How well do incoming BU students know Binghamton?

7/12/2012 (Updated 9:43:35 PM)

(Source: Travis Eldridge)

VESTAL -- Students come from all over to attend SUNY Binghamton and they all have a reason for coming to BU, but just how much do incoming students really know about the city sitting outside the campus boundaries?

Judging be the reactions of several students at orientation Thursday morning, they don't know too much.

About 10 percent of the incoming class of students this year are from the Broome and Tioga areas, and 30 percent are from Upstate New York.  However, the rest of the students have a lot to learn about the City of Binghamton.

The learning is all part of the college experience, and it's an experience the city hopes to capitalize on.  With the new student housing opening this year in downtown, the partnership between the city and BU students will be even more important.

"Our plan has always been that we think more and more people are going to invest in businesses downtown to take care of the needs of our new residents," said Mayor Matt Ryan. "So I think it's going to be a win-win for all of us."

It's a relationship Mayor Ryan thinks can go both ways.

"Hopefully we take advantage of each other," said Ryan.  "They learn from us, we learn from them.  They help us revive our city, and we have a better place for it."

In a little over a month the students will be back, and with it the city hopes business will boom.

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