The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper News Briefs Council seeks members for census team The Sunnyvale City Council is seeking applicants to participate on the Census 2000 committee. The group, which will consist of seven to 10 members, will help raise awareness and motivate residents to participate in the national census that begins on April 1, 2000. "The purpose of the committee is to ensure an accurate count of the population in Sunnyvale," said Bingrong Shan, city planner. "We don't want anyone to be left out." It was reported that in the 1990 census, Santa Clara County was undercounted by 32,000 people. "That meant 47 million dollars for much-needed services were lost within the county," said Jorge Doctolero, volunteer services staff. According to the 1990 census, Sunnyvale had a population of 117,229. The city is projected to have a population of 136,000 in the year 2000. The city is holding an information meeting for interested applicants at 6 p.m., Jan. 13 in the West Conference Room of City Hall. Applicants must be involved in the media, business, education, service and religious organizations, government or the community at large. Applicants must either work or live in Sunnyvale. The committee will meet once every other month until theyear 2000, when it will meet once a month from January through May. The application deadline is January 22. Applications can be mailed or faxed by calling 730-7533. For more information about recruitment, call Jorge Doctolero at 730-7533. For more information about specifics of the Census 2000 committee, call Bingrong Shan at 730-7431. Citizenship classes free, open to public The local adult education department is offering free citizenship classes, for both English speakers and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. The ESL class is open to any legal resident with five years' residency status who needs some English instruction in reading, writing and speaking to pass the citizenship test. Students should be at an intermediate level of English. Both classes will teach students how to fill out the N-400 application, teach about United States history and government and help students practice answering test questions. Classes begin Jan. 25 and run through March 31 at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale. For more information call the Fremont Union High School District adult education department at 522-2735. Essay contest asks kids to express 'Spirit of Mulan' Multicultural children's book publisher Victory Press is sponsoring "The Spirit of Mulan" essay contest for young people ages 7 to 15. The deadline for the contest is Jan. 11. Mu Lan, the Chinese princess who defended her country disguised as a male soldier, was made popular earlier this year with the release of an animated Disney movie called Mulan. Victory Press has published a book, The Legend of Mu Lan: a Heroine of Ancient China, which it says is historically accurate. It has also released a gift set featuring a doll dressed in historically accurate period clothing, the book and a cassette. Essays must be between 100 and 500 words long, and hand-printed. Possible essay topics include "What the spirit of Mulan means to me," "The historical spirit of Mulan," "Mulan and bravery," "Is the spirit of Mulan important in the 20th century?" and a comparison of the Disney movie and written versions of the story. Grand prize is $100 and publication of the essay. Other prizes include the gift set, the book and a doll. For complete contest rules, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Victory Press, "The Spirit of Mulan" essay contest, 543 Lighthouse Ave., Monterey, CA., 93940, or call Eileen at 831/883-1725. [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, December 30, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.