This semester, the Geneseo community saw the addition of a new tool to facilitate cultural understanding on campus: the Multi-cultural Organization Space for Activities, Inclusion and Collaboration (MOSAIC) room in the College Union.
The room is intended to provide an additional place for students to congregate while promoting one of Geneseo's professed core values: diversity.
The MOSAIC room was the brainchild of Chip Matthews, director of the College Union and Activities. Using mosaic tile as an inspiration, Matthews fit the words to the theme, creating a clever acronym.
"MOSAIC is representative of a diverse community," Matthews said. "The name is really the mission of the space, to promote diversity."
Located on the first floor of the Union, MacVittie 130 consists of a large area of open work space, along with three partitions, allowing space for six student-organization offices. There, the groups will conduct club and executive meanings while allowing students to interact with people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. The walls in the room are decorated with artwork from various world cultures.
MOSAIC will exhibit one cultural educational event per semester in the space. Next year, library resources will be added to the space, providing students with great sources for term papers and other class assignments.
"The space has a lot of potential," Matthews said.
The grand opening of the MOSAIC room was Wednesday, Jan 30. MOSAIC is open to all students and is designed to supply a first-hand opportunity for students to gain a wider and more accepting perspective of all cultures and races.