Walking from the Pub Thursday afternoon after watching a disappointing loss our basketball team faced due to Murray State, I happened upon what I believed to be a “stranger” looking lost. Normally, being the good samaritan that I am, I would have stopped and gladly given some help, but as I got closer and closer to this person, I noticed this kid had no visible Vanderbilt ID. So I did the most appropriate thing I could think of…make awkward eye contact, turn my head to the side, pull out my cellphone and pretend to be so enraptured in a conversation that I couldn’t possibly take time out of my meaningless conversation to help this poor kid. Feeling bad, I took one more look at the kid and noticed he had a name tag emblazoned with his hometown, name and the words “MOSAIC 2010.” Looking around, I noticed there were a lot more kids, with similar name tags, just standing around that I didn’t recognize.  Remembering MOSAIC as the program I didn’t get invited to, when I was admitted into Vanderbilt, I purposely shoulder bumped the kid while shouting “Welcome to Vanderbilt Jackass.” Laughing to myself as I walked away I noticed a VUPD officer quickly approaching the student. Not wanting to cause trouble, I hastened to the SLC where I had heard the MOSAIC events would start. As I got to the ballroom, I noticed a lot of Vanderbilt students picking up the MOSAIC kids and leaving. Thinking these Vanderbilt students were going to show these kids a good time, I was confused that they were headed in the direction opposite of Frat Row. Confused at this point, I decided that maybe they were waiting until the weekend to introduce these kids to the wilder side of Vanderbilt. I was once again disappointed when I showed up at Frat Row and the usual suspects were all in attendance. As I lay in my bed Saturday night,  whilst neglecting to do the reading assigned for my class the next Monday, I decided that I need to get on the Internet and find out what exactly this MOSAIC weekend really entailed.

After exploring Facebook for two hours and looking through party pictures of MOSAIC events I wasn’t invited to, I finally summoned the will to close that browser and do a google search. My search led me to the Office of Student Admissions. Quoted directly from the MOSAIC page, they say, “The purpose of MOSAIC is to give prospective students a unique introduction to a campus constantly striving for increased diversity and awareness. As a result, we are asking that you help the prospective students visualize themselves as future Commodores while at the same time, giving them an accurate glimpse of life at Vanderbilt.” Confused and conflicted, I wondered how these kids would get an accurate perspective of Vanderbilt without standing in line at Rand when it’s 12:00pm, going to Frat Row 3 nights in a row before realizing it’s all the same, standing in line at the post office for 15 minutes before giving up and trying again tomorrow and having to ride the Vandy Van all around campus just to get from Kissam to Branscomb. How could these students possibly understand the struggles we Vanderbilt kids face on a day to day basis by following an itinerary set up by people who don’t know anything about student life at Vanderbilt? The answer, I realized, lay beyond my limited scope of knowledge. Getting out of my room, I decided to head to the Commons Munchie Mart, looking forward to the meal I was about to use. After getting my entree and two sides, I turned to stand in line and was shocked at how long it stretched. Walking dejectedly to the back, I glared at all the MOSAIC kids who swarmed in all the while thinking, “Fuck MOSAIC.”