I've definitely spent some time thinking about it, or did in college anyway.
There's a lot going on with the typical bike population on a college campus.
A fair amount of bikes get stolen on the way home from a party or whatever, and left in a shrubbery or whatever. These bikes tend to get picked up by the school and sold at the reuse store. Some bikes have probably done that loop more than once, especially because these bikes are often not so great, and the line between "stolen" and "community" blurs a bit.
Unregistered/expired bikes also end up in the reuse store, which is also pretty common.
There's a lot going on with the typical bike population on a college campus.
A fair amount of bikes get stolen on the way home from a party or whatever, and left in a shrubbery or whatever. These bikes tend to get picked up by the school and sold at the reuse store. Some bikes have probably done that loop more than once, especially because these bikes are often not so great, and the line between "stolen" and "community" blurs a bit.
Unregistered/expired bikes also end up in the reuse store, which is also pretty common.