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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 1996)
I The Battalion • Monday, August 12,1996 • Page 5 j ea( | MOSAIC a f acult y lesson in diversity lone on top oi S *By April Towery The Battalion - ihe strode up yon his way y he was car: i, whooping s: ie folks, respor; if his hat anda: MOSAIC sounds like an expensive paint ing, but in actuality, it is a group of Aggie staff [members trying to make a difference. An acronym for Maximizing Opportunities for Staff to Achieve an Inclusive Campus, MO SAIC, is the staff version of the student pro gram UACT, University Awareness for Cul- e '. ‘i Htural Togetherness. missed the 12: The program offers a training workshop would havep |to any department on campus, but is also omfortableoii;*available to individuals through the Human is hat agair®Resource Department. Diversity Education Coordinator Sheri Schmidt, worked on developing the program and training a staff of 10 campus facilitators before the program came into existence in the [spring of 1996. “I started working with UACT, then gradu- isle of high:, ous fans as sign his score:: ly too early te- ry knew it. •h way to er:.. 've played so; Bally moved into Phase II, which was a staff tad that putt:: 1 program,” Schmidt said. t too high. I h i “The beauty of it is that before, I was doing I for 17 holes.' f the workshops by myself; whereas now, it is a ever, walked;; § group of 10 colleagues with a variety of input.” ip pointing fcfi Facilitator Felicia Scott, an employee of the held high, i great expena d. "I’ve never s ion before, ll hr myself an: mtucky whou 1 for me thir»> od for my cti down the roi: [ lesson, but:' sOilei s starred in’;: es. f those guys; ■ picture, 1 ' Rl guys take tv: earn their pos::: id him from 1 the next da; ng we want*: ns (H-back, I estion isi<[ ,o the challetj ad-type blocfl es to show!)!: vice president’s office, said she has been in volved with MOSAIC from the beginning be cause of all it has to offer. “I think one important characteristic of the program is that it encourages dialogue in a relatively safe environment and promotes sharing issues and helping to solve problems,” Scott said. The workshops offered by MOSAIC strive to educate the audience on peer diversity. “We want to teach people the skills needed to achieve an inclusive environment as em ployees of a university,” Schmidt said. “There is more to it than understanding your own cul tural identity.” “We discuss the stereotypes that affect each one of us every day. This allows people to rec ognize the reality of it and develop an action plan to implement in their own department.” Schmidt said the workshops also cover cross-cultural education. “It goes beyond racism and sexism, to lead ership, human relation skills, and day-to-day interaction skills,” Schmidt said. MOSAIC also strives to educate people about the characteristics of an environment in which everyone contributes, regardless of cul tural diversity. Schmidt said that the program itself con sists of a variety of people. Jan Reinhardt, a' staff member in the engi neering department, got involved with MOSAIC to learn and educate about respect for others. “We’re staff to staff, so we’re working on peer education and a commonality of experi ence on which to draw,” Reinhardt said. “Diver sity has become a negative word, so the basis of the workshop is to recognize people as individu als and not lump them together as a group.” Although MOSAIC has only been in exis tence for a short time, facilitators have made considerable time contributions in the year-long preparation and development of the program. Schmidt said each staff member involved in MOSAIC has enriched the program and made hqr job easier. “The work we have to do in order to give the workshops has gone more smoothly and quickly now that I have a board of facilitators to work with,” Schmidt said. Currently, MOSAIC is trying to get the word out that there can be a faculty version of the program, which Reinhardt said will allow for more peer diversity education. “We’re working on Phase III to be a faculty- to-faculty program,” Reinhardt said. “We just need people who are willing to get involved.” C° ^ 'Dip Comas framed in graduation “Day ‘Extended‘Mours Jriday and Saturday • 'Best QuaCity in ‘Town • Best Vatue • guaranteed Troduct Cjadery and Custom framing 404 University "Drive "East Coffege Station, "IX 77840. (409) 693-6894 10 % Off Diploma i raminq with this coupon Soil workers get their hands dirty Students process soil, water and forage at the Texas