University of Michigan Census video contest aims to clear confusion about students and residency
Taking a pot shot at Ohio State University was one University of Michigan student's way to make his entry in a U-M 2010 Census video contest decidedly maize and blue, while communicating a message often lost on college students and their parents.
The message? Fill out your Census form wherever you're living the majority of the year - even if you're from another town, another state, or a foreign country.
Robert Lott, a political science and philosophy student, got an honorable mention in the contest - though his video has the most You Tube hits so far. Thanks to the line "Census 2010: If the process were any easier, they'd probably just call it OSU," the video was picked up by the popular fan site MGoBlog. National Public Radio did a segment on the Census in college towns that included sound from his video.
Confusion over Census residency rules leads to low counts in college towns, officials say. Adding to the confusion: About 10,000 students in university housing will receive forms later than everyone else, on April 1. Census response rates for the 2000 Census around Ann Arbor were the lowest in student neighborhoods.
So the Institute for Social Research and the provost's office sponsored a 2010 Census Video Ad Contest to get the word out to students about the Census. Winners of the contest received prize money and recognition at a ceremony today.
![Census-Video-Ad-Contest.jpg](http://www.annarbor.com/assets_c/2010/03/Census-Video-Ad-Contest-thumb-300x203-34234.jpg)
The U-M Institute for Social Research and the provost's office sponsored the 2010 Census Video Ad contest to get the word out to students about the Census. Winners of the contest received prize money and recognition at a ceremony today.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The decennial Census is required by the Constitution and is currently under way; it apportions congressional seats and determines how billions of federal dollars will be distributed to the states.
"We're hoping in some small way we'll have an impact on student Census counts around Ann Arbor," said Lisa Neidert, co-chair of the committee that ran the contest and a researcher with the U-M Population Studies Center.Â
Robert Groves, the current U.S. Census Bureau Director, was the director of the U-M Survey Research Center before being picked for the Census Bureau's top job.
The U-M College Democrats had the winning video. In the way the politically inclined tend to do, they campaigned for the votes of members, using daily e-mails, Facebook messages and Tweets.
Joe Sandman, a public policy student on the winning team, said students are wary of any government form, thanks much to the cumbersome Free Application for Federal Student Aid. "There's a mental barrier to filling out the forms," he said.
The video addressed that hang-up by playing with the "10 Questions in 10 Minutes" tag line, highlighting the various things students do that take 10 minutes around U-M, where classes start at 10 minutes past the hour. Those activities included checking Facebook and waiting for a dryer.Â
Group members said the $1,000 prize will go toward the group's general fund and will likely be used for campaign activities in the upcoming election cycle.
Check out some of the contest's winning entries and tell us what you think about the videos in the comments section below.
Comments
MjC
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 11:33 a.m.
These videos are so fantastic! It just warms my heart having a chance to view the work of so many creative and talented college students. I'd love to see more of this kind of positive competition and recognition.
MyOpinion
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 11:27 a.m.
It isn't "good ol Ann Arbor" who wants to cash in on students via the census. This is what happens all over the nation. The census counts you where you live most of the time. That means prisoners are counted in prisons and college students are counted in college towns. And, college students do have an impact on a town in terms of community policing for football games, trash pickups when student leases end, etc. And with so much university property off the tax rolls, it makes sense that the city wants this segment of its population counted.
MyOpinion
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 11:19 a.m.
It isn't "good ol Ann Arbor" who wants to cash in on students via the census. This is what happens all over the nation. The census counts you where you live most of the time. That means prisoners are counted in prisons and college students are counted in college towns. And, college students do have an impact on a town in terms of community policing for football games, trash pickups when student leases end, etc. And with so much university property off the tax rolls, it makes sense that the city wants this segment of its population counted.
bruceae
Wed, Mar 31, 2010 : 9:08 a.m.
So you pay top dollar for out of state tuition because your from somewhere else but good ol Ann Arbor wants to cash in on you via the census? Maybe they should help pay some of your out of state tuition?