Students Panic Ahead Of Wikipedia Blackout: 'How Am I Going To Do Homework?'

"omfg NO wikipedia is closing tomorrow HOW AM I GOING TO DO HOMEWORK"

That question, posed by @LucieLovesYah on Twitter, is weighing heavily on students' minds this week following news that Wikipedia will black out its English-language pages for a 24-hour period beginning Wednesday morning. (@LucieLovesYah later wrote us to clarify that her tweet was sarcastic.)

The site's shutdown, which is intended as an online protest against the controversial Congressional bills known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), has students in a tizzy and altogether unsure how they can complete assignments without being able to access to the online encyclopedia.

Many have taken to Twitter with expletive-laden, 140-character rants bemoaning Wikipedia's upcoming blackout and the coursework chaos that will ensue.

"WIKIPEDIA, DON'T YOU F***ING DARE SHUT DOWN ON WEDNESDAY. I F***ING NEED YOU FOR MY PAPER," tweeted Hippopattimus. (Twitter user @Katienotopoulos has retweeted more than a dozen choice tweets by students who are in a panic over the online encyclopedia's upcoming protest. Take a look here.)

"FML, IF WIKIPEDIA IS GOING DOWN IM GOING DOWN WITH IT. ITS HELPED ME THROUGH EVEN THE TOUGHEST OF HOMEWORKS," wrote user @Mariellesmind.

When announcing the encyclopedia's plan to protest, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales warned students they should get a head start on their assignments.

"Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday! #sopa," Wales tweeted on Monday.

While some students are wrapping up work early in anticipation of Wikipedia's blackout (or even turning to books), others say they expect to hand in assignments after their due dates.

"I'm hearing #Wiki will have a blackout this Wed in support for #StopSOPA . I'll tell my profs that my paper will be a day late #thanks," tweeted @Pawleenc.

@Mattbockenfeld chimed in, "Well, with wikipedia going offline in 15 hours, all research for my paper is going to have wait... I think my professor will understand."

Libraries have been using Wikipedia's looming shutdown as an opportunity to woo people back into their shelves. The Arlington Public Library, along with Colorado's Bayfield Library, the University of Idaho library, and Ireland's Kerry County library, sent tweets encouraging people to consult their print and web resources.

Some on Twitter have chided students for their reliance on Wikipedia and encouraged them to do research the old fashioned way: with a book. The Washington Post has even posted a survival guide to the Wikipedia blackout (Tip #3: "There is this thing called a library").

"Tomorrow with WIkipedia down, our students will be thrown back on the mercy of that collection of errors called 'a library'." tweeted Swarthmore College professor Timothy Burke.

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Comments

[saaba]

10:08 AM on 01/23/2012

My child's teachers won't even allow them to use Wikipedia as a source when doing research since its not reliable. In fact, they are required to reference at least one book, magazine, or newspaper when doing a report. It should be part of the Common Core Standards that students be required to reference more than one source instead of becoming over reliant on the internet.

[PuertoRicanprincess]

05:26 PM on 01/21/2012

All i can do is laugh, hahaha, when i was younger, and i'm barely 22, I used what is called Encyclopedia, i had a set obviously, so if you are one teenager, buy one and actually do your homework.

[Tita Gee]

09:33 AM on 01/21/2012

What a shame that so many young people think that the information they receive on Wikipedia is correct. The really shocking thing is that their teachers accept that bad information. Why do so many educators allow their students to take what is considered the easy way out? It's not so easy always because not all of the information can be counted on. What happened to the encyclopedia and peer reviewed articles?

[Quis Custodiet]

03:55 AM on 01/20/2012

Uhh...by going to the library...?

...novel idea.

[Misty Joy]

01:36 AM on 01/19/2012

I think the most disturbing thing we've learned is how many people rely on Wikipedia instead of credible research. Most (not all, but most) of the information isn't properly cited and contains inaccuracies and yet this is what Students are using to do research? No, no, and no!

