"I don't think it's fair to hold ourselves to a different standard than we hold other student groups to," Marshall said.

Council Treasurer Sterling P. A. Darling '01 said that since Census 2000 is not just a student undertaking--administrators will reap the benefits of the information the council will uncover--Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 ought to bear some of the costs.

Darling said Lewis has partially funded past surveys.

The council may have agreed with Darling and Marshall's wish to have administrators foot the bill for Census 2000, but it was more convinced by Orr's argument that the project was too important to possibly put in danger should funding from outside the council not be available.

The questionnaire itself--the product of a work group led by Driskell and Burton--is currently 14 pages long and aims to pick students' brains on topics ranging from social life to advising to the council's proper role on campus.

The council rejected Marshall's amendment, voting to keep the allocation at $400 by a 24-7 count with one abstention.

Marshall did succeed in removing the word "VISIONS" from the name of the project (formerly "Census 2000/VISIONS") for the sake of clarity. VISIONS is a student group that deals with public health issues.