Free.

That magic word drew students in droves to the East Campus parking lot where they perused items to deck out their dorm rooms as part of Project Move In.

On August 23 and 26, the Office of Sustainability and the Facilities Management Zero Waste Office distributed 17 tons of gently-used items to Eagles. Half the inventory—which was donated at the end of the spring semester—disappeared within one hour on the first day.

Michael Bruk, SIS/BA ’25, came away a haul that included paintings, rugs, a lamp, a shoe rack, a trash can, and a North Face backpack. “We can’t afford to buy everything for an apartment,” said Bruk of his suite in Cassell Hall. “This will help because we don’t have a lot of lighting. This will make it more homey.” 

Every May, the Office of Sustainability and the Facilities Management Zero Waste Office, with support from student volunteers and Wonk Trade, collects unwanted items as part of Project Move Out—an effort to keep perfectly useful chairs, clothing, dorm room décor, and more out of landfills. Those items, which are stored on campus over the summer, can then help other Eagles outfit their nests.  

Bruk is a fan of the program, having picked up treasures at last year’s Project Move In and donating much of that back to Project Move Out. The Global Scholar expects to do the same thing before he graduates next year.

Sustainability manager Anna Parse Johnson said that’s exactly how the program should work. This fall, the Office of Sustainability put labels on the bottom of some larger items to track how much use they get from one semester to the next.

“The dream would be that students don’t need to buy new things,” Parse Johnson said. “They just use it for a year and give it back to us.”

On the first day of classes, Aleelah Thompson (pictured above), SPA/BA ’26, stopped by Project Move In for the first time. She got there early in search of “earthy, antique sort of décor” for her first off-campus apartment and came away with a pair of canvas art pieces, a headboard, and a vintage mirror. She was happy to put the final touches on her apartment and also felt good about doing her part to protect the environment.

“It’s good that it can be recycled to people who maybe didn't have the opportunity to grab it the first time,” she said.

Abdulla Abduganiev (pictured right), CAS/BS ’28, who is from Uzbekistan, came with his roommate, Alex Reardon (left), Kogod/BS ’28, to find items they realized were missing from their corner of Letts Hall.

“Everything I didn’t bring with me, I got it from here,” said Abduganiev who checked two large suitcases on his flight to the US. “I got a drying rack, a vacuum, and he’s taking a chair. This is really cool.”