As Evanston prepares for the 2010 census, city and Northwestern officials are coordinating efforts to ensure NU students are included.
Counting students is important to the city’s well-being, said Lucile Krasnow, special assistant for community relations at NU.
“Every student that we count brings in an estimated $468 per year to the city,” Krasnow said. “All you have to do is fill in a form for less than five minutes of your life.”
The Census Bureau will mail its 10-item questionnaires March 1. Census Day, the deadline for returned questionnaires, will occur April 1. Questions include how many people live in each house, the type of home they live in and the race of its residents.
Having a comprehensive student count brings in nearly $2 million in revenue each year, which is becoming more crucial as the city faces a budget deficit of more than $9.5 million, Krasnow said.
“It is crucial that we figure out and find a way to have as many students fill out the census form as we can,” she said. “If we can’t capture all the students in this count, then we’ve really done a disservice to the city.”
In the past, getting a complete count from NU students has been difficult, said Craig Sklenar, the city’s general planner.
“It’s always a challenge to count students whether they live on- or off-campus,” he said. “We need students to understand that though they may live with their parents during the summer months, they need to be counted here in Evanston because they live here most of the year.”
Sklenar met with representatives from NU groups including the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Undergraduate Housing and University Residential Life on Tuesday to discuss the census.
“It is the householder’s responsibility to fill (the questionnaire) out and mail it back to us,” Sklenar said. “If they do not mail it back, the U.S. Census will be sending out census takers to help them fill out the questionnaire.”
Ald. Jane Grover (7th) said she plans to host a joint board meeting on campus with Ald. Delores Holmes (5th) to discuss the council’s efforts to get everyone on campus counted. During her campaign, Grover advocated inclusion of NU students as a “protected minority” to prevent city officials from overlooking their perspectives.
“We want to make it clear that everyone needs to be counted,” said Grover. “And that includes students.”[email protected]
