PSU Magazine Winter 2000

the English version will be printed in 49 other languages. And Cruz will be happy to know that "Hispanic" will be listed as one of the race options. E dmonston says that no matter how hard the government tries, no matter how much money it spends, it can't count everybody. Even so, the 1990 census was controversial because of the big number it missed: about 5 million. To avoid a replay of that mistake, the Census Bureau is adopting recommenda– tions Edmonston's group made to get the word out to the public. The bureau will send friendly letters to households in advance of the census form, then will follow up with a reminder postcard after– ward. The bureau also will buy advertis– ing to help inspire public cooperation. This contrasts with the last census in which the bureau appealed for free advertising, and, according to Edmonston, it got pretty much what it paid for. It is also redesigning the census ques– tionnaire-adding color coding to make it user friendly and more explanation about why the census is important. These changes and others will result in a 2000 Census that will cost more than $5 billion-twice the cost of the 1990 count, according to Edmonston. It seems like a lot of money until you grasp the size of the project. Not only will the Census Bureau have to count residents of more than 120 million hous– ing units, but also people in group hous– ing, such as college dorms, prisons, hospitals, and soup kitchens. In remote areas of Alaska, the census must be completed by spring thaw; after that, many residents leave to go hunting. Workers on board tuna boats, factory trawlers and other ships at sea will be counted. Census takers also will inter– view people staying at campgrounds, fairs, carnivals, and marinas. W hat both Cruz and Edmonston want to do is persuade the average citizen to open the door when the census taker 12 PSU MAGAZINE W INTER 2000 comes calling. Or better yet: send in the form so they won't get a personal visit. For most people, the form will be short and easy. It will have seven questions, and will take about 10 minutes to complete. However, one out of five households will get a longer form made up of 34 questions that will take an esti– mated 38 minutes to fill out. Federal census takers will visit every household that doesn't send in a form up to six times if they need to. C ruz estimates that Multnomah County lost $30 million in government funds over the last 10 years because of the inaccurate 1990 census. Her group is putting together subcommittees to find the best ways to reach out to various ethnic groups to see how to boost response. The African-American undercount in 1990 was 8.5 percent, Cruz says, which may have been largely due to a lack of trust in the government among blacks. "If you don't trust the government, you don't fill out the form, and you also don't answer the door," she says. Big fears also exist in the Latino community, she says, because of concerns that names and addresses of undocu– mented residents will be turned over to the Immigration and Naturalization Service-a practice that is simply not done, according to Cruz. T he subcommittees under her leader– ship are considering communicating the importance of the census through neigh– borhood newsletters, billboards, local PTAs, local media, and the religious community. They are also looking at recruiting census takers from the most difficult neighborhoods to be counted. "There are a lot of options," says Cruz. "What I want people to know is: This is our future. By participating, you have a voice." D (John Kirkland is a freelance writer based in Portland.)