Merchant Marine Academy reopens after shutdown
Midshipmen march down Brooks stadium during the viewing parade as the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy welcomes 237 "plebe candidates" of the Class of 2017 into the Regiment of Midshipmen during the acceptance day ceremony held on the campus in Kings Point on Sept. 7, 2013. Credit: Steve Pfost
Classes will resume on Monday for the hundreds of students at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point who were on an extended early fall break due to the partial government shutdown.
Academy employees returned to work beginning Thursday, a day after lawmakers struck a deal to reopen the government. Students are expected to begin returning to campus beginning this weekend.
Classes stopped for the students, who are naval reservists, on Oct. 1, and the students have been on an extended early fall break since Oct. 4. The academy, run under the federal Department of Transportation, was the only one of the nation’s five service academies that did not receive funding to reopen during the shutdown.
