By Annie Vance
BYU students John Hash, Charles Clawson, Corbin Clawson and UVSC student Neil Walton will appear in court Tuesday, Dec. 4 to appeal a citation they received for holding a dance.
Under the city Dance Hall Ordinance, public parties are to uphold requirements such as providing surveillance cameras, metal detectors and state certified security.
Government, school and church dances are exempt from the law.
Hash and Clawson claimed they should be exempt from this law because of their online ordination as ministers in the Universal Life Church.
Hash said they became ministers not to associate themselves with another religion, but to make a statement about the unconstitutionality of the law.
The city citation isn?t their biggest problem right now. According to Hash, they have been put on probation with BYU and are unsure if they will be able to register for classes next semester.
Charles Clawson said they have already met twice with the Honor Code Office to discuss their status as students. He said BYU is not taking the matter lightly. Charles Clawson is worried they won?t be able to register next semester.
'They are pretty serious about this,' he said.
Hash said he was going to graduate in December, but his diploma was suspended.
BYU spokeswoman Carrie Jenkins said the recommendation was made to put the students on probation for violation of the Honor Code.
'The students do have an opportunity to appeal that recommendation,' Jenkins said.
Clawson said he has chosen not to appeal the recommendation for probation.
Hash said he appealed the probation because he wants to be able to graduate in December.
Jenkins said the appeal process takes five school days from the time the recommendation is made.
Jenkins declined to specify the nature of the violation, citing the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act, which prevents such disclosures.
But Clawson said that they were told that they were in violation of the Honor Code because they broke the law and were disrespectful of persons.
Clawson said he didn?t think they broke the law and that was still to be determined.
'It sounds like they are grasping at straws to me,' Clawson said.
Clawson said they have sought ?friendly advice? from a lawyer. He said they wanted to know where they stood legally.
'He explained things to us so we wouldn?t go into it blind,' Clawson said.
He said they plan to plead guilty in court because he doesn?t want this to be bad publicity for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
'It makes the church look bad, and we''d rather just drop it,' Clawson said.