MOSAIC closure
The Multicultural Organization Space for Activities, Inclusion, and Collaboration (MOSAIC) is an area where multiple campus groups keep supplies and inventory, as well as a common space for students to meet for academic, extracurricular, and recreational purposes. This area recently endured unforeseen piping and flooding issues, leading to an indefinite closure.
In an interview with Clifton Harcum, director of multicultural affairs, he described the MOSAIC as the “original space on campus to promote inclusivity and belonging for students [of color] here at Geneseo.”
Harcum elaborated on the current MOSAIC situation: “a pipe that burst over the top of the MOSAIC—I think it came from Starbucks. Upon inspecting the pipe damage, it was in the best interest to replace all of the piping [in the MOSAIC] in order to avoid further damages in the future.”
The administration’s current plan is to replace all of the piping in the area, along with the piping, the surrounding ceiling, and lighting fixtures. In order to complete these procedures, the entire MOSAIC needs to be emptied out. This means that all items in the area will have to be collected and relocated by their respective owners.
All club members and others affected by this were informed of the situation via email and given instructions as to what their next steps need to be. Belongings must be removed by the end of September. Storage bins have been provided for members to continue storing their items in a separate area. Clubs were encouraged to separate items into what needs to be put into storage, and what can simply be thrown away.
All cultural clubs on campus were encouraged to work with Harcum to discuss a replacement area to store their belongings. He said: “we may be moving a lot of those belongings [items being stored by clubs] over to the MCC [Multicultural Center] until further notice to support the cultural clubs as well as the other multicultural organizations on campus.” This process will have no effect on students utilizing the Multicultural Center.
The Multicultural Center on campus is described by Harcum as a “great place for students to connect, to connect with one another, to connect with people in their major.” He continued: “I kind of look at the center as a community in itself–we have people from all walks of life that utilize the center.”
Harcum wants all students to know that he “really recommend that anyone who’s reading this, or anyone that's interested in how they can engage and get involved with the MCC that you contact me via email or come on in. We are open every day from 10 a.m. to 11p.m. and we’re looking to host educational, social, or just networking events.”
All students are welcome in the MCC to do homework, ask questions, or even to meet new people. Harcum’s email is charcum@geneseo.edu.
An important additional note is, according to Clifton: “No students’ belongings were damaged by the initial flooding… It leaked outside of where their belongings were.”
All of the measures being taken in the removal of items are to prevent anything from getting damaged. All club belongings were unaffected by any surrounding water and are being removed to ensure that they will stay that way.
Thumbnail via News Editor Hannah Myers