The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States, as required by the Constitution to occur every decade. More than $400 billion will be disbursed by the government to communities throughout the country, depending upon the answers received by the Census Bureau.
Be counted
The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States, as required by the Constitution to occur every decade. More than $400 billion will be disbursed by the government to communities throughout the country, depending upon the answers received by the Census Bureau.
In March, census forms will be delivered to every residence in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Students will only have to answer 10 short questions and mail the form back. If the forms are not received, students may get a visit from a census taker, who will ask the same questions in person.
The census counts all students, including international students, said Erika Nebel, an intern in Multnomah County Commissioner Deborah Kafoury’s office.
College students living on campus will be counted in either April or May. Students who rent an apartment or house will be mailed the form in March.
A single form may be sent to off-campus shared housing situations. In that case, it is important for one person to be designated the “head of household” and for everyone living in the home to be counted on the form.
Students living at home with parents should be counted on the form they receive at that house. If they do not live at home, their parents should not count them on the form they receive, Nebel said. “Being counted is really important for students because that means more money for [them]. The Department of Education uses the information [gathered for] the census to increase money allocated to grants and loans,” Nebel said.
If the total number of students is not recorded properly, the information might mislead the department of education to think there are fewer students, thus grant and loan budgets might not increase.
“If [students] are undercounted, that could mean a decrease in the amount of money students get when they file their Free Application for Federal Student Aid,” Nebel said.
The census also asks about ethnicity so that the diversity of the population can be tracked as the country grows from decade to decade.
“It’s really important for under-documented populations to be counted,” Nebel said.
Oregon could possibly gain an extra representative in Washington, D.C. because of this count.
The information received by the bureau will be kept private. No other government or private entity can gain access to the names and addresses of the people who fill out the form. This information cannot even be accessed through the Patriot Act.
Employers and landlords also cannot get specific information about how many people live in one apartment or house. The census does not ask about citizenship status. It does not differentiate between whether the person filling out the form is a citizen or non-citizen.
By law, census takers are not allowed to share the information they collect. Violation of this law can result in a fine of up to $250,000 or up to five years imprisonment.
