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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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TEDxFoggyBottom aims to inspire campus

This post was written by Hatchet reporter Brandon Lee.

Junior Brian Doyle, who advocated for the "Before I Die Wall" last year, organized next month's TEDxFoggyBottom. Hatchet File Photo
Junior Brian Doyle, who advocated for the “Before I Die Wall” last year, organized next month’s TEDxFoggyBottom. Hatchet File Photo

The event that tries to pitch “ideas worth spreading” will hit GW’s campus again this year.

TEDxFoggyBottom 2014, the annual conference bringing inspirational speakers and innovative thinkers to campus, will move to a larger space in Lisner Auditorium next month after taking over Betts Theatre last year.

More than 20 speakers will hit the stage at TEDxFoggyBottom , including a professional chalk artist, the founder of Street Sense newspaper, an advocate for sexual assault survivors and the band Postmodern Jukebox.

Sophomore Oz Fishman will give a talk on “activism in the 21st century.”

“Everybody has the power to say something. It’s a matter of realizing what that power is,” Fishman said.

Junior Brian Doyle has spent over 1,200 hours organizing the event with his team, which will be held on Friday, Feb. 7. The theme – “Illuminate!” – was complemented by a student-run art exhibition last fall.

Doyle, a human services and social justice major, was inspired to bring the event to GW after organizing a similar session at his high school.

“These events allow anyone in the world to bring together leaders and change-makers both in and out of the community,” Doyle said. “It inspires discussion and action, and because of that, it’s given me a foundation to spread ideas that allow others to spread their own ideas.”

In November, Doyle presented his own TED talk about a near-death experience when he almost crashed his car during a night out with friends.

“It was the most incredible experience. There are so many adjectives I could use,” Doyle said.

The event, held in Lisner Auditorium, will run from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online for $20, and come with a voucher to skip class and attend sessions throughout the day, Doyle said.

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