Students should complete census thoughtfully
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East Lansing is home to tens of thousands of MSU students, but is it really home?
Although East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis made an appearance at the rock on Farm Lane to encourage students to complete the 2010 U.S. Census as residents of East Lansing, it is in students’ best interest to thoroughly think through their answers. The census should be completed by every student, but there is no reason for every student to automatically put themselves down as a resident of East Lansing.
The decision of whether or not to fill out the 2010 U.S. Census is not the question, as the all-important once-a-decade survey allocates various funds to states and cities. The real issue is where a student will say they’re from. Almost every outcome from the census relies on an area’s population. Loomis said more than $400 billion in federal funds are annually available through the census and are filtered to states and communities based on population. The funds could be used to offset any number of city services, including the Capital Area Transportation Authority and allocation of Pell Grants for university students.
Loomis and other city officials are doing their job by encouraging the best thing for the city. Putting “East Lansing” as the place of residence for a student could be a good thing for the city itself, but it ultimately is up to the individual. There are several reasons to fill out the census as a resident of East Lansing, but to do so just because city leaders said so isn’t a good enough reason. It seems as if a lot of the things the city does has something to do with acquiring money — and urging students to complete the census likely isn’t an exception .
Filling out the 10-question census as an East Lansing resident will give the city more money. Pell Grant and student loan allotments are made based on the populations of states and then filtered into the communities of the public universities. The more residents East Lansing has, the more money it will receive for the next 10 years, possibly leveling the ever-rising tuition costs.
But how many years of the next decade do students plan to be here?
Most students graduating this year presumably are leaving East Lansing after May. It is highly unlikely seniors will want money, based on their census answers, to come to East Lansing for a whole decade after they leave. Even underclassmen at MSU likely will leave the area within four or five years, putting them in a similar situation. All students — especially those from out of state — should think deeply whether they want census benefits to benefit their hometown or college town.
Students should keep in mind that by filling in their hometown on the census, they could be benefitting parks in that area, or even helping to fund their little sibling’s education.
Fill out the census. But make sure you think about where you want to put money and keep East Lansing’s true intentions in mind.
Commentary
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Kristin
(02/03/10 9:57pm)Report
It’s a shame you didn’t do any research before publishing this article. If you had, you would have found that the census bureau has a set of rules that dictates how and where people are counted. They specifically address college students. College students living away from home while attending college are to be counted where they are living at college.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/censusdata/resid_rules.html
MAYOR LOOMIS WANTS YOUR MONEY NOT YOUR VOTES!
(02/03/10 11:13pm)Report
City Manager Ted Staton and Mayor Vic Loomis want as much money from MSU students as possible, and they do not want to hear the students voices on the important issues. Staton and Loomis want all your money, and they want you to vote in your home town or not at all. In the mean time, PLEASE fill out your census as an EAST LANSING resident. We need your money.
GraceW
(02/04/10 10:34am)Report
The State News has done it again! Please do your research next time before you write an editorial.
The Census asks students to fill out their information based on where they live when they are IN SCHOOL.
Student
(02/04/10 10:57am)Report
Another ‘excellent’ State News editorial. The Census is required to count you where you live for at least six months and one day of the year. Which means that nearly all students are required by law to be counted in East Lansing. This has nothing to do with voting or money or anything else. It is the law. That really is a pretty well known fact. Michigan in general works hard on the census efforts due to the snowbird population. It is very important to be counted where you are living at the time.
But why would the State News care about that. Their byline should be “The State News: Where hard facts don’t get in this way of our opinions.”
count 'em
(02/04/10 11:17am)Report
SN editors are being incredibly short sighted. your suggestion that current students won’t benefit is absurd. current students benefit from the 2000 census and future students will benefit from the 2010 census. this campus maintains a student body of over 46,000. for every graduate there is a freshman replacement the next fall. while those that complete this census form may not be here at the end of the decade other spartans will be here and are counting on current students to do the right thing.