By: Fabian Osorio / Staff Writer
The first census in the United States took place on August 2, 1790, and from then on the U.S. Constitution mandates that a census of the population should be conducted every 10 years. The 2020 Census will mark the 24th time.
Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats of each state in the U.S. House of Representatives, and to guarantee that every community receives the federal funds allocated to every state.
“I think the census is important because that data is used to benefit each and every one of us,” said Bianca Marcof, a senior student of Journalism. “It’s a way of telling us that each and every one of us counts and determines how much funding goes into the resources in our communities like schools and roads.”
According to FIU News, in 2016, Florida received at least $45 billion using census derived data to fund over 55 programs such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, highway planning and construction, Section 8 housing choice vouchers, Head Start, and foster care.
The 2020 Census addresses 12 simple questions about every person living in the United States and five U.S territories on April 1, 2020. Participating in the census is required by law, and the data collected protects the confidentiality of everybody’s information.
Every person should be counted in each home, and just one person needs to fill out the questionnaire. Each person living in the house includes young children, foster children, roommates, and any family members or friends who live together, even temporarily.
In the questionnaire, there are two questions about race and Hispanic origin. According to United States Census 2020, everybody may respond to each question by entering their specific identity or identities in any of the write-in response areas on the race question.
“I think that it is not discriminatory asking about the race in the census, but it needs to be addressed in a different way,” said Paula Andrea Ordoñez who studies Mass Communication and Broadcast Media at FIU. “It should be more specific not limiting the races because that’s what has brought a lot of controversies.”
Marcof agrees with Ordoñez that asking about race in the questionnaire is not discriminatory.
“I do not think that asking about race in the census is discriminatory because the census is trying to get as much information as possible to be accurate,” she said. “I think they are just trying to be mindful of certain communities and races that might be vulnerable to perhaps not having accessible health care, for example, due to systematic inequality or oppression.”
Responding to the census has never been easier. According to United States Census 2020, the questionnaire can take about 10 minutes to complete. You can respond online, over the phone, or by mail using the invitation that was mailed to your household.
Ordoñez, who lives with her parents and siblings in Kendal, has not received the questionnaire yet.
“We are still waiting for the questionnaire,” she said. “I know that in order to respond to the questionnaire, I need to use the invitation that is mailed to my house.”
According to a release made on April 13, 2020, by United States Census 2020, Census Bureau is adjusting 2020 Census operations due to COVID-19 in order to protect the health and safety of the American public and Census Bureau employees.
The Census Bureau temporarily suspended 2020 Census field data collection activities in March. In order to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau is seeking statutory relief from Congress of 120 additional calendar days to deliver final apportionment counts.
A controversial question was not reinstated in the 2020 Census. The citizenship question, which would create concerns among undocumented individuals not to complete the questionnaire and leave a large population uncounted, is not in the census.
“I can understand why this could be a problem though because some people might be afraid to add personal information about themselves if they do not want to address their citizenship status,” Marcof said. “But I believe the census doesn’t ask or use that information against you.”
The 2020 Census is underway, and you can check its page for regular updates at www.2020census.gov
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