About a week before Census Day – April 1, 2000 – most households will receive a questionnaire by mail, and Census takers will deliver forms to the remaining households. The Census 2000 questionnaire is easy to read, simple to fill out, and will help decision-makers understand how the American population has changed over the last 10 years. The Census initiative is also an excellent way to help your chapter implement the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Study Topic.

A chapter can become involved in the Census, and discover how it relates to the Honors Study Topic, in many ways. Some ideas include:

• Incorporating discussions about Census 2000 into existing service projects
• Sponsoring a public forum on campus about how Census 2000 will help better the community
• Coordinating a Census Information Table on campus
• Assisting the Census Bureau in recruiting qualified enumerators by announcing part-time, paid job opportunities to members during chapter meetings
• Generating community awareness of the Census by speaking at local civic organizations and other groups
• Participating in the local government’s “Complete Count Committee” by encouraging Phi Theta Kappa members to volunteer to serve on committees organized this spring by most local mayors and city councils throughout the nation
• Inviting your state/regional Partnership Coordinator or another census official to speak at chapter or regional Phi Theta Kappa meetings.

So what are Phi Theta Kappa Chapters doing to spread the word about Census 2000? Southern Vice President Laura Dupree’s chapter at North Harris College in Houston, Texas, is mailing out census information to all their members and to members at surrounding community colleges. “We want Phi Theta Kappa members to be aware of what the Census is and how they can become involved,” said Dupree.

Amy Filson, chapter president at St. Petersburg Community College in St. Petersburg, Florida, is busy coordinating a Census information table on her campus. “We want to have a place students can visit to learn about the Census and what they can do to participate,” said Filson. “We are also working on getting a speaker, possibly one of our city council representatives, to address a chapter meeting,” continued Filson. “We want our members to be ready for Census Day, and hopefully encourage them to apply for the part-time census jobs.”

Members at Houston Community College in Houston, Texas, began their promotion of Census 2000 with a bang – they held a news conference featuring U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Currently, they are recruiting other campus student organizations to work together to publicize the Census in the community. “We are coordinating the Census for the Houston Community College central area, known as Midtown, that was probably seriously under-reported in 1990,” said advisor and ACA Vice Chairman Susan Hult. “Members are training to be census takers and will go out into this community to help reach the people who were left out ten years ago.”

For International President Stephanie Wright’s chapter at Tulsa Community College in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Census 2000 hits close to home. “We are trying to contact leaders on campus who work with undercounted groups, such as the African American and Native American student organizations, to get them involved in the Census,” said Wright. “Our community here in Tulsa has been seriously underrepresented, and we hope to change that.” The chapter is staffing information tables with part-time Census job opportunities and general information, coordinating tests for enumerators, and hopes to organize a panel discussion about the importance of Census 2000 with state leaders in Oklahoma.

Chapters across the country are actively participating in Census 2000, addressing their responsibilities as citizens of the United States and becoming actively involved in the Honors Study Topic, “The New Millennium: The Past as Prologue.” For more information on Census 2000 and what your chapter can do to become involved, visit the Census 2000 web site, view a list of Census partnership coordinators in your area or email Phi Theta Kappa’s Chapter Programs Coordinator for Chapter Officers, Theresa Burns.