McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Census Bureau on Tuesday sharply revised downward its estimate of the number of same-sex households across the country, reflecting confusion over how to accurately count gay and lesbian couples that have gained varying degrees of legal recognition of their partnerships over the past decade.

Unlike with factors such as race, gender and household income, the Census Bureau doesn’t attempt to count gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. Only in the 2000 census did it start to count same-sex households, and demographers say the wording of the forms may have led to an unusually high number of inaccurate responses.

The bureau said there were approximately 646,000 same-sex households in the United States in 2010. It originally counted more than 900,000 same-sex households in 2010, but then estimated that as much as 28 percent of that count was actually opposite-sex.

“I applaud the bureau for trying to provide the most accurate information,” said Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California-Los Angeles who specializes in the gay and lesbian population and reviewed the Census Bureau’s revisions. “The problem is, people can make mistakes.”

In spite of the downward revision, Gates said the census might have actually undercounted same-sex couples.

“I’ve been one of the voices saying to the bureau that ‘the way you’re measuring has serious problems,’” he said.

He suggested changing the wording from husband/wife or unmarried partner, combined with sex variables, that the form currently uses. He suggested using the simpler categories used in Canada and Great Britain for couples: Opposite-sex husband/wife, Same-sex husband/wife.

“It’s a way to get much more accuracy,” Gates said. “Unless they do that, they’re never going to fix this problem.”

But, he said, there could be political problems with that wording because of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages, though it doesn’t prevent individual states from recognizing them.

The Obama administration stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this year and called for its repeal, prompting Republican leaders in the House of Representatives to mount their own defense of the law, passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996.

Gay and lesbian couples have seen tremendous changes since the 2000 census, which counted about 358,000 same-sex households. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the remaining state laws that criminalized same-sex activity; gay couples gained marriage rights or marriage-like rights in several states; and just last week, the U.S. military ended its longstanding prohibition on openly gay service members.

Public opinion has shifted. An Associated Press and National Constitution Center poll recently showed that 53 percent of Americans supported giving marriage rights to same-sex couples, with 47 percent opposed. A higher number, 57 percent, supported giving the same government benefits to same-sex married couples as opposite-sex ones.

Evan Wolfson, the founder and president of Freedom to Marry, a group that’s been working toward full marriage rights for gays and lesbians in all 50 states, said the “imperfect information” released by the census shows that there are gay couples in every corner of the country and points to the need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.

“We live in families. We are starting to have legal respect for those families, and many of us are getting married,” he said. “The sooner the law stops treating these families unequally, the better.”

According to 2010 U.S. Census data released Tuesday, the city of Mount Pleasant’s population remained stable at 26,016 — a 70-person increase from 2000.

Jeff Gray, director of planning and community development, said he is pleased to exceed the city’s goal of 25,000, because it is a critical number in funding formulas.

Gray was also satisfied with the city’s 80-percent participation rate.

“The results are a credit to the people of Mount Pleasant who took the time to fill out the forms,” Gray said. “Also, to the committee members and city staff that worked hard to get the word out and get people to participate.”

Gray said it is hard to estimate how the results will affect the region’s future.

The population of Isabella County has reached a record high of 70,311. The number is 11.4 percent greater than in 2000 and the population has been steadily increasing since 1960.

Only Clinton and Livingston counties saw larger percentage increases.

“Needless to say, we’re very pleased but the bigger issue for this year is continuing the services we already have,” said David Ling, chairman of the Isabella County Commission. “The fact that people are still coming to this community when the state has been losing population says something very positive about who and what we are.”

That includes law enforcement and infrastructure services, Ling said.

With a higher population number, more services will eventually be available for students and residents in the community, Union Township Supervisor John Barker said. Among the possible new services are sidewalks and improved streets including through the university.

“People like to walk or bike, but currently that is unsafe in this community,” Barker said.

Union Township’s 2010 population count was 12,927, with a 69.8-percent increase since 2000.

