On Friday, Oct. 10, students in AP Human Geography attended a field trip to Spectacle Island, an island off the coast of Boston partly managed by the National Park Service. Staffing cuts in park rangers, a result of the United States’ federal government shutdown, meant students and faculty took a very different trip than initially imagined.
AP Human Geography teacher Jennifer Devlin said, “We were supposed to have an educational talk led by rangers, but because the staffing has been cut due to federal shutdown we didn’t have that talk.”
Devlin said that once the History Department was aware of the shutdown, the Department called Spectacle Island in advance to work out an alternative plan for the trip. Without federal staff available, teachers from the History Department led their own presentations on the island.
Some students said the lack of park rangers affected their visit. Junior Owen Magee said, “My group never made it to the visitor center either, and I believe that could be attributed to the fact that we were lacking a qualified tour guide.” Devlin added that it would have been preferred to have experts leading the tour.
Junior Leyla Gustin noted that the self-guided tour that students participated in instead of a guided tour was still enriching, however it informed her on “how vital park ranges are because they dedicate so much time to conserving the land and educating the public.”
According to The Boston Harbor Islands website, Spectacle Island is facing programming issues because federally employed rangers have been furloughed. Government employees working on Boston Harbor Islands, including Spectacle Island, have been on furlough since Oct. 1.
At 12:01 a.m. EDT on October 1, the US declared a government shutdown for the first time since 2019, as Democrats and Republicans failed to agree on a bill funding government services. Since then, about 40 percent of the federal workforce has been on unpaid leave, according to the BBC.
Government shutdowns occur when congress cannot agree to pass budget legislation for the fiscal year, preventing the U.S. from spending money on federal government agencies until an agreement is met. Essential federal workers, such as air traffic control and border protection officers, must continue to work unpaid, while non-essential federal workers are placed on furlough. All federal workers are required to receive backpay once the shutdown resolves.
“For lots of people, the government shutdown is a place of deep anxiety and stress and hardship because it means missing work and missing pay,” said history teacher Jamie Bal.
Junior Aki Fujihira added that it is sad to see families who rely on the government for essential support struggle as a result of the shutdown.
Claudia Wu, Co-Director of the Center for Civic Engagement, said, “the longer it goes on, the worse it’s going to be for everybody.”
