While April 1, the official census day all across the United States, has come and gone, the count continues on and off campus. There's still time to get counted and help local communities get their fair share of federal funding.

Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau attempts to get an accurate count of everyone in the nation, including college students. According to census procedures, students must be counted where they attend college. Here in Ithaca and Tompkins County, every student in Cornell University residence halls, small living units and fraternity and sorority houses, as well as in apartments off campus, is being asked to complete a Census 2000 questionnaire.

It takes only a few minutes to comply. According to John L. Ford, Cornell dean of students, census information is private and confidential and cannot be used for any other purpose or shared with federal, state or local agencies. An undercount in the census has consequences for the community though, because it would limit the community's ability to serve students and other residents. For New York state, it could mean the loss of at least one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The university is working closely with local officials to attain the goal of a complete count. Cornell has sent a special mailer and an e-mail message to all students living on and off campus to remind them to fill out their census forms. Local pizza parlors have helped by including reminders with their deliveries to campus.

Students living in residence halls will be receiving their Census 2000 questionnaires in the campus mail this week. Arrangements are being made to collect census questionnaires in the residence halls, so the completed forms should not be placed back in the mail. Cornell Residence Life staff will follow up with on-campus students who do not respond.

For those who have questions or concerns about the census, several "questionnaire assistance centers" have set up around the Ithaca area, including on campus:

-- Hasbrouck Community Center, April 5, 4-7 p.m.

-- Maplewood Park Community Center, April 6, 5-8 p.m. and April 8, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

-- Willard Straight Hall lobby: April 10 and 11, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

-- Noyes Community Center: April 10 and 11, 5-8 p.m.

-- Robert Purcell Community Center: April 11 and 12, 5-8 p.m.

Information also is available from the Census Bureau's toll-free telephone number, (800) 471-9424, and at its web site,. If you do not receive a form by April 8, call the 800 number or visit one of the special census information centers.

For students living off campus, where mail is delivered by street name and house or apartment number, census forms were delivered by U.S. mail. All students living at a particular off-campus address are considered part of one household, so only one form should be completed and it should include information on all of those living at that address. The form can be returned in the U.S. mail envelope provided.

"Even though this might not be their voting residence, legal residence or permanent residence, Cornell students must complete the questionnaire because they currently reside in Tompkins County," Ford said. "They are not to be included in their parents' households on the forms they completed." Registered students from other nations also must complete a census form.

There are a number of reasons why it is important for college students to be counted in the census:

-- Billions of dollars in federal and state funds are distributed each year on the basis of census information. By responding to the questionnaire, students help the Ithaca community receive its fair share of aid for projects ranging from public transportation to recreational programs.

-- Scientific research depends on census data. College students use census information for sociology reports, statistical profiles and other research papers.

-- Census figures help establish fair-market rents and enforce fair-lending practices.

-- Decisions on where to locate new stores, restaurants, offices, health-care facilities and other businesses are based on census numbers.

As of last week, more than half the census forms distributed in Tompkins County had been returned, but the local complete count committee is pushing for a 95 percent return rate.