BURBANK - Most of the nearly 500 Armenian students at John Muir Middle School were absent on Tuesday, but not because of some mass illness or fun-filled field trip.

They were at home with their parents or at their churches, attending events to remember and reflect on the anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

"We have 1,532 kids and probably a third of them will be gone [today]," said Principal Dan Hacking of this year's Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day on Tuesday.

In the late morning, Suzanne Douzmanian, a regional coordinator for the Genocide Education Project and the descendant of Armenian genocide survivors, spoke to about 450 students in the school's auditorium about remembering and recognizing all genocide.

Douzmanian urged students to be proactive in the fight against reoccurring and current genocides as she shared the story of her family's survival through the massacre of her people.

Ottoman Turks killed an estimated 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1918. The Turkish government denies the killings were genocide.

Students said they were riveted by Douzmanian's presentation.

"She was wonderful," Isabel Navarro, 14, said.

"I think she said everything that needed to be said. Not only that we remember how terrible it was, but that we need to put a stop to it now."

Isabel and Hannah Kolus, 13, combined their efforts this week to raise awareness on their campus of genocide in general, particularly in Darfur, Africa.

They watched Douzmanian intently and said they took her message of action, information, vigilance and remembrance to heart.

"We think it's important that we promote awareness," Isabel said.

"I didn't even know Darfur was happening until half a year ago."

Through the sale of Darfur genocide awareness wristbands, a demonstration on cooking alternatives for women in Darfur and a postcard-writing campaign to the president, the girls hope to make a difference in stopping genocide worldwide, they said.

"It's our responsibility as part of the world to stop situations like this," Hannah said.

The students worked throughout the week on raising awareness for Darfur as part of Global Days for Darfur Week, but said that all genocides are equally evil in their eyes, echoing Douzmanian's sentiment that the world should never forget or allow those instances.

For more information on the Armenian and Darfur genocides, visit The Genocide Education Project at www.TeachGenocide.org.