RIT students encouraged to be counted in U.S. Census

Rochester Institute of Technology students are encouraged to make sure they are counted in the 2020 Census, even though they may currently be scattered across the country.

Every 10 years, the U.S. counts everyone living in the country, including college students, to help ensure that communities across the nation receive their fair share of federal funding and are appropriately represented for the next decade.

“Due to this global crisis, you may not be on campus anymore, or even in the Rochester area, but filling out the Census as though you are — because you would be if there was not a pandemic — is within the guidelines and is in fact expected and requested by the Census Bureau,” said Sandra Johnson, senior vice president for Student Affairs, and Deborah Stendardi, vice president for Government and Community Relations, in message this week to students.

They stressed that it is critically important for students to be counted.

“The Census results not only determine where federal funding should go to support communities like the greater Rochester region, but they also impact the distribution of federal funding for educational purposes such as Pell Grants and support for engineering, science, health services and other important federal programs,” they said.

For students who lived in RIT-owned housing this year, no action is needed. RIT is working with the Census to make sure they are counted.

If students were living off campus this year, they should respond to the Census online at www.2020census.gov and provide their off-campus Rochester address where they lived during the 2019-2020 academic year as their primary address, even if they are currently at home or living elsewhere.

International students living in the U.S. are also eligible to be counted and encouraged to respond.

RIT has information about the Census on the Student Life website. (Scroll down to the 2020 Census heading under the Community Engagement section).

“We are so proud of all that you have done to rally despite these unprecedented times,” Johnson and Stendardi said. “From adapting quickly to the new online class format, staying engaged with your fellow classmates and volunteering safely to make a difference, you continue to do ‘good’ in our world!”