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Thursday, March 29, 2018 Vol. I, No. 3 THE STATESMAN THE CONTROVERSIAL CENSUS QUESTION Sydney Gwynn Staff Writer Monday night the U.S. Department of Commerce announced they were adding a controversial question to the upcoming 2020 decennial census. This question, which hasn’t been included in a census since the 1950 census, asks about the re- spondents citizenship status. The Department of Commerce’s reinstate- 2018 ARNOLD SPORTS FESTIVAL ment of this question is in response to a re- al funding will be based off faulty, lowered quest by the Department of Justice (DOJ). numbers and this money will not be going bodybuilding’s “Super Bowl”—and the vast Reza Javaheri In December 2017, the DOJ asked for the where it is truly needed or it may not be Arnold Sports Expo that spans the entire addition of this question in order to “pro- available in the quantity that it should be. Staff Writer floor of the Greater Columbus Convention vide census block level citizenship voting This could harm both citizens and non-cit- Center. The Expo boasts over 1,000 booths This year’s Arnold Sports Festival, held per age population (CVAP) data that is not cur- izens alike as they are often both the bene- offering sports equipment, apparel, and nu- tradition in Columbus, OH, took place from rently available from government surveys.” ficiaries of federal funding. The census bu- tritional supplements over the course of the February 28 to March 3, 2018. The Festival The DOJ feels this information is neces- reau acknowledges this by explaining that Festival. Other events that feature promi- is known primarily for the Arnold Classic— sary to better enforce the Voting Rights one’s “community benefits the most when nently include the Arnold Strongman Clas- the men’s open bodybuilding show that takes Act (VRA). Specifically, the DOJ believes the census counts everyone”. sic, USA Powerlifting, and a variety of other place at the Festival every year, second only CVAP data will help with the “enforcement in coverage and prestige to the Mr. Olympia, of section 2 of the VRA, which protects mi- Another concern with an unrepresentative Continued on Page 4 nority voting rights.” census is the use of these numbers to deter- mine the number of House and Senate seats Congress gives the Department of Com- in the United States Congress each state merce control over which questions are in- will have for the next ten years. If large num- cluded in the census. Secretary Ross of the bers of the population choose not to fill out Department of Commerce explained how the census out of fear, certain states, mainly he took a “hard look” at the DOJ’s request democrat-controlled states, may lose seats. for the inclusion of this question. He con- Before the addition of the citizenship ques- sidered many different opinions from vari- tion was announced, Pennsylvania was al- ous individuals and ultimately concluded: ready projected to drop from 18 to 17 seats following the 2020 census count. “I find that the need for accurate citizenship data and the limited burden that the rein- On March 20th Congresswoman Carolyn statement of the citizenship question would B. Maloney (D-NY) introduced the 2020 impose outweigh fears about a potentially Census Improving Data and Enhanced lower response rate.” Accuracy (IDEA) Act in anticipation of the FRANKLIN’S TABLE FOOD HALL OPENS addition of the citizenship census question. Many criticize the inclusion of this question If passed, this act will ensure “that topics Alison Thompson on the basis that immigrants in the United and questions included in the census are Previously, 3401 Walnut was occupied by States may not feel comfortable revealing properly vetted and not added at the last Staff Writer a food court that offered multiple fast-food their citizenship status and may instead minute”. Minority Leader of of the House, options such as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and decide to not fill out the census at all. This Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), voiced her support As students return from spring break for their Quiznos. However, that closed last summer is problematic as the point of the census is by urging Congress to “immediately” pass first day of classes, Franklin’s Table Food in order to make room for the higher quali- to count each resident of this country, not this act. Hall is opening for the first time. ty restaurants that are now being offered by each citizen. Having a potentially large Franklin’s Table. These new restaurants offer portion of the population excluded from Following the announcement of the inclu- Franklin’s Table is located at the corner of a variety of foods including pizza, burgers, the census count could have wide-ranging sion of this question in the census, Cali- 34th and