Government Shutdown Affects University

Fair, club deal with lack of federal presenceMallory Miller Nick Ostiller THE SANTA CLARA October 3, 2013 [dropcap]W[/dropcap]ho knew a Congressional stalemate regarding Obamacare could influence a private institution like Santa Clara?Although the government has shut down due to discord in Washington D.C., people all over the country have felt the immediate repercussions of the decision.Several federally funded organizations canceled their scheduled appearance at Wednesday’s Fall Career Fair following the government shutdown earlier this week. The CIA, NASA and the Center for Disease Control were among the organizations that did not attend due to the lack of a budget resolution on Capitol Hill, according to Career Center Director Elspeth Rossetti.While the CDC, CIA and NASA were coming to campus to recruit potential employees, a branch of the U.S. Navy based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii was set to officially hire engineers during its visit. Now those students will have to wait, and perhaps reevaluate their plans following graduation.“It’s an indicator for students who might want to work in government,” said Rossetti. “They might think, ‘Is this really something I want to do?’”These organizations gave the university very little notice that they would not be making their scheduled visits at the Career Fair. It wasn’t until Monday — just hours before the shutdown went into effect — that the CDC and CIA notified the Career Center of their cancellations.The CDC, based in Atlanta, Ga., was set to make its inaugural visit to Santa Clara in response to the new public health major offered at the university. The CIA was going to be making its second trip to the Mission Campus.“As a political science major, it’s just really bad timing,” said senior Robbie Waddell.  The Career Center will send student resumes to the CIA, CDC and NASA so that those organizations can still reach out to perspective employees despite their absence at the fair.The government shutdown not only limited the number of businesses attending the Career Fair, but also affected the immediate and prolonged future of the Into the Wild outdoor adventure organization on campus. Into the Wild had planned to take 25 students on an overnight trip to explore, hike and camp in Yosemite National Park but was forced to cancel it after the government closed all U.S. National Parks as part of the shutdown.Into The Wild had already paid for the campsite in Yosemite, but the group is unsure whether it will be able to get its money back as the park’s website and communications have also been shut down.“I’m doubtful that we will get any kind of refund,” said Into The Wild President Dalan Angelo. “Even if we wanted to, there’s no person answering the phone or no real point of contact with this section of the government since the people who occupied those jobs are out of work.”However, a refund from the government isn’t Angelo’s main worry.“What’s concerning us the most is the fact that there’s no real end in sight,” said Angelo.Into the Wild has three other trips planned that may be in jeopardy depending how long the shutdown lasts.Contact Mallory Miller at memiller@scu.edu, Nick Ostiller at nostiller@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4849. Vishakha Joshi contributed to this report.