The Oct. 1 shutdown resulted from disagreements over healthcare funding, with Democratic legislators wanting to extend tax credits provided to low-income Americans through the Affordable Care Act. Republican lawmakers prefer instead to pass a funding bill first and then discuss healthcare negotiations. Democrats were also opposed to the planned Medicaid cuts that passed as part of the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” act in July, which Republicans argue were necessary to reduce federal deficits and cut waste.

Ultimately, with no funding bill or continuing resolution passed, the federal government entered a shutdown.

“The GOP shutdown will have devastating effects on workers, small businesses and families throughout our state,” said Gov. Kathy Hochul last week in a press release. “Washington Republicans need to do their damn jobs, actually stand up for the people they serve, and come to the table to end this shutdown.”

Initiatives like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that provide food to low-income families will have their funding paused, with WIC projected to quickly deplete its remaining funds. WIC provides 450,000 infants, children and pregnant mothers in New York with nutrition services and healthy food. (4) The suspension of this program may result in the loss of necessary aid for these people, according to Rep. Josh Riley, who represents New York’s 19th congressional district.

Applicants for federal housing and small business loans could also face delays, while those in rural areas eligible for mortgages through the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be unable to access loans during the shutdown. If the shutdown persists, Riley warned about delays in the development, rehabilitation and refinancing of homes.

Mayor Jared Kraham said that this shutdown has instilled a sense of uneasiness within the local community.

“You have agencies that can’t respond to emails, you have funding requests and grant programs that are going to be slowed down, and it sends a terrible message for our local economy, for confidence in people making investments,” said Kraham. “And then, practically speaking, things like federal Income Housing Tax Credits, which are really critical to funding affordable housing in Binghamton, get delayed.”

“Governments need to work for the people,” he continued. “These U.S. agencies and our federal tax dollars should not be used as political pawns and should not be used in service of one party over the other.”

Some Binghamton University students have also expressed discontent over the shutdown and concern over the negative impacts many Americans may face.

“This is not a time for lawmakers to play political games,” wrote the BU College Democrats in a statement to Pipe Dream. “Americans, including those living in Binghamton and across New York, rely on measures like the healthcare subsidies provided by the Affordable Care Act to receive critical medical care. Republicans must stop refusing to fund healthcare that Americans need and instead help Democrats pass a bill that will actually help their constituents.”

The College Democrats also emphasized the importance of students staying informed about their congressional representatives’ actions leading up to the 2026 midterm elections.

The shutdown has gone on for over a week, with the solution to the deadlock remaining unclear. The White House website has a stopwatch currently posted to keep track of how long the shutdown has lasted, claiming that “Democrats have shut down the government.”

“We’ve seen gridlock in Washington,” said Kraham. “What we have never seen before is the White House use government agencies that are supposed to represent all of the American people as a political weapon against their opponents. The White House is doing that.”

The podcast, titled “The Wellness Couch Podcast,” features various guest speakers and aims to support healthy living and student wellness on campus. The first three episodes featured guests from the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, the Office for Student Transition and Success and the Dean of Students CARE Team. Students can view these 25-minute episodes, which will be put out twice a month, free of charge.

“We came up with the name ‘The Wellness Couch Podcast’ because our focus is all about wellness, and we want every listener to feel excited about being the next guest to sit on our ‘wellness couch’ and share how they’re incorporating wellness into their lives, academics, and student organizations,” wrote Chanel Jones, moderator of the podcast and mental health specialist for B-Healthy, in a statement to Pipe Dream.

B-Healthy was founded in 2012 with the goal of “making Binghamton University the healthiest campus.” According to its website, the initiative aims to foster an environment that supports the health and well-being of individuals and groups. The podcast launch follows the implementation of other B-Healthy initiatives such as Wellness Challenges, the Move Your Way program and free access to safe sex kits and menstrual products.

“Our goal is to meet students where they are, whether driving to class, hitting the gym, or walking across campus,” Jones wrote. “Wherever you are, you’ll have access to episodes that spark reflection, inspire growth, and encourage you to ask important questions about your wellbeing and your future.”

The podcast’s opening episode focused on putting “a personality” behind the University’s on-campus resources. Guest speaker Jennifer Weiss, a senior student engagement specialist at the Fleishman Center, guided students through the opportunities and resources the center provides and the benefits of understanding career options on well-being.

