Up All Night... Tonight!

Image provided by the Centre for Writers

Kristin LaGrange is a Peer Tutor with the Centre for Writers and is one of the organizers of the U of A's Long Night Against Procrastination.
_____________________________________________________________________

I think what I’m anticipating most this semester is my all-nighter. 

Having a plan is important, going into a school year, and in my four years of undergraduate studies at the U of A, I have learned that imposing a limit on myself to stay awake for longer than 24 hours only once per semester is probably the best for my grades — and my health. That being said, it’s not a rule I came up with in order to plan to have to stay up all night: it’s simply a limit placed for fear of the worst. 

This semester though, I’m staying up all night long on November the 6th (yes TONIGHT!), and it’s for the benefit of not only myself, but you — yes, you, dear reader.  And I encourage you to do the same: plan to stay up all night with me, my coworkers and some of my favourite professors in Rutherford Library South for the Long Night Against Procrastination! 

So, what is the Long Night? Since a large part of university/college student culture revolves around the lack of time that we have for the completion of assignments amongst all our other involvement, the Long Night AGAINST Procrastination aims to capitalize on that  motivation stemming from “working better under pressure” and celebrate those people who think and work more effectively in the dead of night.  The Centre for Writers (C4W) staff is beyond excited, having received support from a huge number of sponsors including the University Provost, the Students’ Union, and the Graduate Students’ Association, so that we can extend our services for an additional 12 hours of one-on-one session time with a wide variety of our tutors.  The same thing is also happening at a half-dozen other universities across the country, so we can look forward to the company of other studious night owls for the evening.

Having worked with such a diverse group of writers at the Centre in my two years as a Peer Tutor during what I typically refer to as “regular people hours”, I’m excited to see both fresh and familiar faces at my favourite place on campus for this giant study party.  In addition to my regular duties as a tutor, I have also become one of Dr Moussu’s minions: attending classes outside of my Beartracks schedule to tell people about it, handing out posters and pinning buttons onto all of my friends to keep this monumental Thursday fresh in their minds — along with the daunting of the November stretch of midterms and projects. 

I find that the best way to approach that last gauntlet of papers, exams, and projects is to start off strong, and build momentum from there.  The Long Night should not be missed. If only to take advantage of yet another opportunity for free food on campus — but also the free support, free info and workshops, free and valuable experience in learning that you will experience with us.