The 2010 national census was mailed out by the National Census Bureau on March 15, the results of which will determine the amount of House of Representatives seats each state gets in the 2012 elections. Although April 1 is National Census Day, the census form encourages citizens to return the form the day it is received.
“Students make up a good portion of the U.S. and we only conduct a census once every ten years. In order to get accurate information on ourselves we have to fill out the census,” Jose Ramirez, finance major, said.
Since 2000, the census has been changed so that every household will receive a short form. For the previous census, one in six households received a long form which asked detailed questions about a household’s economic and social standing. The 2010 version only contains one page, consisting of ten basic questions.
“The 2010 census took me less than five minutes to complete, including putting it back in the envelope,” Dr. Kathe Lowney, professor of sociology, said.
In addition to gathering
information about the number of people per household, the 2010 census form also asks about a person’s race, ethnicity, and living conditions.
“Meaningful data can be collected by identifying ethnicity. It’s a fact that people of different heritage have different views and lead different lives. If all the information was gathered without knowing the ethnicity, I think the data would be inaccurate,” said Ramirez.
Since 2000, the State of Georgia has been experiencing steady population growth. On the State of Georgia’s website, Gov. Sonny Purdue, asks all citizens to fill out and return the census as soon as possible, so that Georgia can receive accurate representation.
With the current economic situation in Georgia, Dr. Lowney feels that it is important that each student fill out the census.
“Georgia appears to have been growing in population size over the last decade, so if the census count shows that, there could be legislative and economic results from that account, so students, take the time to fill out the form,” said Lowney. “It is our duty, I feel, once every ten years, to stand up and be counted.”