 "Photo: Ken Muir")
A recent study conducted by a Texas Tech researcher shows just how deep the town and gown relationship goes.
While most local retailers do well during the summer when students leave town, the thought of thousands of students immigrating to Lubbock would put any store owner in a better mood.
Bradley Ewing, a professor at Tech's Rawls College of Business Administration, conducted a study estimating that the economic benefits of Tech's faculty, staff and students generate a total of $1.15 billion and help sustain about 13,300 jobs per year in Lubbock County.
Just from shopping, Tech's approximately 28,000 students are estimated to pump $297.5 million each year in the Lubbock economy.
Ewing said while Tech students are not spending $297.5 million of their own money on the economy, the purchases students make close to their homes and around campus cause store owners to purchase, produce and offer more services in every field of work which produces more jobs and boosts the economy to the estimated $297.5 million.
But businesses are not the only ones that benefit from the annual resurgence.
With the increase in business around the Tech campus, many businesses are hiring for jobs that were left vacant over the summer.
"Most students leave for the summer," Ken Wiley, the general manager of Double T Bookstores said via e-mail. "Since a large portion of our workforce are student employees, the positions come open as part of natural attrition and we simply do not fill them until the fall term and we maintain our stores on our regular full-time core staff."
Tech students alone are credited for sustaining about 2,054 jobs in Lubbock, according to the report.
Businesses near campus survived the summer through summer school students and local citizens who know of their reputations. But with thousands of new and returning residents from their hometowns, demand for textbooks, school supplies, Tech spirit clothing, furniture, food from supermarkets and restaurant services has increased during the last few weeks.
Dario Yocum, manager of One Guy from Italy's, said during the summer months, One Guy's hours of operation are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., but during the fall and spring semesters the restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to midnight to accommodate the increased demand students bring.
"We feel a big impact whenever Tech students are in town," Yocum said. "The percentage of business [we do] is very high between Tech and local high school students. When Tech is in session, you have a difference of 10,000 students instead of 30,000 students, so we take the summer for a little breather. You need to be busy when school is in session, so we take advantage of the downtime."
Bookstores also experience a large increase in foot traffic as students gear up for the fall semester.
"Students are the lifeblood of our business," Wiley said. "We appreciate every student that we serve."
Wiley said bookstores have two peak selling periods during the year, but the beginning of the fall semester is just a little more profitable than the beginning of the spring rush for textbooks because some students will transfer or drop out of Tech.
Many business owners who are not dependent on Tech students' patronage still benefit greatly from student purchases.
"Hands down, this is the best time of the year," Clinton Williams, a senior mechanical engineering major from Panhandle who owns Broadway Bikes said.
Tech freshmen seeking quick transportation around campus make up approximately 40 to 50 percent of bikes and bike products sold at William's store during the early stages of the school year, he said.
"The student population plays a key role in us being able to be as successful as we are," Williams said. A lot of the stuff we sell to students usually purchase allows us to carry more for the people who will buy higher-end products."
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