Genocide is defined as the extermination of a race or religious group. As evil as it has proven to be it still exists today. The bones of ancestors past will now be remembered as people, not just numbers. In April of 2013, one million bones will be on display in a collective sculpture at the National Mall in Washington D.C. to commemorate genocide victims.

This assignment was not originally for PHS but instead for Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose. An English teacher involved with this project sent the assignment to PHS instead of PHHS and had no idea that ceramics teacher Susan Simonds would take on the assignment .Although there was a mix up, Simonds took this opportunity for her students to do something with a large impact. Stepping up to the challenge, students in advanced ceramics classes are making two life size bones with a written explanations of the stories behind each.

The purpose, Simonds said, is to bring awareness to the lesser known genocides or massacres that happen worldwide as well as those in the past.

According to SFgate.com, “This installation will serve as a collaborative site of conscience to remember victims and survivors [And] as a visible petition to raise awareness of the issue and call upon our government to take much needed action.”

Simonds said that students already know about the holocaust so they are encouraged to search for another event that they either have empathy for or relate to in some way.

“I like having students think of art beyond just decoration,” Simonds said. “It teaches students that there is meaning behind their art.”

Senior Steven Tulley said that people don’t know how many genocides like the ones in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in North and South Kivu happen in our lives and this project is a good way to let them know.

“This project shows that genocides are covered up and awareness can be raised with these bones,” Tulley said.

Simonds said that art serves many functions and that these bones have a unique meaning not just for the students but for people who have links to genocide.

According to SFgate.com, “each of the handmade bones raises awareness, commemorates the lives lost and honors the survivors of famine, armed conflict and mass atrocity in a high-visibility art installation”

Senior Aidan Davison said that this project is different from most because it has a greater purpose and is really important for the world to notice. He chose to make a femur for those who held on to their lives until the very end.

“This project is mainly for us to reflect on a genocide that have occurred and are occurring because it’s important to have a memory of those who lost their lives,” Davison said.

The bones will be shipped to Washington D.C. after they have been bisque fired giving them a white appearance.

“It adds solemnness to the event by having them [the bones] all the same color,” Simonds said.

Simonds also said that no matter how different a person is in terms of race or religion their bones will all be white, which is what unifies us as humans.

The genocide event is only happening this year but Simonds said that she would be open to any future projects similar to this.