At the University of Maryland, a historic campus farm remains a classroom
By Emma Carter
Image information
This is a representative image for this Daily News lesson.
Intro
The University of Maryland’s campus farm in College Park, Maryland, has a dual role: it recalls the institution’s agricultural beginnings and continues to serve as a place where students learn.
Vocabulary
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| remnant noun | noun | Meaning: A surviving part or trace of something that once existed more fully. | Example: The old observatory is a remnant of the university’s early scientific program. |
| continuity noun | noun | Meaning: The quality of continuing without interruption or preserving a connection across time. | Example: The archive’s careful cataloguing preserves continuity between generations of researchers. |
| confined adjective | adjective | Meaning: Restricted within limits; not allowed to extend beyond a particular scope. | Example: Her influence was not confined to the laboratory; it reshaped the department’s priorities. |
| trace noun | noun | Meaning: A small remaining indication or evidence of something that existed in the past. | Example: Only a trace of the original paint remained beneath the restored façade. |
| experiential adjective | adjective | Meaning: Relating to learning or understanding gained through direct experience. | Example: The course pairs theoretical readings with experiential work in the field. |
| tangible adjective | adjective | Meaning: Perceptible in a concrete or physical way; not merely abstract. | Example: The agreement produced tangible improvements in access to public transit. |
| coexistence noun | noun | Meaning: The state of existing together, especially when distinct qualities or purposes are retained. | Example: The exhibition explores the coexistence of civic pride and historical regret. |
| enduring adjective | adjective | Meaning: Continuing over a long period; lasting despite the passage of time. | Example: The novel’s enduring appeal rests on its unsentimental account of loyalty. |
The story
The University of Maryland’s campus farm in College Park, Maryland, holds two roles at once. It is a remnant of the university’s agricultural-school roots, and it remains a place where students learn. Its continued use gives the site a connection to the institution’s past as well as a role in its present.
That combination matters because a campus landscape can carry history without being confined to it. Here, the farm is not simply a trace of an earlier educational focus: students still learn there. The continuity is practical as well as symbolic. A place associated with the university’s agricultural beginnings continues to have an educational purpose, linking the institution’s history to student experience today.
In general, campus farms can make agriculture a subject encountered in a physical setting rather than only through classroom discussion. The term “experiential learning” describes this broader approach: learners engage with a subject through direct activity or observation. That general idea helps explain why a farm can function as a classroom, although the specific activities students undertake at this site are not established here.
The farm’s significance, then, lies in the coexistence of inheritance and use. Its historical connection recalls the university’s agricultural-school roots, while its ongoing place in student learning gives that history a present-day dimension. The site need not represent the whole university or define every student’s education to matter. Its value rests in the more focused relationship between an enduring campus place and a continuing educational function.
For students, learning at a site with historical ties can make institutional history tangible: the past is present in a place still used for education. For the university, the farm maintains a visible connection to its agricultural beginnings while serving a current purpose. The verified account establishes that dual role, but does not specify when the farm began, what students study there, or how its programs are organized. The central point is therefore straightforward: in College Park, the University of Maryland’s farm is both a historical remnant and a living classroom.
Warm-up questions
- What kinds of places on a campus can preserve an institution’s past while serving present needs?
- How might learning in a physical setting differ from learning about the same subject in a classroom?
Comprehension questions
- What two roles does the farm hold at once?
- Why does the article describe the farm’s continuity as both practical and symbolic?
- What does “experiential learning” mean in the article?
- What limits does the article place on the farm’s significance?
- Which aspects of the farm’s current educational role are not specified?
Opinion questions
- Should universities preserve historic sites even when those sites serve only a focused educational role? Explain your view.
- Which is more persuasive as a way to teach institutional history: a physical place still in use or a formal account of the past?
Further discussion
- What evidence would help establish whether a campus farm meaningfully shapes students’ learning?
- How can institutions acknowledge their origins without suggesting that their past defines their present?
Writing prompt
- Write a short analytical essay on how a place can retain historical significance while serving a present-day purpose. Use the farm as a case study, and distinguish what the article establishes from what it leaves unspecified.
