Get Counted: SDSU Community Encouraged to Participate in the Census
Students are encouraged to learn about and participate in the census this year.
“Your participation can help change both your future and the world.”
The U.S. Constitution mandates a count, called the census, of all people living in the United States and the five U.S. territories every 10 years.
To help ensure that all members of the campus community are aware of this year’s census count and have the opportunity to be appropriately counted, San Diego State University is collaborating with both the California State University and the U.S. Census Bureau. SDSU also launched its 2020 Census website with information, including FAQs.
“Taking part in the Census is alongside voting when it comes to the importance of civic engagement,” said Rachel Gregg, SDSU’s Director of Government and Community Relations, who is leading the charge at SDSU. “Your participation can help change both your future and the world.”
Federal student loans and research grants, campus funding, and health and human services allocations are all dependent on census data. Just as important, each state’s representation in the U.S. House of Representatives is based on census data captured each decade. California uses such information to draw and reconfigure State Senate and Assembly district lines.
Several ways exist for SDSU students to become involved in census activities, and the easiest way is to take part in the census. In mid-March, postcards were mailed to each household with instructions on how to access the survey.
If you do not have the postcard you can use your address to log on to the 2020 Census website and choose the option for “If you do not have a Census ID, click here” and answer nine basic questions. Information collected by the census is confidential and protected by federal law.
Also, more information and instruction are available via a newly launched SDSU website for the 2020 Census.
Site instructions state that students should fill out the Census based on the address where they live during the school year; if students have lived off-campus, that address would be the address they would call home while attending school. If students were living in on-campus housing at the start of the Spring 2020 semester, SDSU will respond on their behalf. Students are asked to follow the directions provided in the campus communication sent on Tuesday, April 14.
The U.S. Census Bureau has directed SDSU to count students who had been living on campus earlier this year as if they were still living in on-campus housing, even though they may have returned home and were not living in on-campus housing as of April 1. Foreign students living and attending college in the U.S. should be counted at the on- or off-campus residence where they live during the academic year.
Also, the U.S. Census is offering many temporary job opportunities with flexible hours for undergraduate and graduate students, and present another way for students to get involved with the census. Visit 2020census.gov/jobs for more information.
