While the 2020 Census is being conducted amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many still face confusion on the importance of their participation, and exactly how to participate.
April 1 was Census Day, the deciding day of who the Census counts, and where they are counted, according to the Census Bureau. In other words, where one resides on April 1 is where they are counted.
According to USC professor Colin Miles Maclay, it’s in the best interest of every resident to participate in the census, as responses evaluate and eventually benefit the communities served.
“It drives about $1.5 trillion a year in Federal spending, over 300 programs use census data to determine allocations. It drives countless business and philanthropy and nonprofit decisions,” said Maclay in a phone interview. “So in terms of getting served, being seen, and having a voice, census is a hugely important tool.”
Maclay is an executive director of the Annenberg Innovation Lab. He said some groups are hard-to-count populations. Gen Z is an influential group that might be missed in the census counts.
“High school, college and recent graduates, being the largest generation, the most diverse generation, [are] hugely connected across all socioeconomic statuses via social media and to each other,” Maclay said. “They’re frustrated by what previous generations have done in terms of leaving the world in the state it’s in and [are] eager to make change.”
While Gen Z serves as a vital role in the 2020 census, individuals within this population may face confusion regarding how to address the census. Some people don’t understand the importance of responding to it.
“To be honest, given the current world climate, I don’t think the census is something that’s extremely urgent or important at the moment,” Trevor Gauman, a senior accounting major said in an email response. “That being said, I don’t think it has been marketed well either and I’m pretty sure most people wouldn’t have a clue what the 2020 census was if you asked them.”
Christian Reyes, a junior studying pharmacology and drug development, said he understands the census, but is not exactly sure how important it is.
“I would assume they just want to use it to see where the most need is in terms of income and access to resources,” Reyes said in a phone interview with Annenberg Media.
The census determines how the federal government allocates its money and how much seats each state has in the House of Representatives. Having a low response rate could lead to less resources for certain communities.
“It’s super important for each of our communities, for our regions, for the nation in a whole range of ways, including community health and well being, democracy and data so that we can be seen and heard,” Maclay said.
Reyes and Gauman are both in Los Angeles living in off-campus housing. Romano Orlando, a sophomore studying neuroscience and Italian, currently lives in the USC Village.
Students living in on-campus housing respond to the census differently. In fact, they don’t have to respond at all. According to the Census Bureau, such students are counted by their university or through a Group Quarters Operation.
Even if students are home on April 1 due to temporary school closures, they should be counted where they live and sleep most of the time, the Census Bureau said. Many students who have recently gone home to different cities, states and countries should be counted as if they were at school.
Students living in off-campus housing need to respond themselves.
Orlando said he was not aware of the complexities of how to be counted by the census, but also didn’t bother to find out.
“It seems so trivial to me, I spent my time doing other things,” Orlando said.
Orlando said he’s not the only one who was unaware of how the census works or how important it is for him. His response is typical of many of his other friends.
“It’s really not thought of that much by [college students],” he said. “Kids are focused on large [political] issues, but don’t take time to fill out the census.”
Despite some being unaware, as well, international students studying in the US are also a subset of the population that is being counted in the 2020 census.
“International students are also counted as residents?” said Yuefeng Zhang, a first-year student of doctor of dental surgery from China. “Wow, I didn’t know that”.
Zhang said he received the letter from the Census Bureau, but stopped reading it when he saw the word “resident”, as he thought it didn’t apply to him.
Grant Go, a sophomore economics major from the Philippines, said he understands the census, but because he’s been moving around a lot, he’s not sure how he's going to be counted.
After the university moved classes online for the rest of the semester, Go stayed on campus. He is now living at his aunt’s house in Thousand Oaks, but will be returning to the Philippines next month.
Go should be counted as living on campus because the census is counting people based on where they would be most of the time instead of where they are solely based on COVID19.
Situations like these add to confusion of filling out the census. According to the Census Bureau, if a student does not live at home with their parents for the majority of the year, they should not be counted in their parents form.
The short form of the census takes about 10 minutes to complete, according to the Census Bureau. It asks six population questions, such as race and age, and one housing question about whether the residence is owned or rented.
Most residences were mailed their census forms between March 12-20, according to the Census Bureau. These mailing include detailed information about how to complete the forms. Once the mail is received, they can fill out their census.
Residents can response to the census by phone, mail or online. Residents can respond online using this link. If responding online, the resident must complete the questionnaire in one sitting.
The 2010 census counted the US population at almost 309 million people. Nearly three-quarters of those who were mailed a questionnaire participated in the census.
Correction made April 4, 2020 12:26 p.m.: A previous version of this story wrote that Professor Colin Miles Maclay said it was in the best interest of every “citizen” to fill out the census. The story has been updated to instead use the word “resident”, as the census counts every person living in the United States, not just citizens. Annenberg Media apologizes for this error.