Walnut, across the street from Van falafels, and ice cream. In fact, Penn boasts effects. fornia has filed a lawsuit against the Trump Pelt-Dietrich Library and Meyerson Hall, be- that these new restaurants serve food pre- administration and the state of New York tween CVS and Starbucks. All of the restau- pared by “critically acclaimed chefs” and will The census bureau states that “federal is arranging a multi-state lawsuit with ten rants are open as of 11:00 A.M. on Monday, satisfy any customer despite dietary needs or funds, grants and support to states, coun- other states, including Pennsylvania, indi- March 12. food preferences. ties and communities are based on popula- cating they will join. These lawsuits allege it Continued on Page 2 tion totals and breakdowns by sex, age, race is unconstitutional to include a question on and other factors”. citizenship since the constitutional role of the census is to gather an as accurate as pos- If population sizes are undercounted, sible count of the population and including communities may be underserved. Feder- the citizenship question will clearly lead to TEMPLE STADIUM an inaccurate count. PAGE 4 The final list of questions for the 2020 cen- sus must be officially submitted by March SATIRE 31st, 2018. Lawmakers have a few more days to attempt to block this addition, how- ever if they are unsuccessful in passing an PAGES 9-12 FILM REVIEWS act to this effect, the states’ lawsuits may PAGES 6-7 still be able to remove this question from the official census questions in 2020. IN THIS ISSUE Follow us @statesmanofpenn The truly independent student newspaper of the University of Pennsylvania Online at www.statesmanonline.org PAGE 2 THE STATESMAN THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 2018 FACT CHECK: WOMEN’S MARCH WOMEN’S MARCH’S THREE “FACTS” ABOUT THE NRA Toren Arginteanu en’s March could have arrived at the conclusion with the fact that white people make up a sub- that “The NRA was the single largest donor to stantially larger proportion of the U.S. popula- Tech & Media Director 45’s presidential campaign,” save simply mak- tion than black people, suggests that far more ing up a statistic and hoping nobody would white people than black people own guns. If we bother to check. assume the pew poll sample was representative The Women’s March organization has marched Daniel Tancredi of the entire U.S. population, more than 12 Editor-in-Chief and campaigned against gun violence and in The NRA claims to defend all people’s second times as many white americans would own guns favor of gun control, frequently butting heads Dominic Gregorio amendment rights but remains silent when the than black americans (using 2010 census num- with the National Rifle Association (NRA). Re- President of ISI Society rights of black and brown people are violated. bers). Without a more comprehensive study, it’s cently, the Women’s March tweeted the follow- Toren Arginteanu difficult to ascertain what percentages of gun ing “3 facts about the NRA:” Tech & Media Director The second claim reads more as opinion than owners are white, black, male, or female. But it fact. But is this opinion justified? is reasonable to expect the NRA board demo- Connor Hart 1. The NRA was the single largest donor to 45’s Finance Director graphics are representative of U.S. gun-owning [Donald Trump’s] presidential campaign. Madison Reasnor From the organization’s page on the NRA, alle- demographics. Even if the NRA were to select Social Chair gations of racism against “black and brown peo- U.S. gun-owners at random, more men than 2. The NRA claims to defend all people’s sec- ple” are twofold. The first concerns the NRA’s women, and far more white people than black Adam Sherman ond amendment rights but remains silent when Staff Writer alleged inaction in response to the police shoot- people, would end up on the board. the rights of black and brown people are violat- ing of black legal-gun owner Philando Castile. Alexander Lenz ed. Staff Writer The NRA has defended its response to Castile’s The Women’s March and other left-of-center death by asserting that, since he illegally pos- political movements are strategically conflating Alison Thompson 3. The NRA board of directors is almost entirely Staff Writer sessed marijuana while carrying his gun, he was the NRA, whose stated goal is to support the white and male. technically not a law-abiding gun owner and so rights of law-abiding gun owners, with recent Bryce Daniels the NRA avoided involvement. Alleging racism and past shooting events. At the national and Staff Writer But these “facts” may not be nearly as factual on the basis of the NRA’s handling of this one state level, we must always make complicated Caleb Kennedy as the Women’s March would have you believe.

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