Group X class hosted by Campus Rec in Maag Library at 9 p.m.

“We are hoping that this will be such a successful night that the university hosts it not only each fall but also each spring semester,” said Miller, who also runs a weekly creative writing workshop through the Writing Center. “We will be celebrating any participants of NaNoWriMo at 5 p.m.”

November is National Novel Writing Month, when writers are challenged to compose 50,000 words in 30 days. This was the first year that Maag Library was officially listed at nanowrimo.org as a Write-In location.

The Long Night Against Procrastination is also supported by Student Activities.

For more information, contact the Writing Center at 330-941-3055 or wcenter@ysu.edu.  Writing Center appointments can be made at ysu.mywconline.com.