“This was a great platform to highlight the incredible resources and dedicated staff we have, and I would love the chance to do something like this again in the future!” Weiss told Pipe Dream in a statement.

Inspiration for the podcast came to Jones during a tabling session, where she discussed a B-Healthy project with an off-campus partner that encouraged students to journal their thoughts. The partner told Jones that her daughter records her reflections on audio rather than writing them down. She then suggested that Jones create a podcast for students.

In the second episode, mental health took center stage, with coordinators from the Office for Student Transition and Success as podcast guests. The episode focused on managing “crash outs” and ways students can manage stress and navigate their semester to get ahead of deadlines.

Looking to the future, Jones told Pipe Dream she wants to expand the listening audience and spotlight student-run organizations.

“In the coming months, we’re excited to host listening parties across campus, in the residence halls and the Union, where students can gather, enjoy snacks, listen to our newest episodes, and join in meaningful dialogue afterward,” Jones wrote. “We also plan to feature more student organizations, giving them the opportunity to share the incredible work they’re doing on campus and highlight how they are prioritizing wellness as student leaders.”

“Overall, we’re eager to see the podcast continue to grow, gain popularity, and make a lasting impact across campus,” she continued.

This celebration of culture provided students with information about Quimbamba and its history on campus and introduced attendees to the vibrant, unique styles of Latin dance. The informational session was headed by Jermelys Meyreles, president of Quimbamba and a junior majoring in psychology.

Founded in 1970 and chartered in 2013, Quimbamba performs at events and competitions at BU and other campuses. In the spring, the team hosts El Polvorín, a dance competition where teams from across the state travel to Binghamton to perform.

After the informational sessions, members explained and showcased the choreography to interested students. Attendees were invited to embrace Latin culture and enjoy the process of learning something new.

“We just wanted to have our people come in and embrace their culture and have fun celebrating with people who also love their culture, and enjoy good food while doing it,” Meyreles said.

The lesson highlighted merengue, a dance originating in the Dominican Republic that combines African, Spanish and Indigenous cultural influences. A dance as diverse as its people fit the aim of the lesson —sharing and celebrating culture.

Members of Quimbamba instructed attendees to perform parts of the team’s previously showcased choreography. The lesson portion of the event was open to beginners and punctuated with lighthearted humor as everyone spun around the room. Many of Quimbamba’s dancers stepped in and helped attendees with the choreography.

Throughout the lesson, attendees were carefully guided through the intricate steps of the choreography. With each segment, the dance fell into place as the music played through the room.

Zaret Cruz Brioso, head of fundraising for Quimbamba and a sophomore double-majoring in politics, philosophy and law and Latin American and Caribbean studies, led the counts for unfamiliar students. However, the event emphasized enjoying the experience over perfect footwork. The lesson showcased the power dance has to bring communities together.

“Dance is not only just a fun thing to do, or you only do it because you’re good at it,” Brioso said. “Dance is kind of a part of your heart. Even if you’re bad at it, you still get to connect with people and be the social being that we are supposed to be as humans.”

After the lesson, students enjoyed food catered from La Isla, including plátano maduro, pollo al horno, bistec encebollado and moro. Everyone was encouraged to grab a plate and partake in Latin and Caribbean food that is often absent from dining halls. The event exemplified a tight-knit community welcoming new members.

When it comes to cultural diffusion on campus, the Multicultural Resource Center holds weekly events embracing different cultures and provides a space for members of different communities to work, study or get together. Members of Quimbamba described the center as “welcoming” and a multipurpose area that students may not be aware of. Kayla Colon, a coordinator at the MRC, said that the center plans to host other events celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.

However, these events do not simply cease after four weeks. The Multicultural Resource Center organizes events throughout the entire year to celebrate all cultures. Students are encouraged to bring their own experiences to these events and help develop the blossoming diversity on campus.

“If there’s something else that you want to see, or your own culture represented that you feel like isn’t represented yet, anyone can come to us and be like, ‘I want to see this happen,’ and we’ll make it happen.” Colon said.

