The government shutdown on Monday closed many federal services across the country, and affected multiple areas of Georgetown, including research, student activities, and career services.
In general, the effects of the shutdown have either been minimal or are not yet apparent for most of campus. Potential impacts to federal funding for scholarships and grants, which concern many, will not be immediate. Pell Grant money, for instance, has already been distributed for this academic year.
“Fortunately, when it comes to student financial aid, those services are for the most part functioning with external contractors,” said Scott Fleming, Associate Vice President for Federal Relations. “At least 90 percent of all the student loan proceeds that students expect to get this semester have already been drawn down.”
Additionally, in a press release published on Sept. 27, James Runcie, chief operating officer of Federal Student Aid under the Department of Education, wrote, “While our federal offices would be closed during a federal government closure, the majority of our Title IV processors, contact centers, and Web sites will remain operational.” Title IV refers to legislation that authorizes federal student financial aid programs.
Even though the University does not expect research funding to be affected either, certain research proposals might have to be delayed until the government reopens.
“NIH [National Institutes of Health] and NSF [National Science Foundation] have notified us that they have disabled their electronic research administration systems so that any proposal deadlines that occur during the shutdown are postponed until the Government reopens,” wrote Rachel Pugh, director of Media Relations, in an email to the Voice. “If you have a proposal due during the period of the shutdown, NIH and NSF will adjust the submission dates once they reopen.”
Student activities are funded by the University and have seen few effects. However, Georgetown University’s men’s and women’s crew teams use the Thompson’s Boat Center, a building owned by the National Park Service, as their main practice and storage site. After the government shutdown, which halted funding for the National Park Service, both teams were no longer be allowed to use the boathouse, disrupting regular practice.
“We can take our equipment out of the boathouse, but we can’t take it back [in] once it’s out,” men’s crew head coach, Tony Johnson, said. “So we’ll take some shells out on a trailer, drive them down on the Anacostia [River] and row from there on the weekends.”
Johnson explained that, for now, the crew team would be focusing on land practices. The team will predominantly be using rowing machines but will also be working on running and strength training.
“We’re all trying to make use of the limited facilities at Yates,” said Brandt Witt (MSB ’14), a member of the men’s lightweight team. “The effect of the shutdown is that we’re missing out on very valuable time in the water.”
The most apparent effects may have been in career services for students looking to work in government. Georgetown’s Career Center, which was originally supposed to host government week from Oct. 7 to 11 with multiple career sessions on various government positions, notified students Wednesday evening that the events would postponed because “many scheduled panelists for Government Week are unable to participate in our events.”
In addition to the effects on campus, several students working as interns for the federal government were deemed as non-essential and furloughed from their duties. Essential functions include those that provide for national security and protect life and property.
“[I and other interns] are trying to get a full-time [job] offer and to do so, we have to work 280 hours part-time,” said Robert Anderson (COL ’14), who had been working with the General Services Administration and was furloughed on Tuesday. “But right now I can’t even go to work at all.”
However, other students who work for essential sectors of the government will continue to come to work.
“In our entire division, I only know of three lawyers and one paralegal who had to leave because of the shutdown. Most people here are working on some aspect of a criminal investigation, so things are at their normal pace for the most part,” Andrea Cohen (SFS ‘15), who interns at the Department of Justice, wrote in an email to the Voice. “Also, I don’t cost the government anything, so they’re more inclined to include me under ‘essential personnel’ for the criminal investigations.”
In the meantime, Mayor Vincent Gray has been trying to mitigate the consequences the District of Columbia will face in view of the government shutdown. According to Stephen Fuller, director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis, 60 percent of D.C.’s federal workers are expected to be furloughed. The local government is running on a contingency cash reserve fund, which is estimated to last for two weeks. On Sept. 25, Gray designated the entirety of the District government as essential, meaning all workers are staying on the job. If the Office of Management and Budget does not approve this designation, Gray’s action puts him in violation of the federal Anti-Deficiency Act, which could mean he sees fines, jailtime, or removal from office.
“The Mayor has told several reporters in the last couple of days that unless they come and arrest him, then the city is going to keep going,” Gray spokesman Rob Marus told the Voice.
