By Aidan Shaw
The Commuter
If you’re looking to find a safe and inclusive spot on campus, look no further than the MOSAIC Center being offered by Frederick Community College.
The MOSAIC (Making Our Space an Inclusive Community) Center is a place where students can learn about diversity, equality and social justice issues. The center is expected to open in time for the fall semester.
The concept of MOSAIC Center was the vision of Nora Clark, previous vice president of Student Affairs, according to Benita Rashaw, associate vice president for Student Affairs. The mission behind the MOSAIC Center is to be able to focus on teaching while providing resources for students of all walks of life and types of learners.
“As a community, meaning faculty, staff, administrators, and students, there has been 100 percent support around this program,” Rashaw said.
The new center will be housed in the Student Center in H-102 and H-103 will be the MOSIAC Counseling Center. The grand opening is set for the first week in September after Labor Day.
Rashaw and her team gathered 158 surveys from the student body and FCC.
One student’s response from the survey was, “It’s incredibly important to offer support to minority religions, such as prayer times, the opportunity to host religious holidays or festivals to show people how they celebrate, and kosher and halal food.”
Another student expressed, “I appreciate that FCC is striving for an inclusive and safe environment for all cultures.”
Over the summer, the former classrooms will receive a more colorful makeover.
“We’re getting a former FCC student to do a wall mural that represents all of the students and members of the community that gave input in the survey,” Rashaw said.
Rashaw said she hopes the MOSAIC Center becomes a welcoming space for students and others and allows students to learn about different cultures, ethnicities and social justice issues.