This came as a pleasant surprise to Barker.

“I’m very excited that we’re one of the fastest-growing communities in the state,” Barker said. “While other counties are getting reduced, we are growing.”

Barker said Union Township is well-positioned. He was satisfied with the Census Bureau’s work to get an accurate count that includes students.

The city of Mount Pleasant encouraged students to register as residents of Mount Pleasant instead of their hometowns, because they spend most of their time there throughout the year. This contributed to the population spike, Gray said.

In 2000, only 70 percent of the Union Township population was represented in the Census because many students had already gone home, said township Treasurer Pam Stovak.

The U.S. Census Bureau staff will begin Friday knocking on doors in an effort to count individuals who did not return their questionnaires. The release states workers will stop at each residence up to six times if necessary. All census takers must show photo ID and carry an official badge and shoulder bag with the Department of Commerce seal. The U.S. Census Bureau reported 77 percent of people living in Mount Pleasant mailed their census forms back as of April 23, according to Jeff Gray, director of planning and community development for Mount Pleasant.

Pancake Breakfast

Sigma Alpha Epsilon hosts a pancake breakfast from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday night at the Wesley Foundation, 1400 S. Washington St. All proceeds will go toward the Children’s Miracle Network. Students can get tickets from a member for $5 or purchase them at the door for $6. For more information, contact Cody Nihem at nihem1cj@cmich.edu.

NBS film competition

The National Broadcasting Society will play the movies students produced for its 48-hour film competition from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium. Participants had 48 hours to create a short movie that included five specific elements. The winners will be announced and will receive prizes. For more information, contact Colin Hennessy at henne1ct@cmich.edu.

Mobile Scavenger Hunt

On the Fly Productions hosts “Blitz for Buzz,” a mobile scavenger hunt taking place across campus from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday. Groups will meet in front of the Bovee University Center and must consist of four people. At least one person must be able to receive text messages through their cell phone. Prizes will be awarded. For more information, contact onthefly@cmich.edu or at 774-1189.

Moore Hall Television

MHTV is looking for a new TV host for a high adventure show in the fall. Students auditioning must be available in the summer and fall and must be willing to perform extreme sports activities. For more information, contact Danielle Mann at mann1d@cmich.edu or call (586) 214-9711.

SHC Spring Fling

The Saxe/Herrig/Celani residence halls host the third annual SHC Spring Fling from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday in the Saxe Herrig Courtyard. The event features a dunk tank, tye- dying, volleyball, a rock wall, garage sale and sidewalk chalking contest. For more information e-mail johns15c@cmich.edu.

Retention Matters

Human Resources will host an educational session entitled Retention Matters from 2 to 3:30 p.m. today at the Education and Human Services Building 315. Within the hour-long session, students will learn what is happening in the world of retention. The session will be facilitated by Shawn Wilson and Amy McGinnis. For more information, contact Human Resources Strategy and Organizational Development at stratod@cmich.edu or at 774-6447.

Pottery sale

The Ceramics Society at Central Michigan University hosts a pottery sale from noon to 4 p.m. today in Wightman Hall 125A. For more information e-mail ceramics@gmail.com.

Student Government Association presidential candidates Troy junior Evan Agnello and Garden City senior Brittany Mouzourakis will debate at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Charles V. Park Library Auditorium.

Census Giveaway

The city of Mount Pleasant will give away three prizes starting Tuesday. Sign-ups for one $500 cash prize and two $250 cash prizes will take place from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday in front of the Bovee University Center. Off-campus students must have filled out their census form to be eligible, while on-campus students are eligible despite not receiving their census forms until April.

DISCovering a Cure

From 11 a.m. to noon today, 20 percent of Bennigan’s sales will be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Contact Becky Wade at wade1ra@cmich.edu to receive a flyer.

Pins for Pets

Students can bowl for Pins for Pets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. today at Riverwood Bowling Alley for $13, which covers two games of bowling and shoes. Proceeds will benefit the Humane Animal Treatment Society. Prizes will be raffled off throughout the night. To register, contact Trevor Parnell at (586) 596-0782 or pinsforpets.rpl@gmail.com.