More than 150 people came to the United Presbyterian Church of Binghamton on Thursday to listen to four panelists: Hussein Adams, executive director and CEO of the American Civic Association; Zachary Ahmad, senior policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union; Luna Azcurrain, jail visitation project coordinator at Justice and Unity in the Southern Tier; and Dara Silberstein, attorney, associate research professor and program director of Binghamton University’s department of women, gender and sexuality studies.

The discussion was moderated by Rev. Kimberly Chastain, pastor and head of staff at the church. Panelists and local community members discussed the growing debate in the community over Sheriff Fred Akshar’s participation in ICE’s Warrant Service Officer program and the quality of life for arrestees in the county jail.

“There have been examples of U.S. citizens being profiled or wrongly detained, unlawfully detained, by ICE for periods of time before being released,” Ahmad said, referring to nationwide reports. “We are really seeing an out of control immigration enforcement regime.”

The panel discussed the 287(g) agreement signed by Akshar’s office in March, which allows state and local law enforcement “to serve and execute administrative warrants on aliens in their agency’s jail,” according to the program’s website. Akshar, who signed the agreement on March 10, told Pipe Dream at the time that only the corrections division would serve these warrants to “lawfully detained adult individuals within the correctional facility.”

In a fact sheet, Akshar stated that the correctional facility’s budget would not change due to housing ICE detainees and that the federal government pays the county $110 per detainee per day. He also stated that officers would receive the necessary training to execute these warrants from ICE.

Azcurrain, a senior double-majoring in sociology and Latin American and Caribbean studies, works firsthand with the detainees and raised concerns she had with the program’s implementation.

“This is very financially beneficial to ICE specifically, because they reimburse us half of what it costs to hold somebody at [Broome County Jail], which is $110,” Azcurrain said. “So, they’re only paying $110 and the county is paying the other half. So, not only are we paying to help detain these folks, but we are also now paying to have more staff.”

More staffing is needed because of the increase in detainees since the agreement’s signing, according to Azcurrain. Many of the new detainees arrived elsewhere in northern and central New York. She also claimed that the correctional facility lacks adequate translation resources, making it difficult for detainees to attend court hearings, contact their families, or file grievances with the sheriff’s office.

Adams said the town hall was a “great first step” and encouraged attendees to continue speaking out against ICE activity locally and nationwide.

Ahmad then highlighted the “New York for All” act, a proposed state bill that would ban 287(g) agreements in New York and forbid state, local and law enforcement officials from collaborating with ICE. California and Washington state have enacted laws restricting certain officials from working with ICE and inquiring about residents’ citizenship status. Vermont, Illinois, Oregon and Colorado also placed limits on authorities enforcing federal immigration law.

He encouraged residents to contact their state representatives and urge them to pass the bill.

“New York state and the counties and the cities can all draw a firm line in the sand and say we’re not going to be complicit in what’s going on,” said Ahmad. “We’re not going to share information with ICE. We’re not going to hand people over who are in local custody into ICE custody.”

Both the state assembly and senate versions of the bill, first introduced in January 2021, currently sit in committee. While labor unions and state legislators have voiced support for the measure over the years, it has never made it to the floor.

Akshar’s office pushed back against some of the claims made by Thursday’s panelists.

“Despite these repeated falsehoods, our BCSO team has been crystal-clear with our community from the start,” Akshar said in a statement to Pipe Dream. “The BCSO’s specific participation in the 287(g) program has zero impact on immigration enforcement in Broome County or any other community. Their false claims are easily disproven with even the simplest look at immigration enforcement in communities nationwide.”

The panel came three days after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted an injunction placed by a federal district court that prevented immigration officers from stopping people in the Los Angeles area if those stops were based on any of the following factors: an individual’s presence at certain locations like bus stops, agricultural sites and car washes; “the type of work one does;” “speaking Spanish or English with an accent;” and “apparent race or ethnicity.”

The ACLU argued the court’s decision would allow ICE to investigate individuals on the basis of race or spoken accent. The Department of Homeland Security hailed the ruling as a “major victory” and claimed the federal government enforces immigration law “without fear, favor, or prejudice.”

“Our sheriff’s office is participating in the systemic racism that the Supreme Court has just allowed to continue,” said Silberstein. “It’s really important to understand that many of the kinds of structural inequities that have existed in policing in general are now being extended through ICE.”