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!
Come And Enjoy Our Patio Area
V 809 E. UNIVERSITY (Next to the Hilton) 846-6823
It happens when you advertise in
The Battalion
Call 845-2696
HALO CORPORATION
PRESENTS
\ ir^
TEXAS A&M
Show your spirit, join the Posse.
d ^ ^ ^
2 3/4" High quality cast metal badge tight
to your clothing with strong double magnet
system. No messy holes in clothing.
Ask for it at
Texas A&M Bookstore
&
Rother's Bookstore