Film screenings

The Center for Research on Poverty will present “Homo Toxicus” from 7 to 9 p.m. today in Anspach Hall 152. The film focuses on the impact of consistent low level toxin exposure. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” a memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby who, after a stroke, became paralyzed except for his left eyelid, will be shown from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in Pearce Hall 327. The film will be presented in French with English subtitles.

New Music Symposium

Guest Composer Tom Cipullo will perform from 8 to 9:30 p.m. in the Music Building’s Staples Family Concert Hall. Cipullo received an Aaron Copland Award from Copland House and a Phyllis Wattis Prize for song composition from the San Fransisco Song Festival. He has performed in major concert halls on four continents. Admission is $3 for students and $5 for the general public.

Colonel visit

Col. Elaine Edwards speaks at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Industrial Engineering and Technology Building 116. Edwards is a 1981 CMU alumnus whose speech, “Marketing Army Officership,” is part of the Col. William B. Nolde lecture series. CMU’s military science department is helping sponsor the event.

Creating an RSO

The Student Government Association’s RSO Growth and Development Committee will host “How to create an RSO” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the UC Terrace rooms A-D. The seminar will outline how students can create a registered student organization. Tom Idema, the assistant director of Student Life, will speak. Saturday Night Improv also will perform.

One-car accident

A one-vehicle accident occurred at 1:15 a.m. Friday morning in Nottawa Township. Carolyn Jane Freed, 50, of Weidman lost control of her 1998 Dodge Ram and rolled over on West Weidman Road. She was ejected from the vehicle and taken to Central Michigan Community Hospital for head injuries. Freed was later airlifted to Covenant Hospital in Saginaw. The degree of the injuries is unknown. Police are still investigating if drugs or alcohol were involved.

But one thing is certain: they hope the city’s population remains above 25,000.

“In 2000, when we jumped to the 25,000 mark, we went to a new formula and that’s what we’ve been relying on,” said Nancy Ridley, Mount Pleasant’s director of Financial and Administrative Services. “Just in that one year, because our population went over that bracket, we got almost a million dollars.”

The city’s state-shared revenue in 2000 was about $3.018 million.

In 2001, that number increased to $3.782 million.

“We don’t want to go back the other way,” she said. “Our fear is if we go under 25,000, we may lose a million.”

If the city does fall below 25,000, it can go through an appeals process if the numbers are close, said Jeff Gray, director of Planning and Community Development.

Gray noted, however, he does not anticipate the population dropping below 25,000.
The exact amount of funding from the census will be unknown until next year, Ridley said. She said funding has decreased by almost $1 million since 2001.

“The number I’m using for our 2010 budget is $2.7 million,” she said. “So we’ve already lost a million because of all the cutbacks the state has done.”

Gerrymandering

The census is conducted every 10 years to count residents, determining representation and federal funding for communities.

Jayne Strachan, an assistant professor of political science, said the redrawing of districts that takes place next year can become “a very political process.”

“They always try to gerrymander — it doesn’t matter which party,” she said. “If you have a state legislature that is strongly controlled by Democrats, they will try to draw lines that will favor Democrats. If you have Republicans, they will try to favor Republicans.”

Gerrymandering, a term coined by the Boston Centinel in 1812, describes the process in which the party in power draws a political district to favor that party. The term comes from Elbridge Gerry, the former governor of Massachusetts, who drew a district shaped like a salamander.

But Strachan said gerrymandering could be eliminated if the government decides to use technology to do the work.

“That’s more fair. Maybe not a square, but straight lines,” she said. “There are ideas, but it’s hard to take that away from the state legislatures, because they lose so much political leverage.”

CMU’s impact

Kathy Wilbur, Central Michigan University’s vice president of Government Relations and Public Affairs, said census information is not used to determine funding for the university.

