The United States government has been shut down for over a month, dominating the news cycle with stories of closed government agencies unable to perform key duties and furloughed workers unsure of when, or if, they’ll receive their paychecks.

For Central Connecticut history senior Josh Quintana, the news is his truth. He’s lost his job at the Department of Homeland Security and his mother has been furloughed from the Department of the Interior. The two, Quintana said, are now unsure of how to keep up with expenses.

“Because of the winner-take-all mentality that permeates current political discourse, Americans like my mother and I are out of work and wondering if we will be able to make ends meet,” Quintana said. He’s already looking for new employment and is expecting his last paycheck next week; his mother most likely won’t receive her furloughed pay without congressional intervention.

From Quintana’s point of view, President Donald Trump and the Republican party are to blame for the shutdown and him being laid off from the position he’s had for seven months.

“It’s an entirely avoidable mess that highlights the incompetence of this administration, and more importantly, the incompetence of the Republican Party and American conservatism,” Quintana, who considers himself a Democrat, said. “This shutdown was entirely avoidable, only the president’s weakness made it a reality.”

Student Government Association Senator James Angelopolous is of a similar mindset. Leaning Libertarian, the history-Arabic double major has family members that work for the National Park Service and are “not enthused by the lack of payment for their work.”

“I only pray that the shutdown ends soon, as many in my family see this as a political move by Republicans to keep their right wing president in office come reelection, as it is the major focus of Trump’s campaign,” the junior said.

“We find that, whatever side of the political spectrum you are on, that the wall should be dropped for the sake of the country and national interests,” he went on. “Not to mention that even if the Republicans wish to keep their party in the executive position, they should stop this move for a wall and try to push for consolidation and recovery of the federal workforce.”

The shutdown has cost Trump his approval rating. A NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that the president currently stands at 39 percent, down 3 percent from last December, and that support within his own base is slipping. Furthermore, a Washington Post/ABC News poll saw 42 percent of Americans wanting the wall as of January 2019, but 53 percent blaming Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown.

But SGA Senator Justin Boutin, a political science senior who is center-right, thinks that both sides are at fault.

“While it’s not the ideal way to achieve border security, I do think it is important to have a secure border and to stop illegal immigration. Trump and the Democrats need to stop playing games and come together to craft a sensible compromise,” Boutin explained.

Counseling in Higher Education graduate student Gaby Bierwirth, a moderate/centrist, believes so as well, saying that “no matter what side you’re on, we are all currently losing.”

“Everyone knows how the president feels about the wall, and yet because of the stubbornness on both sides, 800,000 nonessential workers are currently out of work and it can now directly affect some of our own students who are just trying to get their educations,” Bierwirth commented.

It is unclear on when or how the shutdown will end. Democrats have rejected Trump’s offer of a “three-year extension of protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients” and “[extended] protections for 300,000 recipients of the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program,” refusing to fund his $5.7 billion wall in exchange, according to Fox News. Trump, on the other hand, isn’t backing down from the wall.

At the very least, the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system is willing to assist students caught in this fight, with President Mark Ojakian announcing aid in an email.

“We must recognize that the federal shutdown has potential to cause real pain for some of our students, our staff and their families, and we as educational leaders must do everything in our power to help wherever we can,” Ojakian wrote.

CCSU students affected by the shutdown should contact the Bursar’s Office by calling 860-832-2010, via email at [email protected] or by visiting their new location at Willard-DiLoreto Hall, Room W212.