the BYU "Honor Code"

[Gil Bang 26033]

By Dan Levin

• April 12, 2019
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As a student at Brigham Young University, Sidney Draughon committed two violations of the school’s honor code, which prohibits everything from sexual activity to drinking coffee. First, officials faulted her for wearing clothing that they deemed indecent in a vacation photograph. Then, in December of her senior year, an ex-boyfriend confessed that the two had engaged in “sexual touching,” which led officials to put Ms. Draughon on probation, preventing her from graduating on time.

Those experiences inspired Ms. Draughon, after she had received her diploma last summer, to start a social media account sharing her concerns. “It was so hurtful, and I felt so alone,” she said. “I kept thinking someone has to feel the same way.”

Her effort has attracted many others with similar stories and grown into campuswide concern about the risks of the honor code being “weaponized” against students. At a sit-in last week and a large demonstration Friday on the Provo, Utah, campus, students called for changes to the system.

The very public and rare push comes as part of a broader effort within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns the university, to balance doctrine with the more mainstream views of many of its younger members. It comes, too, on the heels of a decision earlier this month to allow children of same-sex couples to be baptized, reversing a contentious 2015 policy that declared church members in same-sex marriages were apostates and subject to excommunication — a major move that signaled attempts by the church to heal rifts within its ranks.

 

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Brigham Young Students Value Their Strict Honor Code. But Not the Harsh Punishments.

The voices of young people with different views of social justice are pushing the Mormon Church to modernize.

 

Students protesting in Provo, Utah, on Friday against what has been described as “weaponized” enforcement of the Brigham Young University honor code.CreditRick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune, via Associated Press

 

 

Image

Students protesting in Provo, Utah, on Friday against what has been described as “weaponized” enforcement of the Brigham Young University honor code.CreditCreditRick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune, via Associated Press

By Dan Levin

• April 12, 2019
• •  
  •  
  •  
  • 2

As a student at Brigham Young University, Sidney Draughon committed two violations of the school’s honor code, which prohibits everything from sexual activity to drinking coffee. First, officials faulted her for wearing clothing that they deemed indecent in a vacation photograph. Then, in December of her senior year, an ex-boyfriend confessed that the two had engaged in “sexual touching,” which led officials to put Ms. Draughon on probation, preventing her from graduating on time.

Those experiences inspired Ms. Draughon, after she had received her diploma last summer, to start a social media account sharing her concerns. “It was so hurtful, and I felt so alone,” she said. “I kept thinking someone has to feel the same way.”

Her effort has attracted many others with similar stories and grown into campuswide concern about the risks of the honor code being “weaponized” against students. At a sit-in last week and a large demonstration Friday on the Provo, Utah, campus, students called for changes to the system.

The very public and rare push comes as part of a broader effort within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which owns the university, to balance doctrine with the more mainstream views of many of its younger members. It comes, too, on the heels of a decision earlier this month to allow children of same-sex couples to be baptized, reversing a contentious 2015 policy that declared church members in same-sex marriages were apostates and subject to excommunication — a major move that signaled attempts by the church to heal rifts within its ranks.

 

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Empowered by social media and galvanized by national conversations around privacy, integrity and the #MeToo movement, the activism fueling changes in the church represents a cultural shift among Latter-day Saints, said Patrick Mason, the chairman of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University.

“This is a generation that feels that their voices matter, and they’re not always going to defer to authority,” said Mr. Mason. “They’re getting wins in the broader culture, and we’re seeing L.D.S. leaders are not immune. In fact, the church is responding to the concerns of its members. Authority matters in the faith, but community matters, too.”

 

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Ms. Draughon, 24, kept her concerns about the honor code quiet until she had left school, but now her Honor Code Stories account on Instagram has attracted more than 34,000 followers and generated nearly 200 tales of punishment meted out by the office charged with enforcing the code.

“Nobody talks about the Honor Code Office on campus because they’re terrified,” Ms. Draughon said. “The code has been weaponized. That’s not the culture you need at a religious university.”

Every student at Brigham Young must sign the school’s honor code to enroll in classes. The morality contract prohibits — and punishes — violations that include immodest attire, premarital sexual activity, beards, and the consumption of alcohol, tobacco, drugs and coffee.

Many students defended the code itself and said it’s one of the reasons they decided to attend B.Y.U. But they also said the system ought to be more forgiving.

