Reporter: Avery Green

There are a lot of things that students care about. The government shut down is not one of them.

Today I walked around Athens asking people two questions. Firstly, has the government shut down affected you or your family? Secondly, have you contacted your congressman or representative?

What I found was shocking to me: eighty seven percent of the students surveyed claimed it was not affecting them or their family.

But, some say it has affected their homework.

One student said, “The web site was down, so I can no longer complete this project. Which I am happy about.”

But, local people in Athens are being affected.

An employee of the CDC said, “I got an email from my boss, Sunday night, saying don’t come to work because the government shut down”

Other people were worried about the parks being closed. A tourist from Ireland said ” I was supposed to go to Yosemite next week with some friends. And now, it’s apparently closed down.”

One of the strongest opinions voiced today was, “Its embarrassing to be an American.”

Some of the stronger responses to the survey where,
“It’s pretty annoying how our government can’t handle its finances.”
” I’m kind of embarrassed for America. But, it hasn’t affected me personally besides blowing up my twitter feed.”
“Keep it shut down until both sides give up something.”

If the shut down is affecting you, please contact me at agreen@uga.edu