BY HEATHER DALEY
BYU and UVU are two schools separated by five miles and while some see them as a world apart, they increasingly seem to be growing together.
What started as a small vocational school in Orem in 1941 has grown into a busy university next to I-15 known as Utah Valley University. To the BYU population, the school used to be fodder for jokes. But, as UVU continues to grow and establish itself in the academic world, interaction between the two schools seems likely to increase.
Chad Rasmussen, a sophomore at UVU, transferred from BYU after his freshman year.
“UVU offered more classes for my major in the summer, and since I go to class part time and work full time, it made more sense,” he said.
Though Rasmussen attends classes at UVU, he still lives in BYU housing.
“I like the BYU wards more than UVU’s,” he said. “But the reason I like it better here is because I can go out for BYU intramurals, no other reason than that.”
Pamela Herbai, a junior at UVU, thinks that the two schools are actually separated by more than just distance.
“I know people use UVU as a stepping stone to get to BYU, but I think the student culture is different,” she said. “How its organized is completely different and even the professors are different.”
While there may be many differences between the two schools when it comes to academics and where they are in their history, UVU’s president, Matthew Holland, says one of the biggest differences between the two schools is based on architecture.
“One of the little fun facts about UVU is that the entire campus is connected by hallways,” Holland said. “So you can walk from one end of the other without having to go outside, which makes for very pleasant strolls in the winter.”
And as far as being the butt of jokes, Rasmussen says UVU can dish it right back.
“Provo makes fun of UVU, saying it’s where people go when they can’t get in to BYU,” he said, “but all the people who hear those jokes think they exact opposite is true. They think people who go to BYU are blinded and need to come experience our way of life.”
