Plans to rebuild the General Classroom Building into a new science and math building are under way. Faculty and students of BYU–Hawaii shared their memories of the one of the oldest buildings on campus and thoughts on the new construction. According to Math Professor Susan Barton, the GCB was originally named the Technology Building back in 1958, when BYUH was called Church College of Hawaii. The building hosted classes in automotive mechanics, woodwork, electronic, and radio operations. The Technology Building was the first building established on campus and people could come and assemble cabinets, work with metal, repair engines and cars, and even learn about farming and agriculture.
Memories of the GCB
English as an International Language Professor Mark James recalled, “I remember when the ceramics art teacher had students make these giant Christmas decoration mobiles with lights, and they hung them up on the banyan tree. This banyan tree turned into a huge Christmas tree with these ornaments that were like 6 or 7 feet in length. It was just the coolest art project I’ve ever seen. It only happened one year.”
The banyan tree in front of the GCB was cut down in late December of 2018. James said it was one of the last major trees on campus and said, “I was hoping the tree would survive.”
In earlier years, the GCB did not have a lobby area. BYUH staff later proposed to enclose the front of the building. James continued, “If you look at the old pictures of the GCB once it was remodeled, what they now call the lobby area, or where the vending machines are… that used to be outside. There was a cement floor, but it was outside, and so probably around 2012, we got permission to enclose it but no air conditioning.”
Barton said before air conditioning, fans were used in the GCB. She added, “The informal study area was a wonderful addition for students. There was a vending machine, a microwave, and a sink so students could bring their sack lunches and dinners, heat them, and study.”
James said the GCB flooded frequently. Cane spiders and wasps would come down from the attic and into the classrooms. He remembered when he first started teaching Linguistics 210, he was scheduled to give his first final exam for the class and it had rained all day and night and into the next morning. The water was 12-18 inches deep on campus.
The only place with electricity was on campus and James thought, “There was nothing to do at home. I’m sure all the exams have been canceled. I thought I might as well come in to my office and get some work done because at, least they have electricity.
“In my office, about 8 o’clock, I get a phone call. One of the linguistics students was calling from the classroom in GCB saying, ‘Brother James, are you coming to give us the exam?’ and she said, ‘We’re all here, like all 18 students rolled up their pants, and walked in the flood to the classroom.’”
James said he couldn’t believe his students were waiting for him in their classroom, so he took his shoes and socks off, rolled up his pants up to his knees, gathered the exam papers and started heading to the GCB. “Just as I got to the building, security was kicking everybody out of the building, saying everything’s canceled. But I couldn’t believe my students were so faithful they actually went to the room in the flood and were waiting there,” he said with a smile.
Previous courses offered
Barton said, “We were originally part of the MST division (Math, Sciences and Technology), but technology meant construction, auto repair and working with radio and electronics. It was quite different then than what we mean by technology now.”
According to Barton, the building was previously two stories, just high enough for the mechanic students to put cars up on lifts so they could work underneath them.
One of James’ earliest memories of the GCB was when he was a student at BYUH in the 1970s. He said, “I took an automotive repair class over there in my senior year because I didn’t have enough credits in my final semester. I took the auto basic repair class, and it just totally blessed my life. I was able to repair my car after and save thousands of dollars.”
James said, “If you look in the early catalogs in our university, at least from 1958, there were dozens of courses for automotive technology. Not just for civilian automobiles but for farm equipment as well, because there was a huge agriculture major.”
Students could earn a degree in farming and learn more about crops, running the pumps for water, and repairing electrical and plumbing systems. “There were classes in metalwork, woodwork, mechanical drawing, small engine repair, and appliance repair. There were electronic classes that taught you how to fix your refrigerator, microwave and other appliances,” James said.
A Ke Alaka‘i article published on March 7, 1963, says, “In the electronics division, students were also taught how to become radio operators. They were learned about communication regulation and operating procedures that will qualify them for the operation of radio stations, aviation, and marine radio.”
Recounting changes to the university, Barton said, “When President Alton Wade came here in 1986, he decided we were going to move away from being a vocational college to more of a liberal arts college, a more typical kind of university college. So, he did away with the program, and they took four years to allow the students who were majoring in those courses to be able to finish up.”
Thoughts on construction
The portable buildings in front of the Heber J. Grant Building were built to be used as temporary computer labs and a math lab, as described in orangecone.byuh.edu’s website.
Jacob Chapman, a senior from Utah studying anthropology, said, “It's probably going to take a few years, but the GCB really needs it. I heard some people say the GCB looks kind of like the shabby area of campus and I can kind of see that. The new GCB should be nice.”
Chapman, who also works at the information technology support office, said they moved their office from the GCB to the HGB during winter break. “I'll miss the GCB a lot because I spent a lot of time there, but change happens. The new office is a little less cramped, so it's a good change.”
The frequent flooding of the GCB was another concern. A Ke Alaka‘i article published on January 16, 1964, said, “The Technology Department reported approximately one foot of water on their floor.”
Sateki Vaenuku, a sophomore from Tonga studying hospitality and tourism management, shared his excitement about the GCB’s reconstruction. “We have had lots of rain lately, and the GCB gets flooded. Computer classes are over there, and we need our students to be safe from getting electrocuted when it’s flooded.”
Vaenuku continued, “Having a great and new building is definitely going to help me learn more, because right now it’s too small, old and fewer people stay there to study. They just go there for class, and they leave after.”
Despite the challenges of temporary relocation, Barton said she’s looking forward to the new building being constructed. “The math learning center is going to be in one of the portables. The math faculty offices are in the Social Sciences building, and the classrooms are just going to be everywhere on campus. It’s just like many good things in life, you just have to have patience while they’re reconstructing it.”
Writer: Esther Insigne