Remembering World War I at Brigham Young University

Members of the Student Army Training Corps stand at arms in front of the Maeser Memorial Building.

Brigham Young University was deeply impacted by World War I. Students and faculty joined the war effort, university administrators gave patriotic addresses to the student body, and students and faculty contributed generously to the war effort by purchasing Liberty bonds and giving money to the YMCA War Fund. The university petitioned for and received a unit of the Student Army Training Corps (SATC). The SATC program was proposed by the United States War Department and American educators as a way to alleviate the enrollment drain caused by the war. Hundreds of colleges and universities across the country chose to participate in the program. Among the changes that came to campus because of the SATC was a new building–the Mechanic Arts Building was constructed to provide a place for military technical instruction—and the Maeser Building was used as a barracks.

The University Archives is home to several collections that document the impact of World War I on Brigham Young University. They include:

• UA 110 Reserve Officer’s Training Corps records, 1918-1919.
• Banyan, 1918. The Banyan was the school’s yearbook and is available online as part of the BYU History digital collections.
• White and Blue. The White and Blue was the school’s newspaper and is also available online as part of the BYU History digital collections.

The L. Tom Perry Special Collections recently opened an exhibit remembering World War I. Take a moment to come down to the first floor of the Harold B. Lee Library and take a look at this engaging exhibit.

To learn more about the materials documenting the impact of World War I on Brigham Young University, please contact the university archivist at (801) 422-5821 or gordon_daines@byu.edu.