I'm not a man prone to melancholy. I'm also not a man that sees racism around every corner. I spent the morning watching over the exhibit in the LRC of Anne Frank, a young girl whose diary has touched the hearts of any who have read it. I say watching because even in 2009 one has to be aware of the potential for fringe attitudes to rear their ugly head.

The pictures in the exhibit are not, for the most part, graphic. Most are simple photos of the exhibits' subject, Anne Frank, and her family or places associated with her life. There are some pictures of the piles of bodies encountered by WWII troops in the various camps. I can tell you the black and white pictures don't do these atrocities justice. They lack the humanity lost. I remember watching a showing of World War II in Color and there's a shot of a flatbed truck they pan over in or near Buchenwald. The picture starts in black and white then transitions to color. In black and white your mind struggles to differentiate the bodies from piles of wood. You know they're bodies but some portion of the mind says, "No this must be wood". In color, there is no doubt. No wiggle room for the mind. The shock is immediate and over-powering.

As you walk around the exhibit, 20+ panels of images and captions, following the timeline of Anne Frank's life the sense of loss grows as you move from panel to panel. From her birth to her tragic death, just short of the liberation of her camp, you'll walk the path of Anne in each panel. The last panel, a somber picture of Otto Frank, the lone survivor of Anne's family and friends, is as powerful as those color pictures. The words on that panel will bring you close to tears.

If you get a chance, stop by the exhibit in the LRC on the 3^rd floor.