USGD’s local affairs director is collaborating with local businesses to create a week that aims to increase student interest in the downtown community.
Michael Homan, who has served two years as the local affairs director, said he has a great appreciation for the downtown community, primarily the local businesses and the Downtown campus.
“I really appreciate the number of galleries and the number of individuals who have dedicated their livelihood to downtown,” Homan said, mentioning businesses such as Carly’s Bistro and 8th Day Coffee & Culture. “I love the majors that have come to flourish in downtown Phoenix. Most are very service-based; they all have a very distinct purpose.”
However, Homan said he saw a disconnect between those two presences. He had organized events through his ‘Buy Local, Be Local’ campaign, such as bringing food trucks to the Taylor Place dorms to give the students “that first taste.”
However, he still didn’t see the students going out into the community.
“A lot of students have been here for three-quarters of a school year, if not more, and they still say that there’s nothing to do in downtown,” Homan said. “Which is just not true.”
He said he believes that a lack of information and laziness are to blame.
“Students like to be able to say that they don’t have anywhere to go because it gives them an excuse not to look,” Homan said. “If they do, they’re going to fall in love with it. You’re paying for a better product.”
Homan plans on collaborating with local businesses to offer discounts or other special incentives for the week of March 24-30. Students could then bring in receipts or business cards from the places they visit to enter a raffle at the end of the week, the prizes for which would be provided by those businesses.
“If I can even say that I got one person to one business, I have done my job,” Homan said.
Presently, Missconstrued Boutique, MADE art boutique and Golden Rule Tattoo have all offered special discounts or provided prizes for the raffle.
“I think it’s great that students are starting to learn about local businesses,” said Kimber Lanning, director of Local First Arizona and owner of local record store Stinkweeds. “However, I’d rather him base it off something other than discounts. That won’t create customer loyalty. You should do it because the coffee’s better, not because the coffee’s cheaper.”
Cindy Dach, who serves on the board for Roosevelt Row Community Development Corp. and owns Changing Hands Bookstore and MADE art boutique, said she isn’t as concerned with the discount method for gaining student awareness.
“Anything to raise awareness would help,” Dach said. “The opportunity to introduce a potential new business to new customers is always good.”
MADE, a local business on Roosevelt Row, already offers a discount for ASU students who show their ID card. Dach said the discount has made a minimal long-term impact.
“A challenge with working with the college demographic is the turnover,” Dach said. “Any idea always has to be presented as a new one.”
But if such a week kept students coming back, they wouldn’t be the only ones benefiting.
“In the short-term, that business would thrive and they would hire more people and the economy would benefit,” Lanning said. “If more local businesses are thriving, entrepreneurs are going to see that and start up their own businesses. It’s going to look better and create more jobs.”
Dach said she looks forward to seeing more students interacting with the community.
“I’m inspired by when I see ASU students taking initiative to join forces with the community,” Dach said. “I was always happy with ASU coming downtown, this is just like a bow.”
Contact the reporter at alexandra.scoville@asu.edu