[Keegan Spraker]

08:47 PM on 01/18/2012

I am a student at a college in Chattanooga, TN. I found your article on students' response to Wikipedia's protest of PIPA and SOPA completely biased and shallow. You only showed the opinions of those lazy students who cannot accomplish homework on their own. I think it is wonderful that large corporations are standing up to this legislation that will make America's networks no better than that of China or Middle Eastern countries. I am sure there many students who would gladly sacrifice one measly day of Wikipedia use to help protect our freedom.

[John3905]

09:23 PM on 01/18/2012

Cannot accomplish homework on their own?

[Keegan Spraker]

09:56 PM on 01/18/2012

*without using resources like wiki

[Misty Joy]

01:41 AM on 01/19/2012

I have no problem with Wikipedia as a website but students should not be using it for research, period. If Wikipedia shut down for an entire school year just imagine how many students might actually learn something credible :O

[mknight3]

06:33 PM on 01/18/2012

Umm, go do your freaking research using reputable sources like books? The way normal people do?

[fem56]

06:12 PM on 01/18/2012

It would be a interesting experiment if they shut down for the whole semester. I remember reading about a student who said that writing a paper wasn't so hard-all he had to do was cut and paste. This was seen as positive since at least he was staying in school. There must be some other alternative.

[SpiralingDownward]

04:29 PM on 01/18/2012

Look, please don't associate these reactions with all of academia. I am a senior student at Boise State and never once has any professor ever allowed Wikipedia as a source for anything. Real students do not rely on Wikipedia except for entertainment or as launch pages. Maybe the younger generation is using this is a credible source (high school and younger) but once they hit the Universities they will find out while Wiki is usually accurate, it is not a credible source in any academic endeavor. Wikipedia made the right choice with the blackout, SOPA needs to be killed. Also, the semester just started, where is all the homework? I have none :).

[ondrey]

01:13 PM on 01/18/2012

This is a sad statement about the youth of today. Ironically , some are upset with the very organization that is protesting the possibility of government oversight ( SOPA/PIPA). It would be a shame if these students had to use a search engine to find the location of their local public library. Use Mapquest to find out how to get there. Google " How to find a physical hardbound encyclopedia" and " What is a Dewey Decimal System?". Finally, posting a pic of the library on their Facebook wall for their friends. Maybe tweet about the experience. I guess their homework will be late!

[sb1285n]

03:05 PM on 01/18/2012

Even without Wikipedia why would anyone go to a library? To search through books that are outdated in hopes of finding a paragraph or even a sentence that is directly related to the topic you are writing about. It's inefficient and a waste of time, and there are better resources out there, not including Wikipedia.

[pankate]

08:31 PM on 01/18/2012

A physical hardbound encyclopedia? Are you serious? What's the point? That's just inefficiency for inefficiency's sake. Just because it's the way research used to be done does not make it any better. There are a wealth of resources on the internet that are more reliable than wikipedia and more efficient than a physical encyclopedia.

[Srkdqltr]

01:12 PM on 01/18/2012

It is only 24 hours.... GAG .. (get a grip) Read a book ?? OMG

[Arturo Ramrez]

01:02 PM on 01/18/2012

I'm glad that Wikipedia joined the blackout, it should've been in all languages, though. Even if SOPA and PIPA are national laws, they would have an international impact.

[twizzle]

01:00 PM on 01/18/2012

The "Everyone Gets a Trophy" generation rears its ugly head again... Nice job preparing these kids for the real world. Maybe today is a good day for your first ever visit to the Library! I can recall going to several every time I had a term paper due. Guess they will have to actually type the words into the document instead of just cutting and pasting while plagiarizing.

[Chpach67]

12:26 PM on 01/18/2012

I guess for some students they can only strive to achieve a C or D effort on homework. The Wikipedia blackout is putting those students at risk.

[Quasi Libertarian]

11:50 AM on 01/18/2012

Heaven help us if these kids cannot live without Wiki......WOW

I didn't know that Wiki was the only online encyclopedia or source for information......


Try spending a couple of hours just finding a book with the data you are seeking then having to go through that book to find that little nugget.........That was back in the day we used smoke signals to communicate