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Students from several area school districts received the unique experience of speaking with some big names in war crimes prosecution at the Robert H. Jackson Center.

Participants in the Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies this week didn't only get to hear speeches from Eli Rosenbaum, David Crane and John Q. Barrett on Tuesday - they ate lunch with them, sat down for an informal discussion with them, and had the chance to meet the people behind the titles and accomplishments.

Fifteen students representing Allegany-Limestone, Chautauqua Lake, Clymer, Ellicottville, Falconer, Frewsburg, Jamestown, Olean and Panama schools are enrolled in the weeklong program, which aims to teach them more about the history of genocide in the world and give them ideas of what they can do in their schools and communities to help victims.

''I came because I'm so attracted to genocide,'' Ashlyn Ruth of Panama Central School said. ''Since I've been here I've seen that it really is a lot more horrible than I thought. ... In the next few days, I hope to learn more so I can do something and change the future, hopefully, as many of us want to do.''

Ashlyn's sentiments were repeated by the rest of the students involved in the program, who also had pre-institute days where they heard from Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and author of ''Night,'' and Carl Wilkens, the only American to stay in Rwanda during that nation's genocide.

''I always like to help people, so this just kind of gives me an opportunity to look into how I can help people in other countries,'' Deanna Michael of Ellicottville Central School said. ''It's really lived up to my expectations - more than my expectations - because we got to meet people who actually did something for the world. I can kind of look up to these people and say, 'They did this, so I can do something like this.'''

The summer institute's sponsors include the Jackson Center, the Jamestown Teaching American History Grant, the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo and Buffalo for Africa.

Thursday, students will meet Dominic Diing, a Lost Boy of Sudan and founder of Aid and Care, and Friday they will hear a testimony from and have lunch with Joe Diamond, an Auschwitz survivor.

Crane, who has been involved with area summer institutes for two years and is planning to come back for another next year, said informing youth about human rights and genocide awareness is an important obligation for him to fulfill.

''Having the privilege of being a chief prosecutor for an international tribunal, that privilege has to be translated now in a way that I can pass it on to the next generation,'' he said. ''To see these kind of things happen is just incredibly important for the country and for the world, and of course for the students.''

Kate Wiggers of Clymer Central School said the chance to not just hear Crane and the other speakers but to speak with them as people has helped influence her and inspire her.

''I felt very privileged to be able to talk to somebody like that,'' she said. ''What he said was baby steps is what you should start with. You work your way up and anybody can do anything.''