DiscussMormonism.com

The group’s lighting of the iconic “Y” in rainbow colors came on the anniversary of when the school, along with the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that owns it, sent out a letter in March 2020 clarifying its stance on same-sex romantic behavior.

The month prior, the university had quietly removed the section banning “all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings” from its strict Honor Code that outlines what behavior is allowed by those who attend the conservative school.

LGBTQ students had celebrated what they hoped that it meant, kissing in front of statues at BYU and holding hands. And many said they came out as gay only because they believed — and were told by some Honor Code staff — that the school now allowed it.

But they say that was ripped away with a painful reversal when leaders said three weeks later that just because the section was taken out of the code, it didn’t change anything and their relationships were still “not compatible” with the rules at BYU.

Talbot, a senior, said the event Thursday was as much a commemoration of that day, as well as a condemnation of it. Many, he added, still feel gaslit.

“That day felt like a betrayal for a lot of LGBTQ students,” Talbot said. “It was traumatic. So this was a day for us to reclaim that and try to turn it into something positive.”

About 40 students and allies took part in lighting the “Y.” The group had spent days ahead of time, mapping out the 380-foot tall letter and determining where they would need to stand along its borders to light it up.

They met at the trailhead after dark Thursday for the one-mile hike, a faint outline of the snowcapped mountain and the white letter on its side barely visible. Only a few houses and street lamps were lit up below. Most of the students were bundled tight in coats and hats and gloves.

“If BYU won’t show their love to us, we’re going to make sure our love is visible to them,” Danny Niemann, a senior and gay student at the school, said before starting the climb.

The participants were assigned a color and a spot on the “Y” to hold their light so that the letter would appear in rainbow stripes from red at the top to purple at the bottom. When they turned on the flashlights — 76 in total — and turned them toward the concrete, the bright shape could be seen across Provo, with people commenting and posting pictures on social media from miles away.

With the growing attention, the school sent out a brief tweet noting: “BYU did not authorize the lighting of the Y tonight.”

And the school added in a later tweet Thursday that “any form of public expression on university property requires prior approval.”

...the display had so much support that the students were also greeted on their way down by fans, who circled in their cars blasting songs, including “Born This Way” and “I Kissed a Girl,” from their speakers.

Meadowchik wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 05, 2021 3:04 pm

Bold youth trying to share light with the world is pretty much a Mormon tradition. This is one of the better examples, BRAVO to them!

Students at Brigham Young University wore rainbow colors this week in support of the LGBTQ campus community, a year after the school said what it characterized as “same-sex romantic behavior” was prohibited and would lead to discipline under school code.

“Color The Campus” organizer Bradley Talbot said even though it was a year ago, LGBTQ students on the northern Utah private campus continue to face challenges, KUTV-TV reported.

“It needs to be addressed and it still hasn’t,” he said.

Last February, BYU deleted the words “homosexual behavior” from the school's honor code, causing confusion among LGBTQ students over what is and what is not allowed.

The code prohibited sexual activity outside of marriage, but same-sex couples publicly lauded the code change and shared pictures of themselves holding hands and kissing their partners.

Church leaders a month later clarified the change in a statement saying any “same-sex romance” was a violation of the school's honor code.

Organizers of the one-year anniversary marking the rule change said they were frustrated that school officials never explained the decision.

“There has been silence from BYU since then with no explanation as to why that occurred. It was very harmful and we are still feeling that today,” Talbot told KUTV-TV.

In response to the push to wear rainbow colors, photos were shared online encouraging people to carry umbrellas to campus as a counter-protest.

The flyers included the word “FamProc,” a reference to “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” which is a statement that defines the position of leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on marriage and gender roles.

The university said in a post on Twitter that the fliers were not “a university-approved/sponsored event” and that efforts were being made to have them removed.

And the school added in a later tweet Thursday that “any form of public expression on university property requires prior approval.”

dastardly stem wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 05, 2021 5:31 pm

I'd say the rising generations will win out even in the Church and the Church will have to cower on issues like those dealing with LGBTQ. Only old traditionalists will hold on to the notion that the Church is being influenced by the ways of the world when in 20 some odd years the Church changes its tune drastically--a new announced revelation gets added as an Official Declaration.

With that said I'm sure there are plenty of young BYU students complaining about LBGTQ support, hoping the Church nips the issue immediately. But it'll just come back harder in time, with more students realizing the foolishness of holding on to stupid archaic teaching and tradition. There's going to be some heads exploding, though, for sure.

IHAQ wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 05, 2021 2:33 pm

What was BYU's reaction?

With the growing attention, the school sent out a brief tweet noting: “BYU did not authorize the lighting of the Y tonight.”

And the school added in a later tweet Thursday that “any form of public expression on university property requires prior approval.”

mentalgymnast wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:27 am

The fact is, the church doctrine doesn’t allow for the intimate physical expression of homosexuality on its private campus or in campus approved housing.

Are there specific instances that can be presented that show BYU’s policies to be prejudicial towards the LGBTQ community?

Morley wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:43 am

mentalgymnast wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 06, 2021 3:27 am

The fact is, the church doctrine doesn’t allow for the intimate physical expression of homosexuality on its private campus or in campus approved housing.

Are there specific instances that can be presented that show BYU’s policies to be prejudicial towards the LGBTQ community?

You gave the answer before you asked the question.