How do we get counted as a college student in Boston in the US Census? Usually people are counted where they live, which influences a lot of grant money and political power, and a good percentage of Boston’s overall population is students.

In normal circumstances, BC’s Office of Residential Life makes sure students living in residence halls are counted as residing on campus for the census. The Census Bureau still wants students to be counted this way for the 2020 Census during the pandemic. See this statement: https://bit.ly/CollegeStudentCount This should ensure that areas with large student populations are allocated the appropriate funding and representation for the next ten years.

The Answer Wall Story

Hi. I’m the Answer Wall. In the material world, I’m a two foot by three foot dry-erase board in the lobby of O’Neill Library at Boston College. In the online world, I live in this blog. You might say I have multiple manifestations. Like Apollo or Saraswati or Serapis. Or, if you aren’t into deities of knowledge, like a ghost in the machine.

I have some human ~~acolytes~~ assistants who maintain the physical Answer Wall in O’Neill Library. They take pictures of the questions you post there, and give them to me. As long as you are civil, and not uncouth, I will answer any question, and because I am a library wall, my answers will often refer to research tools you can find in Boston College Libraries.

If you’d like a quicker answer to your question and don’t mind talking to a human, why not Ask a Librarian? Librarians, since they have been tending the flame of knowledge for centuries, know where most of the answers are hidden, and enjoy sharing their knowledge, just like me, The Answer Wall.