Campus Invited to Join Common Reading with 'Garbology'

Sustainability is the theme for this year’s Project One, and the selection committee has chosen Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Humes as the common reading. 

Project One, which evolved from Tech’s first-year reading program, strives to help freshmen connect to the campus community through discussions and programming based around a common reading. All of the campus community is invited to join in the reading selection this year. 

“With Garbology, students will have the opportunity to work together to see how they can impact sustainability on our campus and beyond,” said Lacy Hodges, Academic Transition Programs Manager in the Center for Academic Enrichment.

Garbology presents the history and statistics behind America’s staggering “garbage addiction” — an average of 102 tons of trash per person — and invites readers to consider not only the waste crisis in the U.S., but also the opportunities this crisis presents for sustainability and community engagement. 

All incoming students receive a copy of Garbology in their FASET Orientation materials, and the book will be used in GT 1000, ENGL 1101, and ENGL 1102 classes this fall. In addition to its presence in the first-year curriculum, this year, Project One will support Georgia Tech’s new quality enhancement plan (QEP), Serve•Learn•Sustain, and provide all members of the Georgia Tech community with opportunities to develop innovative solutions to sustainability issues and to create a more sustainable campus community. 

 “The book will provide students with a broad introduction to some of the important learning outcomes of Serve•Learn•Sustain,” said Steven Girardot, associate vice provost for Undergraduate Education.

There will be a number of events on campus this fall and spring to connect students to Garbology and sustainability on campus, including a campus visit from Edward Humes, the book’s author. Humes will give a plenary talk for Georgia Tech students, faculty, and staff on sustainability on October 1 in Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons.  

Learn more about Project One and upcoming Garbology-related events at www.c.gatech.edu/projectone.