Carri Jenkins, a university spokeswoman, said the school was aware of the honor code discussions online. “These messages are leading to constructive dialogue between students and the leadership of the Honor Code Office,” she said in an emailed statement.

This is not the first time the university has faced criticism for how the code is enforced. After Brigham Young drew outrage for punishing sexual assault victims who were found to have violated the honor code, the school implemented a new “amnesty” policy in 2017, granting confidentiality to victims and ending the practice of punishments for related infractions, like drinking or entering a bedroom belonging to a member of the opposite sex.

According to the Honor Code Office, all credible violations of the code are investigated, a process that includes university staff members reviewing evidence and speaking with witnesses. During the inquiry, an employee interviews the accused student, who is expected to respond to the allegation, preferably in writing. If the student is found to have committed the violation, penalties can range from a warning to suspension or expulsion.

Punishments are not standardized, the university said, but instead are based on individual judgment calls and reviewed by a committee.

Students said other consequences of violating the code may include mandatory religious worship, hours of community service and the withholding of diplomas, regardless of academic standing.

upport for change extends beyond campus and into the broader Mormon community. More than 22,000 people have signed an online petition demanding that the code be updated, and Mormon supporters have rallied around the symbol “Y?,” a twist on the university logo, that is worn on clothes and has been posted on social media.

On Instagram, students and graduates have shared stories of being suspended or expelled for violations such as kissing a date good night or wearing a two-piece swimsuit.

One young man, according to his sibling, killed himself less than two months after he was expelled on grounds that he had engaged in sexual acts with a former girlfriend. Another student said she overdosed on pills after she was punished for revealing she had been sexually assaulted. A gay student said he was asked explicit questionsabout his sexuality and sentenced to nine months probation after he spent the night at a woman’s apartment.

For her final violation, Ms. Draughon said an Honor Code Office investigator called while she was in Atlanta visiting her family for the holidays. The administrator wanted to know graphic details about a months-old intimate encounter with her ex-boyfriend, who had reportedly told the school they had broken the rules on sexual touching.

“She asked things like, was it over or under the bra, and where exactly did you touch him and for how many seconds,” Ms. Draughon said. Her mother, who was listening to the conversation on speaker, told her to hang up, but Ms. Draughon refused.

“I need to graduate,” she recalled telling her mother, “and if I don’t answer, I’ll lose everything.”

Students are expected to report themselves and others to the Honor Code Office. But until recently, few appeared to know how its enforcers investigated infractions, or that those who had undergone interrogations felt traumatized by the experience.

Until he read the honor code stories on Instagram, Keaton Hill, 23, a junior at Brigham Young, said he had little understanding of just how it had impacted his fellow students. He does not want the code to be abolished, but he noted that it is far stricter than the standards required to be a fully faithful member of the church. Its enforcers should recognize that young people make mistakes and prioritize atonement, he said.

“We sign this document and agree to the terms,” he said, “but we all fall short from the glory of God.”

A leader in Brigham Young’s student Democrats group who spent two years as a missionary in Virginia, Mr. Hill got involved this month with Restore Honor B.Y.U., the campus movement campaigning for reform. He attended a sit-in outside the student center last week, which attracted about 300 people, and has participated in discussions with Honor Code Office officials.

The group wants more transparency and protections for students, and it has proposed a number of specific changes to ensure that the accused are treated fairly. Among their demands, the students want to bar the reporting of trivial offenses, like cursing or watching R-rated movies, a practice that some said fosters a culture of spite.

Other proposals include the creation of a student advocacy group that could provide information about Honor Code Office proceedings, allowing accused students to bring in a trusted third party, and changing the code’s prohibition of “homosexual behavior” to “homosexual activity,” so gay students are not penalized simply for their sexuality.

Many students pushing for change said they see it as a way to align the code — and the church — with their larger goals of social justice, particularly on the rights of sexual minorities.

Currently at school, we finally said it’s O.K. for you to be gay, as long as you don’t have a relationship. I think that’s morally repugnant,” said Grant Frazier, 18, a freshman involved with Restore Honor B.Y.U. “Threatening a student’s academic future because they are having a healthy relationship with someone they’re attracted to is wrong.”

Although the church’s recent decision to allow the children of L.G.B.T. parents to be baptized stopped short of ending its teaching that acting on same-sex attraction is sinful, the move was praised by its younger members and galvanized their efforts to push for change on B.Y.U.’s campus, which is attended by about 30,000 faithful students.

