by Brig Bagley
7 August 2014
BYU is known as the "Mormon University", as it is operated and owned by the LDS (Mormon) Church. It has the most strict "Honor Code" policy, that not only requires students to be honest in their school work, but requires all students to comply with a rigid moral code in their personal lives. No sexual relations (outside a legal marriage between a man and a woman) is ever allowed (although forgiven for the most talented revenue-bringing athletes). Homosexual intimacy in any form is forbidden, although the school claims students can be openly gay without punishment. It does, however, paint a large red target on the gay person for the "BYU gay witch hunts" done unofficially to attempt to catch students breaking the honor code. The code also requires a student to be actively participating in the LDS church--which requires 10% tithing of a person's income.
These obligations set BYU to be the most religious school in the nation, according to a Princeton Review Survey. Prayers are offered before most classes, church takes place in classrooms on Sunday, and it isn't unheard of for a calculus class to be side-tracked by a religious conversation.
In addition, Princeton Review has also ranked BYU the 4th most "gay unfriendly". It went from 6th in 2013 to 4th this year. It has recently pushed campaigns to promote "gay-friendliness" using its video "It gets better" and it's new "ok to be openly gay" policy for good publicity. But that can't be any further from the truth. Allowing students to publicly declare themselves as gay is probably the most genius way the school has managed to root them out. Other students voluntarily spy on the "gays" to try to catch them violating the honor code and turn them in "for their own good." It wouldn't be surprising if homophobic students blackmail, frame, or set up gay students just for that reason.
“BYU does not intend ‘to admit to our campus any homosexuals. If any of you have this tendency and have not completely abandoned it, may I suggest that you leave the university immediately after this assembly; and if you will be honest enough to let us know the reason, we will voluntarily refund your tuition. We do not want others on this campus to be contaminated by your presence.” Ernest L. Wilkinson, “Make Honor Your Standard”, Deseret News, Church News supplement, November 13, 1965, p. 11
Read more here: http://gaysaltlake.com/news/2014/08/05/byu-listed-fourth-gay-unfriendly-university-america/
http://national.deseretnews.com/article/2064/the-most-important-class-divide-in-america.html
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