Eckles is proud as can be to host the Alternative Spring Break: Building Community and Communities photo exhibit in the first floor gallery space.

Each year a diverse group of students from throughout GW participate in Alternative Spring Break. This year, 93 students traveled to Camp Hope in New Orleans, Louisiana to work with Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Along with great memories and probably some tired muscles ASB participants brought back some fascinating photographs of their work and the work left to be done. Be sure to drop by Eckles to check them out!

Photo by: Kelley Bradin

Photo by: Collin Stevenson

Photo by: Catherine Denial

Friday night Eckles hosted a reception and special viewing of the New Orleans 2007 photo exhibit. It seems like the entire Alternative Spring Break crew showed up to eat some tasty beignets and discuss the photos and their experiences in New Orleans. A good time was had by all!

Eckles is always looking for new and interesting student exhibits for the gallery wall. If you have some artwork you think should be seen, please email us at eckles@gwu.edu!

Come into Eckles this weekend to check out some outstanding research done by students in the University Writing and Research Program. As part of the UW20 Symposium, Eckles is hosting an open poster session on Saturday, April 21 at 1pm. This will be a public session to view the posters and for the students to discuss their work.

If you miss the poster session you can still view the posters in the Eckles 1st floor study room through Friday, April 27th.

Friday at 6pm, Eckles is having a reception and special viewing for the Alternative Spring Break photo diary, New Orleans 2007. I know many of you have already been through the exhibit and you may be wondering why you should plan to attend this reception. Well, I can sum it up in one word:

Beignets!

That is right! This reception will feature beignets and coffee, a real New Orleans favorite! You might ask, “What is a beignet?” It can only be described as a square, fried, powdered-sugar coated piece of heavenly deliciousness. And if you have to ask, you need to come to Eckles on Friday night to try some!

Do you wonder what New Orleans looks like today, more than 18 months after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? Well, parts of it look like this:

But thanks to the hard work of 45 GW students from Alternative Spring Break and the good people of Habitat for Humanity, parts of it also look like this:

Come in to the First Floor Gallery space at Eckles Library and view more of the extraordinary photographs of New Orleans taken by the participants in Alternative Spring Break!

Throughout the month of March, Eckles is pleased to be hosting a display of The Clothesline Project.

The Clothesline Project (CLP) is a program started on Cape Cod, MA, in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women. It is a vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a shirt. They then hang the shirt on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against women.

Come to the first floor of Eckles Library anytime in March to see this powerful display. Don’t forget to check back here for more information as the month rolls along.

The Vern has spoken (and continues to speak) about who it thinks will be the nominees for president next year. Handy graphs are posted on the walls (and below, but that is no excuse to skip a trip to Eckles).

We want to know what you think. Yes, YOU! That is why, as part of the presidential candidate display on the gallery wall, we’re asking students, faculty and staff to predict who will be the Democratic and Republican nominees for president next year.

Stop by Eckles’ first floor to find out about your friends’ predictions and make one of your own. I will keep track and of who is in the lead and keep you posted. The winner gets…well, nothing, but it’s exciting anyway!

Yes, it is true. Every person ever to hold elected office is officially running for president in 2008. But don’t worry, Eckles is here to help you decide.

Check out the wall on the first floor for a helpful display of the 19 (yes, 19!) declared candidates for the Democratic and Republican nomination for president. Watch the wall for updates (will Al Gore declare? will Newt Gingrich? what about a Stewart/Colbert ticket?) and we’ll keep you informed.