After 43 days the federal government finally reopened, marking it the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Although the shutdown mostly affected federal employees, it also affected local areas, including students at Valley.

“My mom works for the federal government,” sophomore Violet Baylus said. “She was working without pay for a while so we had to be careful on how we spent our money. We didn’t know how long it would take for the government to reopen, so it was a bit scary.”

Students have also noted the government shutdown as an educational lesson.

“I think the shutdown taught me so much about how the government actually works,” junior Sajjad Raheen said. “I learned about how the government actually shuts down, and what each branch of government plays in this process.”

Students have also noticed that it started affecting their everyday life. For a lot of the students, the shutdown was a time of confusion and learning. Some families faced financial pressure, and some took it as a learning experience. 

“I was supposed to visit the Air and Space museum with my family,” sophomore Isabella Stubbs said. “I was really looking forward to it but when I found out it was closed due to the shutdown, I was shocked because I thought it was going to only affect federal employees receiving their paychecks.”