School officials have been receptive to the group’s concerns, Mr. Hill said.

“We’re going to be respectful,” he said of the students’ discussions with university officials about the honor code. “But we’re not really going to bend on anything.”

 

 

 

[Surly Bevo 25161]

Mormon soak....

[Texas_Rocks 347]

Jim Fucking McMahon

How did he pull that off?

[Asithappens 974]

Mormons are a cult. 

Belong to a cult and what do you expect?

[po elvis 2077]

Quote

“Threatening a student’s academic future because they are having a healthy relationship with someone they’re attracted to is wrong.”

Maybe you should not be a part of a religion that you believe is wrong?

[Neonmoon 38130]

You are in a cult. The cult has rules.

[RoundRobin 828]

[SDG 3319]

Who cares?  Believe in the religion or not.

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

The on her code

[Fuck Tim Beck 3834]

6 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

The on her code

Get on her and stay on her. 

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

Just now, Fuck Tim Beck said:

Get on her and stay on her. 

You left off the most important part 

[Junior Miller 1502]

What's the suicide rate of people in this religion and students at BYU or who are within 5 years post graduation from BYU? Would think this sort of emotional self flogging has to lead to really fucked up people with deep repressed issues but who knows. 

Edited April 13, 2019 by Junior Miller

[Kyle 207]

Don't see in people of color, so I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be outraged with the protestors or outraged that so many white privilegers dare but upset about anything. Surely a person of color has a hangnail somewhere that I can use to fuel my outrage.

[Incredulity 11683]

7 hours ago, RoundRobin said:

Based on a fairly significant sample 5 or so years ago there are an inordinate number of hot blondes working at convenience stores in the Salt Lake City area.  Had I been 10 or so years younger and unmarried it would have gotten further research.

[Brothahorn 10087]

You are in a cult. The cult has rules.

Exactly. It’s not like you didn’t know or hadn’t heard about the honor code. Don’t cry now.

[deadshank 24653]

Substitute any organization with rules, insert people and this issue occurs.  

Mormons and BYU are just the scenery.  

[Newdoc 3453]

Well, they can just change the rules. The mormons have been doing it since Mr. Smith started the religion.

[ajax 2622]

Look at these wholesome Mormon girls

 

[TexasMan 10988]

And there's more NSFW BYU stuff like that if you venture further 

[UTPhil2006 3816]

This can't be accurate.  Taysom Hill fucked us on live TV for 2 years and I never heard of him being punished

[El Diablo 4232]

3 minutes ago, UTPhil2006 said:

This can't be accurate.  Taysom Hill fucked us on live TV for 2 years and I never heard of him being punished

He was cast into a den of iniquity, aka - Nawleans. 

[6th Street 6508]

Why on earth would a gay student or any minority for that matter choose to go to BYU? That's like a Muslim attending Liberty University. 

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

2 hours ago, Brothahorn said:

 

Exactly. It’s not like you didn’t know or hadn’t heard about the honor code. Don’t cry now.

 

It’s an honor code. There aren’t supposed to be consequences for breaking it. 

How many aggy do you hear about getting kicked out for lying, cheating, stealing, or tolerating?

i realize that last one may be a bit of a catch 22. 

[bluto 4942]

4 hours ago, Incredulity said:

Based on a fairly significant sample 5 or so years ago there are an inordinate number of hot blondes working at convenience stores in the Salt Lake City area.  Had I been 10 or so years younger and unmarried it would have gotten further research.

I swear the random heat in mormonville is unlike anything I've ever seen. 

[Brothahorn 10087]

It’s an honor code. There aren’t supposed to be consequences for breaking it. 
How many aggy do you hear about getting kicked out for lying, cheating, stealing, or tolerating?
i realize that last one may be a bit of a catch 22. 

They’re already penalized for being aggy. Double jeopardy would be unfair...even to those retards.

[Pato del Muerto 52608]

1 hour ago, bluto said:

I swear the random heat in mormonville is unlike anything I've ever seen. 

You think they would have pushed polygamy as long as they did if their membership was rife with hogs?

[Guest Lobo]

I'm just glad the Catholics and Baptists haven't resorted to this kind of female shaming.  

