MyTwoCensus.com wonders what other college towns that are dependent on students are also lacking forms…See this report from Indiana:
Indiana State students among those awaiting census forms
Spring semester ends in three weeks
Sue Loughlin The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State University students will complete spring semester in three weeks, yet residence hall students still have not been counted in the 2010 census.
The U.S. Census Bureau has taken longer than expected to provide the census forms to the university, said Tara Singer, ISU’s assistant vice president for communications and marketing. “I believe there was just an underestimation of forms needed” for the community’s college students, she said.
A similar problem has occurred at Indiana University.
ISU has 2,999 students living in 10 residence halls and 382 students living in University Apartments, she said.
Those students will be counted as Terre Haute residents.
While there’s been a delay, Singer expects the university will receive those forms very soon. “Yes, we think we’ll get them [students] all counted on time” before they leave at the end of the semester, she said.
She does expect to have the forms by next week, when ISU will conduct floor meetings in residence halls to distribute the forms and ask students to complete them at that time.
ISU does have a representative on the Terre Haute Complete Count Committee. “We want to have our students counted because they spend approximately 10 months a year here in Terre Haute,” she said.
ISU has taken an active role in trying to make students aware of the importance of the census through posters, electronic communication and student organizations, she said.
ISU has not caused the delay, Singer said. “We’ve been ready.”
Terre Haute public affairs director Darrel Zeck, who leads the Complete Count Committee, said he recently learned about the insufficient number of census forms to count the college students.
Zeck said he was relieved to learn Thursday that ISU will get the forms soon.
Meanwhile, Rose-Hulman does have its census forms for students and distribution to fraternity presidents was to begin Thursday night, said Tom Miller, Rose-Hulman dean of student affairs. Rose-Hulman has 1,100 students living on campus.
The forms also will be distributed to students in residence halls, Miller said. “Everything is in order.”
Having ISU and Rose-Hulman students counted is critical for Terre Haute in its ability to qualify for various types of federal funding, Zeck said. While he’s relieved, he believes it’s “unacceptable” there was a shortage of forms to begin with.
Cindy Reynolds, an assistant regional census manager in Chicago, said that it was her understanding a staff member had contacted ISU and “any problem has been resolved.”
While initially there were not enough forms, there should be enough now, Reynolds said.
