The biggest issue concerning MOSAIC right now is access, according to Chief Diversity Officer and Co-Chair of MOSAIC Mike Thigpen.
Thigpen emphasized that some students do not have the same opportunities as others.
“It is the responsibility for those who provide care to diagnose the need for each person that comes in,” Thigpen said about students who enter the university.
“MOSAIC is an acronym for ‘Making Our Students an Informed Community,’” Nia Carter, author of MOSAIC Monthly, said. “It is a committee of faculty and staff where student ambassadors are the link between the faculty and the students who want to talk about anything.”
MOSAIC serves as a middle ground that was put into place to target the diverse minority issues on campus and create a safe space for conversation surrounding these groups of people.
With February being Black History Month, MOSAIC will be hosting several virtual chapels in celebration. And though there are no other events scheduled for this month directly related to MOSAIC, there are several other ways to get involved this February.
According to Thigpen, two Cicely Tyson movies about racial injustice will be encouraged to view. The films “Sounder” and “The Autobiography of Jane Pittman” will be exhibited for free at your own leisure. The links have been sent out through “AU Check This Out.”
“We want to engage people on our campus and teach them a little bit about black history as well as engage in a conversation about race,” Thigpen said.
Thigpen went on to express how much of an important topic it is and how society should not stop talking about it.
“We are going to spend a lot of time in the upcoming year talking about equity,” Thigpen continued. “What does that really mean?”
He hopes that with the help of MOSAIC the AU community will begin to understand the components of equity and how it relates to the people on campus.
MOSAIC has also just released its first newsletter presenting information about what students can expect to see this semester.
Carter said that with the MOSAIC Monthly newsletter, real change can be seen and made on campus.
“This newsletter gives students no excuse to not know what’s happening,” Carter explained.
The monthly newsletter gives students an insight into what issues are currently being tackled within the staff as well as markets themselves to students with any problems within the university.
“The newsletter will go through ‘AU Check This Out’,” Carter said. “I think it’s a good way to get it out to as many people as possible.”
The newsletter will cover the big issues surrounding the minority groups that month.
MOSAIC can be contacted at mosaic@anderson.edu and more information can be found at www.anderson.edu/student-life/diversity.