At Baylor: If she's not asking for it, she's really asking for it.  Unless she asked for it, in which case she shouldn't be asking for unless you really wants to ask for it...from God.

At Catholic Churches:  If the lad isn't asking for it, he's really asking for it.  

[F250 28823]

On 4/13/2019 at 6:00 AM, Incredulity said:

Based on a fairly significant sample 5 or so years ago there are an inordinate number of hot blondes working at convenience stores in the Salt Lake City area.  Had I been 10 or so years younger and unmarried it would have gotten further research.

The Mormons produce an insane amount of hot women.

I briefly dated a girl who was a BYU drop out and who had a falling out with her LDS family. At first I thought I hit a goldmine because she was smoking hot and was down for anything in the bedroom and had just been released into the wild. She was inexperienced but was very driven by providing pleasure.

I quickly learned that she was carrying a ton of baggage and full of self-loathing Mormon guilt for stuff that wouldn't even generate a yawn by most people. Being black listed by the LDS and her family really fucked with her head and made for some really weird cray cray. She was a level 5 clinger. I had to hit the eject button multiple times with that one.

[Parliament 14325]

Give her my number.

[Ellellelle 314]

What's the suicide rate of people in this religion and students at BYU or who are within 5 years post graduation from BYU? Would think this sort of emotional self flogging has to lead to really fucked up people with deep repressed issues but who knows. 

I recently moved to SLC. I don't know the exact numbers but Utah has a very high suicide rate. Lots of gay kids killing themselves because of this "religion". Someone about a month ago committed suicide on BYU campus during the day while classes were going on; just flung herself off a second (or third) floor down below. There are so many unhappy members who are completely trapped within it.

I've learned a lot about mormonism being here and it's actually crazier than i used to know.

[HRSchenker 2274]

Why complain about the rules? You chose to attend the university! If I can choose to not attend Baylor because of their mandatory "chapel", what makes these kids different? Lots of Mormons go to universities outside of BYU.

[YChang 3462]

Isn't University of Utah where the fun Mormons go anyway?

[Guest Lobo]

No, Moab State.  

[wild_turkey 3182]

Why complain about the rules? You chose to attend the university!

I’m not sure how much of a choice it is when they are brainwashed from infancy to believe complete devotion to the LDS church is the only correct path in life. It’s all they ever know, then they leave their family home and attend a university where the message continues.

[LonghornJones 837]

Where's this vacation pic?

[F250 28823]

On 4/15/2019 at 1:11 PM, HRSchenker said:

Why complain about the rules? You chose to attend the university! If I can choose to not attend Baylor because of their mandatory "chapel", what makes these kids different? Lots of Mormons go to universities outside of BYU.

A lot of kids end up attending these religious schools because they were pressured to attend by their family rather than it being the school of their choice. I worked with a Baylor grad that hated Baylor but it was the only school his family would send him to. I also know several people that were shipped off to Mary-Hardin despite wanting to attend public schools. This isn't unique to Mormons and Baptists either, the same thing happens to Catholic kids.

 

[Ellellelle 314]

Why complain about the rules? You chose to attend the university! If I can choose to not attend Baylor because of their mandatory "chapel", what makes these kids different? Lots of Mormons go to universities outside of BYU.

A lot of Mormons are absolutely brainwashed. They believe it the most ludicrous shit, like that they have to wear special mormom underwear. So they go to byu because they cannot see the light.

The church has also cultivated a community which will completely ostracize the people who aren't complete fools. You'll be disowned from family and friends for making a choice to part from the church. It's very sad. There are many people who have it figured out but they cannot leave unless they never want to to talk to their parents/siblings/grandparents/etc again. You do what you have to do and for a lot of them, that means attend byu, go to church, tithe.

[Llano Estacado 1257]

As long as the discussion is headed that way. Let’s at least enjoy some tunes.

[Beau Vine 54435]

3 hours ago, F250 said:

A lot of kids end up attending these religious schools because they were pressured to attend by their family rather than it being the school of their choice. I worked with a Baylor grad that hated Baylor but it was the only school his family would send him to. I also know several people that were shipped off to Mary-Hardin despite wanting to attend public schools. This isn't unique to Mormons and Baptists either, the same thing happens to Catholic kids.

 

I was raised Southern Baptist by zealous parents, and they soooooooo wanted me to go to Baylor.  I said "Fuck that," which is a decision that has worked out very well.