Shutdown Affects Academy Outings

The United States government screeched to a halt at midnight on Tuesday after Congress could not agree on a new spending plan for this fiscal year. The government shutdown closed all national parks and services, and its impact has extended to the Academy community.According to The New York Times, an estimated 800,000 federal government workers, whose positions are considered non-essential to maintaining public health and safety, have been furloughed.These government personnel include those who work at national parks and reserves, causing nationwide closures. History and science instructors have cancelled or adjusted trips due to the shutdown.The history department had planned a day-long faculty retreat to Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, MA. The instructors were planning to learn about the American Industrial Revolution and about the Lowell Mills, in addition to meeting and discussing curriculum. Since Lowell Park will be closed, the department has switched locations to Strawberry Banke, a historical site in Portsmouth, NH.Many of the instructors were looking forward to the opportunity to learn about the American Industrial Revolution on the trip, since Lowell offers more information about industrialization in the United States and the history of technology, according to history department head Meg Foley.

“I know that several people were really excited to see Lowell Mill,” Foley said. “I’ve heard from several people who are really disappointed to miss that, so I think we will try to reschedule that part as an optional group visit, maybe right after graduation.”

“I know that several people were really excited to see Lowell Mill,” Foley said. “I’ve heard from several people who are really disappointed to miss that, so I think we will try to reschedule that part as an optional group visit, maybe right after graduation.”Science instructor Richard Aaronian had to alter one of his Marine Biology class’ plans for a field trip on Tuesday to Plum Island, a national refuge. Aaronian had initially planned for the class to study the sand dune habitat at Plum Island, but instead the class visited Hampton Harbor to collect specimen.Aaronian waited until the last minute to reschedule the field trip. “I was going to wait until midnight, thinking that maybe something will change,” Aaronian said. “At 10:30 I thought, I’m not going to wait that long, and I decided to cancel and reschedule later this month, hopefully in a couple of weeks. It’s certainly the first time, I think, that a field trip has ever been cancelled because of government shutdown.”Upper Phebe duPont, who is enrolled in the Marine Biology course, said that the class was upset about the cancellation.“We had been anticipating the Plum Island trip for several weeks, and it was frustrating to have it cancelled so suddenly,” she said. “Although going to Plum Island would have required us to leave campus around 6 am, I think most of the class was looking forward to it. I think some classmates were relieved and grateful for the extra hour of sleep that the shutdown provided.”Senior Shelby Knauss, also in the class, was surprised that the national issue directly affected her life at Exeter.“When the government shutdown happened, I wasn’t incredibly affected by it, and I thought that this would not directly impact my life here at Exeter,” Knauss said. “But immediately I got an email from Mr. Aaronian saying that our trip had been cancelled. It was interesting to see how a national event like that affected life in the Exeter bubble.”Aaronian is planning on rescheduling the Plum Island trip to mid-October. As a result, the two sections of this class will not be able to take the field trip within a week of each other, thus making it necessary for Aaronian to adjust the curriculum for the class.The last government shutdown was in 1995 under the Clinton administration and lasted 21 days. Aaronian had a similar experience during that period of government shutdown.“My wife and I were going to take my parents to Liberty Park, because they came through Ellis Island when they immigrated from Armenia,” Aaronian said. “Fortunately, the night before, a friend from New Jersey called and said that the government’s shutting down and that’s a national park. We never would have thought of it.”