The U.S. Census Bureau took its 2010 “snapshot of America” this year.The Bureau mailed out Census forms in March, and many students had their first opportunities to be counted in the national survey.U.S. Census Bureau employees are currently going door-to-door to track down residents who did not submit a Census form by mail, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.College students are considered a “hard-to-reach” population since many students think their parents will fill the Census out for them.But students are encouraged to fill out the Census where they live and sleep most of the year.The repreCENSUS campaign promoted the Census on campus in the Baton Rouge area throughout February.”College students are the most difficult, hard-to-reach audience for the Census,” said repreCENSUS member Bridget Cloud. The repreCENSUS campaign was created by five mass communication students as part of the Public Relations Student Society of America’s national Bateman competition.RepreCENSUS, also known as the Bateman Team, designed a Census campaign, implemented it during February and analyzed its success in March as part of the competition.The repreCENSUS campaign placed as one of 16 honorable mentions among 68 competing schools in the April project judging.”We targeted every aspect of LSU,” said repreCENSUS member Jennie Armstrong.In an initial survey by the repreCENSUS campaign, 64.1 percent of students said they knew little to nothing about the Census. In a poll after the campaign was implemented, only 25 percent said they knew nothing about the Census.RepreCENSUS members promoted the Census at events like baseball games and concerts and at bars. College students make up about 22 percent of the Baton Rouge population, according to the Bateman team.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the government allocates more than $400 billion in federal funding to communities based on Census data.Census data affects area universities and residents.Data can increase public funding to university tuition grants and loans along with transportation and health care.Census data also determines the number of congressional seats and where district lines are redrawn.Louisiana is predicted to lose a congressional seat, according to Kirby Goidel, associate professor of mass communication and political science.Louisiana’s population is growing, but not at the rate of other states. Unlike other states, Louisiana’s main population growth comes from birth instead of immigration, Goidel said.”With Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana had a late influx of immigrant population compared to other southern states,” said political science assistant professor Laura Moyer. “Also, many families relocated to different places.”The 2010 Census is the shortest in history thus easier to fill out, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.”Ten questions in 10 minutes can affect the next 10 years of your life,” said Bateman team member Lauren St. Pierre.The first U.S. census took place in 1790 and found about 3.9 million inhabitants, according to the US Census Bureau.Mayor-President Kip Holden proclaimed February “U.S. Census Awareness Month” in Baton Rouge.—-Contact Grace Montgomery at [email protected]