Let me be the first to say it: College Park Scholars is getting trashed this year – and I think it’s going to be great.

Yes, I can explain.

For the first time in its 21-year history, College Park Scholars has chosen a theme for the coming year, the goal being to provide students in all 12 of our programs with a shared intellectual experience. We chose Trash: The Problem of Waste in Our Lives and World as our first theme, because it is a complex, multifaceted problem that demands thoughtful, creative, hands-on solutions. It seemed uniquely suited to Scholars because it connects so powerfully to our core values of interdisciplinary study, applied learning, and caring, conscientious community. It also affords us a great opportunity to use the living part of our living-learning community as an incubator for best practices in how a college campus can better manage waste. We are making concerted efforts to produce less trash in all our offices and activities. We are also thrilled that Chestertown Hall, which houses the Scholars Environment, Technology and Economy program, will be participating in a pilot composting project.

Scholars will offer an exciting mix of curricular and co-curricular activities in support of the Trash theme. A lecture series called Trash Talks will kick off on September 30 with Majora Carter, a MacArthur Award-winning urban revitalization strategist with a powerful message about how a cleaner, greener infrastructure can help move people out of poverty. There will also be a film series, with a mix of documentary and feature films focused on trash from a variety of perspectives. Students who participate in the Sustainable Tailgating program can earn Scholars Cup points for helping to gather trash and recyclables from visitors during home football games. Students interested in doing trash-related research or practicum projects can compete for a special prize at next spring’s Academic Showcase. There will also be a number of field trips and service opportunities throughout the year that will show students the environmental and economic challenges posed by trash as well as some of the innovative ideas businesses and communities have adopted to meet those challenges.

So, getting trashed in Scholars means digging in to a big problem with the determination and creativity that will be required to fix it. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Stay tuned to this space for more details and further reflections as the year of Trash unfolds in Scholars.