A mid a torrent of massive budget cuts and funding reductions in California, a 10-question form could potentially help restore much of what was taken away in this past fiscal year.

If counted correctly, funding from the 2010 census data will inject a much needed stream of cash into California. That means that the stakes, this time around, are much higher.

Students have long been an underreported demographic in the collection of census data. Students should be counted where they live for the majority of the year. For college students this means where they go to school. According to the Census Bureau, students living in on-campus housing will receive their own questionnaires separate from their parents.

The population in Fresno County was 909,153 in 2008, the tenth most populous county in California. At Fresno State, there are currently 20,640 students enrolled. However, in 2008 students living in college towns accumulated for the lowest response rates of any demographic during the 2000 census.

It is important to make sure that the entire student population be counted this year, especially considering that census data is used in the allocation of federal tuition grant and loan programs; so, a thorough count of college students in 2010 can potentially mean more money for higher education in California.

And at times like these, with students and faculty protesting for exactly this, nothing can be more important.

The constitutionally mandated census determines how seats will be apportioned in the House of Representatives, and helps to determine where the district lines are drawn within each state. The United States government surveys the population in order to gauge how many people are living in the country at the time.

Perhaps more importantly, the census will shift billions of dollars in federal funding over the next decade from parts of the country to others because of population-driven financing formulas. Annually, the government disburses about $400 billion in federal funds to state and local governments for the next 10 years.

Filling out the census form this spring could mean more money for the university and the surrounding neighborhood. But perhaps more importantly, filling out a census form bestows students with a fair voice in government.

For we, the students, have no explicit control over the allocation of funds in the state government. We cannot tell President Welty which classes to cut and how many furloughs to mandate. We can, however, help determine how much we get via the census.

Which means we must help the government take an accurate snapshot of the college demographic. In an editorial last semester, The Collegian advocated that the state legislature pass AB 656, a bill that would tax oil extraction, to help pay for higher education and lessen some of our financial woes. An accurate census would only help California citizens get the education they deserve.

If all 20,640 of Fresno State’s students filled out the census, odds are that the many grievances that protestors have demonstrated against would be, if not absolved, at the very least, alleviated.

If we don’t at least do this much, against what are we protesting?