When the United States government shut down on Oct. 1, Weinberg junior Marc Quintanar said he was sent home from his internship at the office of Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.).
The shutdown came after the Senate failed to pass a budget, specifically due to partisan disagreements over how to handle healthcare subsidies. As of Sunday, the shutdown has lasted 26 days, making it the second-longest shutdown in history behind a 35-day stretch during President Donald Trump’s first administration.
Nearly a month into the shutdown, some Northwestern students do not know specifically why the government shutdown has occurred. Others debate whether the consequences of a shutdown are worth the values either party is fighting for.
Quintanar said the community’s emotional reactions on both sides have resulted in more people reaching out to Durbin’s office. While Quintanar appreciates the increase in civic engagement, he said a government shutdown should not be the benchmark needed to inspire it. He said he hopes for bipartisan dialogue, especially as threats of government shutdowns have increased in recent years.
“It’s very much something that I think could be negotiated out of if either side is willing to,” Quintanar said. “The road we’re heading down is just going to lead to more shutdowns and headaches over the budget if they continue thinking the way they are right now.”
Weinberg junior Henry Fleck said he suspects that Republicans will get blamed for a shutdown, as oftentimes the party in power gets the blame.
But in this case, Fleck said it is the Democrats who are making the demand and preventing the GOP-supported resolution in the Senate from passing.
“I don’t think this is an issue where you can point to one group or one party and say this is entirely on them,” Fleck said. “There’s definitely some responsibility across the board.”
Weinberg senior Clark Mahoney said he expected the government shutdown to happen and was not surprised when it did.
Mahoney said since the Democrats do not have the majority in any branch of government, a shutdown was the only way to make a point.
“So many things that the Trump administration is asking of Democrats (is), frankly, unreasonable,” Mahoney said. “It’s inevitable that the minority party, with what little power we have, is going to fight back against that. One of our best tools is the government shutdown.”
For Weinberg senior and NU College Democrats co-President Adam Durr, the increased health care costs included in the resolution justify the shutdown.
Durr said since millions of people will be impacted by the changes in health care costs, he believes there is no reason why the shutdown is unwarranted.
“This is a fight worth having,” Durr said. “All of us should care about what happens to the people around us, even if this isn’t something that’s going to affect us directly.”
During a government shutdown, furloughed workers do not get paid until after the period is over. When the government reopens and the shutdown ends, those workers will be given back pay for the weeks missed during the shutdown, under a 2019 law signed by Trump.
Durr expressed concern for those living paycheck to paycheck during the shutdown.
“You’re seeing government employees who are going to like soup kitchens (and) food banks because they can’t afford to buy groceries,” he said.
Several students said they did not know much about the government shutdown, including Weinberg freshman Payton Swann, who said she learned of the shutdown more than two weeks after it began.
Because of a busy schedule due to midterms, Swann said she was no longer on social media. Since she gets most of her news from social media and hadn’t heard other NU students talking about it, Swann said she felt like she was living under a rock.
“I was disappointed in myself for not hearing about it,” Swann said.
Bienen and McCormick fifth-year Lily Lee said she and her friend group hadn’t talked about the shutdown, in part because they focus on other issues.
For example, Lee said her friends applying to Ph.D. programs don’t know if they will be able to get grants or scholarships, and international students are worried about getting jobs in the U.S. after graduation.
“There (are) other issues that students care more about or are passionate about that have a more direct link to students throughout the semester,” Lee said.
Communication junior Natalie May said she found the government shutdown to be less controversial than other subjects, leading it to get less social media attention.
Thus, May said, fewer people and students understand what’s going on.
“The shutdown doesn’t lend itself to flashy, shareable social media posts,” May said. “The reasons and the implications don’t end up on the forefront of people’s minds the way flashier subjects do.”
May said that deciding which party to blame wasn’t important, but rather whether what they are fighting over is worth the consequences of the shutdown.
“Politics are sensitive,” May said. “We don’t need to pretend they’re not personal. But being able to listen to opinions you disagree with, even opinions you hate, and respond in a reasonable and respectful manner is a skill that you will use for the rest of your life.”
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