April 15, 2010

  

 

 

Just how important is filling out that pesky 2010 Census survey?
By: Roykeisha Rockette

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I am sure everyone, by now, has received a census form in the mail. If you have not heard about it yet, it is not just an annoying survey that you want to throw away. It is actually very important. The census form is used to count the population of the United States. This is only done every 10 years, so read this article carefully.

This year the census has a budget of $15 billion. The results from the 2010 Census will have a tremendous impact on our school programs and government funds. But we have to do our part to make the most of these results.

How do we attempt to direct government money if we are not in a powerful senator’s position you ask? We attempt it by filling out the census.
The government cannot help you if they don’t know you are there. For instance, if there are 16 million college students in America, but only 13 million fill out the census form, then the government funding is only based on that 13 million who did their part and filled out the census—or encouraged their parents to fill it out.

When you think of something that is intended to count the population, you would probably think of some long 100-question survey “getting all up in your business.” No, divide that by 10. Yes, only 10 questions on the census. This means that it should take no more than ten minutes to sit down—if you wish to sit—and answer the questions.

The Census Bureau is obligated to keep information private. In a recent New York Times article “Counting America,” written by Patricia Smith, the result of giving away information on individuals is heavy jail time. Also according to Smith, the census results are used to distribute up to $450 billion dollars in federal aid.

That amount of money can be used to save students from getting in loan debt. These federal funds will definitely help many people.
“I think the census is important because we need to know how many people are in America so we can better serve the people,” said Cortney Richardson, a General College major at Northwest.

Not only does the census help the federal aid, it will also help the economic cycle. It should help many businesses prosper also.
“When Wal-Mart tries to figure out where to open their next store, they’re probably analyzing census numbers. When McDonald’s decides to introduce a new breakfast sandwich, they’re likely using census data to determine which part of the country is most likely to buy it,” explained Smith in the Times article.

Educating our student population on the importance of the census is key to its success.

“At first, I had no idea what the census even is. I now see how important it is and will definitely fill out the survey,” said Christine Garner, a sophomore General College major from Horn Lake.

At Northwest, U.S. Census workers were on campus April 8. “They came and stuffed packets for all of our resident students,” said Aime Anderson, director of Campus Life and Housing.

“The supervisors distributed the packets, and the workers returned to campus April 13 to collect them.”

For more information concerning the Census on Campus, visit the Web site: http://2010.census.gov/campus.

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