Another casualty of the coronavirus is the Close Up / USET Impact Week program, which had been scheduled for March 16-19.

The good news is that it is tentatively rescheduled for Sept. 27-Oct. 1, according to the Close Up Foundation.

The cancellation has impacted students and parents who were looking forward to attending.

According to Alvaro Perez, CSSS assistant director, students who attended in previous years were hoping to build on their knowledge and re-connect with other participants.

“I’m disappointed,” said Chandler Demayo, a senior at Nova Southeastern University School who has attended Close Up for four years. “I understand why they did it and completely agree that we have to take this seriously. We have a lot of people at risk on all the reservations. I guess they wanted to keep us safe since we are the future of the Tribe.”

Close Up is designed for high school students, so Demayo isn’t sure if he will be eligible to attend in the fall.

“This will be the first time in the history of the USET Close Up program that we don’t attend,” Perez said.

The Tribe pulled out of Close Up a week before it was cancelled by the Close Up Foundation and USET.