“If we don’t get what we want, one way or the other. Whether it’s through you, through the military, through anything we want to call, I will shut down the Government, and I am proud,” President Donald Trump stated last week in a meeting with Democratic leaders House Representative Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer.

So, why are we even looking at the possibility of the third government shutdown this year?

The president has mentioned a government shutdown in the event that he not receive appropriate funding for the building of a border wall.

On Thursday night, the house passed a bill that could potentially fund the president’s border wall. This bill is anticipated to be rejected once it reaches the senate for a vote. Its potential rejection could cause the president to follow through with his threat of a government shutdown.

How does this affect UNF students?

A government shutdown entails the potential cease of funding for a variety of University services, including grant and research funding, staffing for the Department of Education and updated data tied to federal programs. Data from the Education Resources Information Center, National Archives and the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not be updated.

Any students intending to travel during the potential shutdown should be wary of decreased presence of TSA and inability to receive any last-minute passports.

The Pell Grant and Federal student loans should be dispersed as usual, unless the shutdown lasts for more that a few weeks.

The last federal funding gap occurred on Feb. 9, 2018. The shutdown preceding this funding gap lasted for 69 hours in Jan of 2018.

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