College sophomore Nick Barnes spent last weekend hanging out with friends.

But that isn't all he spent.

That's because "hanging out" with friends called for shelling out cash to catch the latest Adam Sandler flick at the cineplex, forking over green to grab a bite to eat afterward, and laying down moolah to get into a local dance club.

"It feels like I'm spending a fortune here," Barnes said last week, before chowing down on a sandwich, chips and a drink at Mr. Goodcents.

Spending a fortune -- or a college student's version of it -- is something that Barnes, a St. Louis native attending Southeast Missouri State University, says he does routinely. It's also something that the 9,400 or so university students living here also do every day.

While that might put a financial pinch on students like Barnes, all that spending is good news for the local economy.

"It's significant," said Dr. Bruce Domazlicky, director of the university's Center for Economic and Business Research. "Students spend quite a bit of money. That reverberates throughout the economy."

Domazlicky said a study was done three years ago that gauged how university students impact the Cape Girardeau-area economy.

Students, on average, spend about $120 a month on various items, including groceries, meals, school supplies, according to the study, and the figure is probably slightly higher than that now. That figure doesn't include rent for students who live off campus.

"Students are much more mobile today," Domazlicky said. "They're everywhere in town spending money."

'No ups and downs'

He said that with the university's 1,000 employees and the 1,000 other jobs created by student spending make up 4 percent of Cape Girardeau's 50,000-job workforce.

"Clearly, it's a major impact," Domazlicky said. "There's no question about it. That brings a stability to the economy. There are no ups and downs from one year to the next."

Lindsay Kosakowski, a 21-year-old junior from St. Louis, said that older college students also keep downtown bars afloat. She likes to go to Jeremiah's, Ragsdale's and the Bel Air Grill.

"If people think that college students don't have an impact, they should look around during summer," she said. "There aren't a lot of people here. I'd say our economic impact is huge."

Sophomore Nick Emas, 19, of St. Louis, agreed.

"We're spending money all the time," he said. "Lots of times, we'll go out to Wal-Mart to pick up food, or we'll go out to restaurants. We're always around town -- Pagliai's, Imo's, Logan's. It's not just food, I've gotten a couple of tattoos while I was here, and those aren't cheap."

Emas said he's heard "townies" complain about students returning to school.

"But I've spent $3,000 since I got here two years ago," he said. "I bet it's the university students that encourage people like Best Buy into coming here. Students really keep the town going."

'We love them'

If you hear a few complaints about longer lines and busier streets, it's not from business owners.

"We love them. It's a huge part of our business," said Chris Dye, owner of the Mr. Goodcents located near campus. "It's why we picked this location. During the summer when school's out, it's dead. When school starts, it's like dumping 10,000 citizens in the population."

Dave Ladreiter opened DC's Cafe in the same strip mall as Mr. Goodcents last December.

"They play a huge effect on the economy," said Ladreiter, who estimates college students make up half of his business. "If they weren't there, of course I'd feel it. It's common sense."

And it's certainly not just businesses near the university campus.

"We couldn't live without the students," said Jim Govro, manager of Westfield Shoppingtown West Park. "It's a significant part of our business."

He said that university students are clearly catered to with stores like Aeropostale, American Eagle, Hot Topic, Gadzooks and Vanity.

"College students are a huge part of any economy that has a university," Govro said. "Especially considering that so many come here from out of town bringing money from out of town that wouldn't be here otherwise. We don't take them for granted."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137