In 2011, it is the norm for students to bring laptops to class, log onto Facebook while struggling to write an essay, and keep their cell phones permanently secured in their back pockets. But from Friday at 6 p.m. to Saturday at 7 p.m, a group of students is attempting to challenge our technology based lifestyle for a day, declaring those 25 hours to be Wesleyan’s “Day of Unplugging.”

According to WSA member Frank Fineis ’13, who recently joined the committee of students dedicated to the effort to disconnect, the Day of Unplugging is an opportunity for students to connect with each other more personally, without the interruptions of technology.

“Friday night, you’re chilling in a friend’s room, and there’s always at least a few kids who are just texting,” Fineis said. “I’m excited to maybe see certain elements of that gone.”

According to Fineis, the effort to unplug is also tied in with a larger community service project. This week in Usdan, the Day of Unplugging team has been collecting donations to help rebuild the Oddfellows Playhouse, whose roof collapsed last week under the weight of snow and ice.

“We have 90 shirts thanks to generous donations [coordinated] by Rabbi [David Leipziger] Teva, ResLife, and a couple of other sources,” Fineis said. “They say ‘unplugging’ on them. If you choose a donation of what you think is appropriate, maybe four or five dollars, we’ll give you a shirt.”

In addition to the community service effort, Day of Unplugging will also include a variety of other activities to keep technologically deprived students entertained. Students are planning a potluck for all Day of Unplugging participants complete with music and other festivities, two meditations (one at 1 a.m. on Friday and another at 11 a.m.), and a special Shabbat service to celebrate the event.

However, not all students plan to participate in Day of Unplugging.

“I honestly wish I could do that, but I just don’t think I can,” said a freshman male who requested anonymity. “I could fast for a day. I could go without food for longer than could go without a cell phone. I’m not proud of this. It’s just the truth.”

Still, others are excited about the day, but for a different reason.

“What I’m hoping for is that enough people will be off the Internet that I can watch TV online and have it load,” said Anya Morgan ’14.

Regardless, many are eager to experience the new kind of personal connection that they believe the Day of Unplugging will offer.

“I lost my phone for a few days the first semester,” said Zach Burns ’14, who plans to unplug on Friday. “I’d go to Usdan not knowing who I was going to eat with, and then I’d meet these amazing people.”

“I feel like I’m a slave to my iPhone, to my computer, to the Internet, and to texting,” Fineis said. “If I really want to talk to someone [during Day of Unplugging] I can just go up to them and do it. I’m excited to see how it happens.”