You normally don’t think of Grand Forks, N.D., as cutting edge, but a tradition at the University of North Dakota has migrated southeast and found a home at Kent State University.The third Kent State Study-a-Thon drew more than 450 students to the Student Center on Sunday for an all-day cram session ahead of this week’s final exams.The idea originated with Bath Township native Kevin Papp, who has a friend who attends North Dakota. After the friend told him about end-of-semester study marathons there, Papp hooked up with fellow Kent undergrad Alexa Ohlson (North Royalton) and organized the first KSU session in December 2010.Attendance grew in the spring, when they switched the designated day from Saturday to Sunday, and this fall things really took off.The ballroom of the Student Center was maxed out for much of the day, and students were taking advantage of several other locations set up around the building.While the students were cramming their minds, they also were cramming their mouths. At 50 minutes past each hour, they got a 10-
minute break with a different free food, ranging from substantial (subs, pizza) to snacks (Jell-O blocks, popcorn, cookies and milk), sponsored by various school and student organizations.The breaks also included prize drawings for small gift certificates to places such as Starbucks, Chipotle and Subway.After the doors opened at 10 a.m., the first few hours were slow, with the biggest surge coming between 2 and 10 p.m.Things were going smoothly late in the afternoon. “Everyone seems to be in cruise mode right now,” Papp said. “But as the hours wind down, it starts to get a little more stressful.”Papp, executive director of Undergraduate Student Government, was expecting a mass migration when the session ended at 11:30 p.m., as many die-hards planned to head across the plaza to the library, which stays open all night.