Some spoke loudly. Others quietly whispered.

One by one, students stood behind a podium on the Free SpeechSteps Tuesday and read names aloud to honor the more than 6 millionpeople who lost their lives in the Holocaust.

Students read from a book containing the names of 19,000 victims,a fraction of those who died and too large to read entirely in oneday.

Next to the podium hung a quilt containing small squares. Phrasessuch as “The pain endures” and “Never Forget 6,000,000” echoed acrossthe canvas.

“The Holocaust was a big part of not only Jewish history, butsecular history,” sociology sophomore Joseph Robinson said. “It’s aworld-changing event, and I don’t ever want it to escape my memory.”

Each year, Jewish people honor Yom

HaShoah, a day established to remember the Holocaust and paytribute to its victims. It also marks the anniversary of the WarsawGhetto uprising in 1943.

Holocaust Remembrance Day on campus was sponsored by Hillel — aninternational organization for Jewish college students — and theJewish Student Union. Ten other student organizations alsoparticipated. In total, about 100 students took part.

“It’s an opportunity for us, as a campus community, to cometogether in all of our diverse facets and try to make something goodout of a huge atrocity,” Hillel Program Director Marla Scher said.

Each year, Scher said many students offer to read names once theyfind out what the groups are doing. Others contribute to the quilt,which she hopes will one day hang in a permanent place on campus. Thequilt was started last year.

As violence rages in the Middle East, Scher said it is sometimesdifficult to focus on Holocaust victims with the number of peoplesuffering in Israel today. But, she said, it is important for theworld to remember the historical event.

Over the past few months, claims of anti-Semitism on campus havebeen growing. One student addressed the Associated Students Councilabout her fear of being Jewish at San Diego State.

Robinson said although he has never witnessed an anti-Semiticaction, he knows it’s a problem with other students.

“It’s just a lack of understanding on the part of those who makecomments,” he said. “People aren’t blatantly anti-Semitic. I thinkthey’ve heard something and they’re repeating it instead of actuallyspeaking what they feel.”

Everyone, he said, should take time to pay respect on Yom HaShoah.

“This is something that affected the world,” he said. “It issomething that should be remembered by everybody.”