A&M Soil Testing Laboratory By James Fowler The Battalion I, 8# and Bagfff : n a wild pit:: undout, the secondif at and Bcod Williams’ f eck in lefh ,h inning wid more runs’: ) Moutonaiii igla- ghth after T ndini. Tuben Amar: 3/5, 6-i ortstop Ale* n’s grounder elding e™' ih a single usty Greer ce fly to f ? seventh be ; eighth w double, Re singly ded t 0 ^ j _ hll ieeero “ied, "Dirt is a four-letter word | around here,” Nancy Blackstock, a student worker at the Soil Test- I ing Laboratory and a senior agri- | cultural engineering major, said. Pay dirt more accurately de scribes the valuable technical and job-related experience that student workers gain at the lab. ! It processes soil, water and for- ! age samples to help people over come drought conditions by iden- ! tifying problems such as plant nitrate stress. Dr. Tony L. Provin, assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and labo ratory director, said the lab pro vides analyses to over 2,000 cus tomers, creating a demanding environment for workers. “It can be a really high pres sure job because the sample flow can be so variable,” Fh-ovin said. "We can get a huge number in today, and our goal is to provide results within 24 hours.” The lab is staffed by seven permanent scientists and be tween six and nine student em ployees from a wide range of academic backgrounds. Jason Beaudreau, a senior computer science major, has worked at the lab since his freshman year. Beaudreau provides a key service by maintaining a cus tomized database. The data base annually tracks over 50,000 soil, water and plant samples that contain informa tion on the customers, each sample’s status, and results of the analyses. Beaudreau said his greatest accomplishment was repairing lab software that others had not been able to fix. He said this gave him the confidence to suc ceed after graduation. "It makes me feel good knowing, as a student worker, I am doing the same work a successful professional making $40,000 a year would,” Beau dreau said. Nancy Blackstock, who oper ates the Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) machine, is at the heart of the lab’s operations. She runs the customers’ samples through the ICP machine to give a basic mineral breakdown in the soil or plants. “When you ask for an analysis with the basic routine test, we can tell you how much nitrates or nitrogen, calcium, phospho rous, potassium, magnesium, sodium and sulfur is in the soil sample,” Blackstock said. The Soil Testing Laboratory has operated at A&M since 1946 and primarily serves agri cultural, business, government and residential customers in Texas. It tests soil, forage and sed a A chlV -y liC cn iJon 1 fin 0 f the isltfd lent _ ovd 11 fif^ 11 sar Se' k0 Featuring title track, “She Comes ‘Round” and “Are You Ready for The Fallout?” Featuring t»Uo track, “She Comes Round" ^ ami "Are You Ready For Tho Fallout?" *7 „ ;• > 3uy their Hollywood Records debut album, Make your Mama Froud, on Sale Now! marooned 1 1 O colleges main ©4-€5-00 1 V water for non-drinking purpos es for mineral, pH (i.e. acidity or alkalinity), salinity and met al content, depending on cus tomer requirements. The lab is located on the third floor of the Heep Center on West Campus and its services are available to the public. The lab offers a testing kit that consists of a bag for the soil sample and instructions for gathering the soil. A routine analysis costs $10. This test provides useful information for homeowners. Provin said the student work ers gain valuable experience at the lab. They work with cus tomers, get a taste of the busi ness world, and learn about lab management and procedures. “We can’t function without the student workers; it would be hard to survive in today’s fiscal ly restrictive environment with out them,” Provin said. THE AMERICAN STEAK HOUSE k CHICKEN TENDERS Chicken Strips, lightly fried and served with spicy gravy. WEST TEXAS TORPEDOES Jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese, then we dip ‘em in a spicy batter and fry ‘em up. FRIED GAIQR Tender strips of swamp filet lightly battered and served with a cajun BBQ sauce. FRIED DILL PICKLES A southern Louisiana delight! TEXAS TOOTHPICKS Fresh-cut onions and jalapenos in a light batter, seasoned with cayenne and black pepper. BROCCOLI AND CHEESE BITES 5.95 4.95 5.95 3.95 3.95 3.95 Broccoli, sharp cheddar and bacon battered and lightly fried. TER-R-R-R-R-IF1C! and these are just for starters,*.* Open at 11:30 just for you special graduates! Congratulations & Good Luck! 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