Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Census on Campus: It's in our hands
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Contact for more information:
Wendy Knipe Bredhold Media Relations Specialist, News & Information Services 812/461-5259 The Census is to be filled out where individuals live for more than six months out of the year. Students who live on campus live at USI for nine months of the year. Everyone in the United States must be counted. This includes people of all ages, races, ethnic groups, citizens, and noncitizens. Amy Price, associate director of Housing and Residence Life, has been working with the local Census office to ensure that resident students are included in the count. "College is considered group quarters, like prisons and nursing homes," Price said. "Census forms are not mailed directly to the address." Instead, resident assistants will go door-to-door or gather residents together in group meetings to fill out the forms, a process which takes about two to three minutes. "There are seven questions on the Census," Price said. "Residents will fill them out, put them in envelopes, and give them to their RA's, and the Census workers will come pick them up." Housing and Residence Life staff will collect the forms during the weeks of April 5-9 and April 12-16. Why should college students fill out the Census? Check out Frequently Asked Questions about the Census on Campus. Brian Posler, assistant provost for undergraduate studies, said that while Census data determines the amount of federal funds that flow into a municipality, the single most important reason to fill out the Census is representation. "States that grow faster will gain representation in the U.S. House of Representatives," he said. "Over time, states in the Midwest and Great Lakes have tended to lose representatives to faster growing areas in the West and Southwest. There have been declines in the Northeast and Midwest and gains in other states. "If Indiana doesn't do a good job of counting residents, we are at risk of losing additional representatives to faster growing areas, and that diminished voice costs us in innumerable ways on every vote that Congress takes. It's clearly in Indiana's interest to make sure we count all the residents in the state accurately." Posler said that the private sector also uses Census data in determining where to locate facilities. "Community profiles get used by all sorts of companies to decide where they want to locate and why. Those profiles include quality of life data that gets at more than just who are you and where do you live. A healthy growing community that has the right sort of skilled workforce will be very attractive to firms looking to expand. "Students are well served if there are more jobs and more companies that are here looking for them." Census data also bolstered the argument to create the University of Southern Indiana. Community leaders cited the educational levels in this region compared to other parts of the state. "That's now part of our story, the extent to which we've helped this region achieve its higher educational goals," Posler said. "Census data helps us understand our impact." The U.S. Constitution requires that a national Census be conducted every 10 years. If you have questions, call Price at 812/468-2000. |
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