College Towns Worry Students Will Not Be Counted in US Census
2020-09-14
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1The coronavirus health crisis has had an unexpected effect on an event that happens once every 10 years in the United States: the U.S. census.
2For example, Betsy Landin was listed by her parents on the 2020 census as living at her family's home in Phoenix, Arizona.
3But experts say she should have been counted in the city of Tempe where she goes to school.
4"We really didn't have any instruction or guidance at school about how to fill out the census," Landin said.
5The same thing happened to Betzabel Ayala.
6She was counted in Phoenix because she was living at home after the coronavirus shutdown of colleges around the country.
7The question of where to count off-campus college students in any census can be difficult.
8Parents often think their college-age children should be counted with them.
9Hundreds of thousands of U.S. college students are being counted for the 2020 census at their parents' homes or other places.
10These students normally live in non-university housing and are supposed to be counted where they go to school.
11Ames, Iowa is home to Iowa State University.
12The city has a population of 67,000 people.
13Officials are worried that if the 2020 census misses the more than 15,000 students who live off-campus, it could put the city's population count below 50,000.
14Some people say the coming undercount could harm college towns across the country.
15In some places with major universities, students make up as much as three-fourths of the population.
16Most people received information from the 2020 census in March.
17That is also when restrictions in much of the U.S. went into effect to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
18Many schools switched to online classes, causing many students to leave.
19The Census Bureau says college students should be counted where they would have been on April 1 if not for the health crisis.
20The Census Bureau sought the help of college administrators in getting lists of students who do not live on campus or have left town.
21But many universities did not want to take part because of privacy concerns.
22In addition, off-campus students at many schools are not required to provide information about where they live.
23A lot of what is provided by the schools is also missing important information, such as birthdates.
24That is from a report last month by the office inspecting the U.S. Census Bureau.
25The undercount problem, however, involves only students living off campus in non-university housing.
26The Census Bureau uses records supplied by colleges to count students living in dormitories or university apartments.
27But, off-campus students make up about 4 million of the 19 million college students in the U.S.
28That number comes from Dudley Poston, a demographer at Texas A&M University.
29State College, Pennsylvania is home to Penn State University.
30Twenty-five percent of students living in one neighborhood there answered the 2020 census either online, by mail or by phone.
31Douglas Shontz, a city spokesman, said the current percentage is much lower than the 60 percent who answered the 2010 census.
32With less than a month left until the census ends, the city has placed signs all over downtown State College.
33The city also spent $5,000 mailing out postcard reminders about the census to students who returned for the fall semester to off-campus apartments or fraternity and sorority houses.
34"We are kind of begging at this point for students to do the right thing," Shontz said.
35Steve Patterson is the mayor of Athens, Ohio.
36He said if Ohio University's graduating class of 3,500 students was not counted last spring, the city could lose $49 million in federal funding over 10 years.
37Across the country, students' answers to census questionnaires will affect how $1.5 trillion in federal money is spent and how many congressional seats each state gets.
38I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1The coronavirus health crisis has had an unexpected effect on an event that happens once every 10 years in the United States: the U.S. census. 2For example, Betsy Landin was listed by her parents on the 2020 census as living at her family's home in Phoenix, Arizona. But experts say she should have been counted in the city of Tempe where she goes to school. 3"We really didn't have any instruction or guidance at school about how to fill out the census," Landin said. 4The same thing happened to Betzabel Ayala. She was counted in Phoenix because she was living at home after the coronavirus shutdown of colleges around the country. 5Where to count students for census 6The question of where to count off-campus college students in any census can be difficult. Parents often think their college-age children should be counted with them. 7Hundreds of thousands of U.S. college students are being counted for the 2020 census at their parents' homes or other places. These students normally live in non-university housing and are supposed to be counted where they go to school. 8Ames, Iowa is home to Iowa State University. The city has a population of 67,000 people. Officials are worried that if the 2020 census misses the more than 15,000 students who live off-campus, it could put the city's population count below 50,000. 9Undercounting 10Some people say the coming undercount could harm college towns across the country. In some places with major universities, students make up as much as three-fourths of the population. 11Most people received information from the 2020 census in March. That is also when restrictions in much of the U.S. went into effect to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Many schools switched to online classes, causing many students to leave. The Census Bureau says college students should be counted where they would have been on April 1 if not for the health crisis. 12The Census Bureau sought the help of college administrators in getting lists of students who do not live on campus or have left town. But many universities did not want to take part because of privacy concerns. In addition, off-campus students at many schools are not required to provide information about where they live. 13A lot of what is provided by the schools is also missing important information, such as birthdates. That is from a report last month by the office inspecting the U.S. Census Bureau. 14The undercount problem, however, involves only students living off campus in non-university housing. The Census Bureau uses records supplied by colleges to count students living in dormitories or university apartments. 15But, off-campus students make up about 4 million of the 19 million college students in the U.S. That number comes from Dudley Poston, a demographer at Texas A&M University. 16State College, Pennsylvania is home to Penn State University. Twenty-five percent of students living in one neighborhood there answered the 2020 census either online, by mail or by phone. Douglas Shontz, a city spokesman, said the current percentage is much lower than the 60 percent who answered the 2010 census. 17With less than a month left until the census ends, the city has placed signs all over downtown State College. The city also spent $5,000 mailing out postcard reminders about the census to students who returned for the fall semester to off-campus apartments or fraternity and sorority houses. 18"We are kind of begging at this point for students to do the right thing," Shontz said. 19Steve Patterson is the mayor of Athens, Ohio. He said if Ohio University's graduating class of 3,500 students was not counted last spring, the city could lose $49 million in federal funding over 10 years. 20Across the country, students' answers to census questionnaires will affect how $1.5 trillion in federal money is spent and how many congressional seats each state gets. 21I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 22Mike Schneider and Anita Snow reported this story for the AP. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 23________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25campus - n. the grounds and buildings of a university or college 26dormitory -n. a building on a school campus where students can live 27demographer -n. a person who studies changes in population in human populations 28questionnaire -n. a document that asks people to provide answers to questions that are used to collect facts and opinions 29fraternity -n. an organization of male students on a U.S. college campus 30sorority -n. an organization of female students on a U.S. college campus 31We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.