The effects from census data at CMU usually come indirectly, such as the area’s roads and hospitals, she said.

“The state has never looked at enrollment factors when determining funding. We wish they would,” she said. “It just has the potential to make Michigan look like a poor state.”

Census data also is used to help determine applicant pools, Wilbur said. Enrollment was at an all-time high last fall at 20,444, but freshman enrollment was down 4.5 percent, according to previous reports.

“There are fewer young people going to Michigan high schools,” she said.
According to a report by the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University, the state lost 641,420 residents between 1990 and 2000.

Strachan said the population is expected to decrease again this census. The decrease will likely result in the loss of one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, perhaps two.

“The projections for Michigan are to lose population for the next 10, 15 years,” she said. “We are educating people at CMU and then they’re leaving the state.”

The City Commission hired John Bailey and Associates to aid the city the population count at its meeting Monday. The Lansing-based marketing firm hired PRSSA to assist with the count in the spring.

PRSSA President and Allen Park senior Angela Hernandez said the group hopes to change misinformation about the census.

“There are a lot of (student) misconceptions about the US census. We’re aiming to help try change that,” Hernandez said. “This is great because it’s an opportunity for our group to get experience in public relations, but also because we are doing something to help benefit our city.”

Census surveys will be sent to all resident households and CMU residence halls in February and March, said Julie Swidwinski, Mount Pleasant community information coordinator.

It is important for students to participate in the census because this will be the first time many students will be counted, she said.

“Because students live in Mount Pleasant more than six months (per year), they are residents of the city,” she said.

As not all students are Mount Pleasant residents, Union Township also will collect student census data.

Funding dependent on data

Vice Mayor Bruce Kilmer said many city functions depend on census data.

“The more accurate our count and people that are registered will mean a lot of different factors, (as well as) aid from state and federal services,” he said.

Street development, hospital and housing placements and city zoning procedures are among projects affected by the census.

The City Commission approved $60,000 for the appointment of a Census Count Committee in its July 13 meeting. A $19,000 census promotional campaign is included in the figure.

The city’s 2000 census showed a city population of 25,946, increasing city funding from the state by approximately $700,000 annually.

National census data distributes more than $400 billion in federal and state funding to local, state and tribal governments annually.

The decennial Census, a head count of every person in the country mandated by the U.S. Constitution, will take place next spring.

Mount Pleasant officials hope that the city’s population will remain above 25,000. As of the 2000 census, the population was just over that mark at 25,946.

Census forms are mailed to all households in March and final statistics must be presented to the president by the end of the year.

“What we’re encouraging is that students fill out those forms when they come out,” said Jeff Gray, city director of Planning and Community Development. “We’re hoping to do some sort of promotion effort for the students.”

Graduating students are asked by the U.S. Census Bureau to declare their residence as where they will be living on April 1, regardless of whether or not they are in Mount Pleasant for at least six months, said Kim Hunter, media team leader for the Detroit Regional U.S. Census Center. However, it is not a requirement.

The city has organized a committee to oversee such an effort, which would utilize social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, said Nate Lockwood, director of the city’s Partners Empowering All Kids program. He has also had discussions with several CMU officials, including former University President Michael Rao and Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe.

CMU hopes to implement programs in the residence halls regarding the census and is also planning a campus-wide event early next year to spread awareness, Lockwood said.

“The tricky one is the students living off-campus,” he said. “The main message we want to get out is that if you live here for more than six months, you are a resident of Mount Pleasant.”

Lockwood said a population dip below 25,000 would also result in fewer grants for the city.

“That 25,000 is important and helps with roads and infrastructure,” he said.

The census form will consist of mostly basic information questions, including number of people in a household and race.

All information is kept confidential, Gray said.

“This time we’re just going to do 10 questions,” said Hunter, “It will use the American Community Survey instead of the longer form that was used before.”

All residents are expected to have the form filled out by mid-April. Those who do not are usually called or visited by a Census worker around that time, Hunter said.