By Sara Ballenger

Photo by Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier

Two tons of ceramic tile was a free gift Mountain View High School art teacher Jim Levett could not refuse. Levett saw the discarded tiles as a perfect opportunity for his students to make a statement -a statement against school violence.

“I received a phone call from a parent who worked at the Expo Design Center in East Palo Alto, asking if we could use ceramic tile,” said Levett about the donation. “They had just set up their new store for the grand opening and had a bunch of spare pieces they hadn’t used.”

Levett did not know what the students would do with the tile, but knew they could do something meaningful.

“I had designed mosaics on a small scale,” Levett said. “I thought perhaps we had an opportunity to do a mosaic for the campus since we (the Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District) are reaching the end of a five-year renovation plan.”

Levett hauled the three pallets of tile back to the high school.

“We just wanted to make sure someone wanted it,” said Jackie Smith, a sales associate at the Expo Design Center. “Everybody’s happy someone could use it. It’s a lucky thing.”

Once Levett had the tile, he set out to find a theme for the piece.

“There had been the tragic (shooting) incident in Santee, and of course what happened at Columbine last year,” Levett said. “Of a much less serious nature, we have had some situations on our campus as well.”

Levett was upset that school violence was hitting so close to home.

“I got the idea to have the students do something in response to that,” he said. “Why not combine the two ideas?”

Levett asked his students to create a design.

Senior Laura Chakerian’s design was chosen out of three submissions.

“What is currently the final design started out as little doodles in my notebook,” Chakerian said. “In light of the overall chaos in various schools, I wanted to emphasize the concept of peace, love, and unity.”

The 11-foot circular design has a tree in the center with rays of sunlight streaming from the background. Each ray is a different color, representing the different races; a figure is seated, silhouetted against the tree. The mosaic is done in all neutral colors.

The lettering around the mosaic reads “United in Harmony, Grounded in Peace,” Levett said.

Nic Tuban, a junior, worked on making sure the tiles were broken up into the appropriate size to fit the design.

“We tried to pick a color for the person that wasn’t white, black or brown,” he said. “It’s kind of like a combination of all of the colors-like a green, almost.”

Volunteers from the Expo Design Center showed the students how to install the tile.

“The students are doing the majority of the work, we’re just showing them how,” said Mickey Sullivan, team captain for the Team Expo Volunteers. “The design is great. We love it.”

Expo Design Center donated both materials and time.

The mosaic was installed during two work sessions, May 30-31.

The mosaic was laid in cement next to the Tom Baer memorial. Baer, a former principal, passed away from cancer in 1997.

“Being a senior, it’s a really cool idea that we’re going to be the ones leaving such a mark next to such a special place to begin with,” said Bess Keigwin. “It’s a serene place where people can know it’s safe.”

Levett hopes that students will return with their own families in the future to see the mosaic.

“I hope they will be able to have something to bring their children back to,” he said.