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The United States Federal Constitution directs the government to take a census of the population every 10 years.
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While the census forms for this year’s enumeration are extremely short, J. P. Greene, local Census office manager said, “It still means a whole lot to the community. All of this data matters and it’s all based on population.”
The Census guides the apportionment of the House of Representatives, essentially determining how much influence a particular district can exercise in Congress.
"The Census boils down to two things: power and money,” Greene said. “There are literally billions of dollars that are distributed to communities on the basis of census data.”
Greene said the money is used for roads, schools, community facilities and other public infrastructure.
For this reason, local officials emphasize the importance of responding to the census to get the most accurate population count.
Students should only fill out paper work for the Boone office, not at another residence like a parent’s house in a different district.
A representative from the local census office, an enumerator, will visit each of Appalachian State University’s on-campus residence halls shortly after April 1 to work with resident assistants to distribute and collect the forms.
Students living off-campus will receive forms at their mailing address and are asked to promptly complete the paper work and return.
Citizens can save taxpayers $60-$70 just by mailing in the form, Greene said, as residences that do not respond to the mailed forms will have to be physically enumerated by census personnel.
“The fact of the matter is that the enumeration of students is a challenge,” Greene said. “You’re kind of a fluid population.”
Democracy North Carolina is a non-partisan organization based in Durham that works to promote active citizenship through voting and political participation.
Bob Hall, executive director and research director, said statistical factors such as economic status, English language proficiency and the type of housing in which one lives traditionally have an affect on the response rate during the decennial census.
Democracy N.C. identifies Watauga County at an “elevated risk” for losing public money during this census.
While Watauga County ranks low on the list of responses in North Carolina, Hall said the state could gain a seat in the House due to population shifting elsewhere in the country.
Students and community members interested in taking a temporary and part-time position with the local census office can contact the Boone office at 832-5928.
“This is the largest domestic mobilization that the United States does,” Greene said. “Nationwide, the census will hire about 1.4 million people to do enumeration.”
Story: JUSTIN HERBERGER, News Reporter |
