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In the News
Guest Opinions
By Mike Levy
The California Aggie
April 18, 2006
At a recent Student-Liaison Commission meeting, a City Council member stated that students are "a drain on the city's economy." The comment is symptomatic of an unfortunate divide between some Davis residents and the student community.
Most residents know that students have an enormous positive impact on Davis' economy. Students rent apartments, buy groceries and retail, and frequent movie houses. Students work at restaurants and fit us with shoes. Students assist doctors, drive us and our elderly around town and baby-sit children. Students bring friends and families to stay in Davis hotels and patrons to watch entertainment performances. Those patrons also eat, shop and otherwise contribute to Davis' economy.
UC Davis recently commissioned an economic impact report to assess the university's effect on surrounding economies. The report concluded that in the 2001-2002 fiscal-year, UC Davis' total economic impact on California was between $2.7 and $3.4 billion! Among others, the report found:
- $180.4 million was directly attributed to UC Davis student spending
- Campus visitors contributed $450 million to the capital region
- Student and visitor spending generated 2,600 capital region jobs
- 1.8 million people visited UC Davis, spending $36 million in Davis
- Each year, 4,100 students enroll in service-learning courses, placing them in community volunteer roles
- UC Davis public school outreach programs assist 80,000 capital region students a year
- UC Davis visitors accounted for 48,600 room-nights at Davis hotels
- 9,600 people (one in three employed Davis residents) work at UC Davis
An abstract of the report can be found at mikelevy2006.com/UCDavisEconomicImpactReport.
Most Davis residents are keenly aware of the benefits - economic and otherwise - of living in this university town. UC Davis brings jobs, health care, research impacting every aspect of our careers and lives. It also provides us with intellectual opportunities not available elsewhere.
Students are undeniably an important part of Davis' economy. But for our purposes, that statement still misses the point: Davis would not exist if not for UC Davis. UC Davis would not exist if not for the students. In fact, most Davis residents choose to live here because we appreciate the university and all it has to offer, including its students.
We enjoy their contribution to the character of our community with their energy, diversity and intellects. Students are a big part of Davis' character. So, why do some residents disparage them? That's a subject for another column. For the time being, however, students should take comfort in the fact that most of us appreciate UC Davis students and all they have to offer. That's one reason why we live here.
MIKE LEVY, a UC Davis alumnus, is a Davis City Council candidate and he can be reached at mikelevy@pacbell.net.
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