Eighty percent respond to census

According to University statistics, 3,322 students responded to the census using paper forms and 988 authorized the University to release their information to the Census Bureau using an online form.

The Census Bureau will also complete its own final calculations for a student response rate. The bureau collected forms and online data from the University on April 15, but it has not published official data yet because it is in the process of conducting response follow-up, said Jenaye Flamer, a partnership coordinator for the Census Bureau.

The bureau is “working with the [University] administration” to make sure that students who have not participated are counted, Flamer said.

After census statistics about colleges and universities have been tabulated, they will be made available to President Barack Obama, Flamer said.

There was slight confusion at the Graduate College because census forms did not reach graduate students living there until after spring break, later than was originally planned.

“It wasn’t really a problem, but they expected to get it earlier than they did,” said Bobray Bordelon, the University’s representative to the New Jersey State Data Center. “Many didn’t realize that the University would distribute it, not the mail service, because they live in dorms.”

Since almost all undergraduates live in dorms, all received forms in their mailboxes at the same time, around late March. Graduate students living off campus received their forms prior to those living on campus. Like off-campus graduate students, “undergraduates who live off campus — for example, students who rent an apartment in town — should have received the forms at their residence directly from the Census Bureau,” Aronson said.

College students at Princeton are a part of the “group quarters” enumeration category, Flamer said. The Census Bureau’s website defines group quarters, which include on-campus residence halls and dormitories, as “places where people live or stay in group living arrangements that are owned or managed by an entity or organization (such as a college or university) providing housing and/or services for the residents.”

Support nonprofit student journalism. Donate to the ‘Prince.’ Donate now »

Though they are not counted as part of the University, Flamer added that the Census Bureau also aimed to increase faculty participation in the census.

“We are technically charged with counting everyone,” Flamer explained. “We work with the administration to count everyone.”

Princeton Borough had a 72 percent response rate for the 2010 census, a 1 percentage point decline from 2000, Bordelon said. The average national response rate was also 72 percent. Princeton Township had a 78 percent response rate, also 1 percentage point lower than it was in 2000.

Both Bordelon and Aronson said that there was ample advertising for the census.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

“You couldn’t turn on the TV or radio without seeing ads,” Bordelon explained.

“The University took various steps to encourage participation among students, and it seems that students recognized the importance of filling out the census forms,” Aronson said.

The Census Bureau has been coordinating publicity efforts with colleges and universities for the past two years, Flamer explained. She added that the bureau has spent a total of $168 million on advertising for the 2010 census, out of the $370 million allocated for the entire campaign.

“We increased our amount of advertising, but keep in mind that the population has increased,” Flamer said. “We were charged with the task of reaching more people, and more diverse people. Our population is vastly more diverse than in 2000.”

Flamer noted the need to reach those groups that had low census response rates in the past. She added that the Census Bureau began to use social media for publicity this year, allowing students to receive updates via Facebook and Twitter.

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that census data from colleges would be made available to institution presidents when, in fact, it will be made available to President Barack Obama. The process through which students could release their information using an online form has also been clarified.