By Amy Allen
BYU-Hawaii, BYU-Idaho, and BYU-Provo all share a common name, but dress and grooming standards at the three universities are quite different.
Stacy Stanger, 20, a junior in elementary education, from Sherwood, Ore., said she began college at BYU-Hawaii, where she wanted to get a unique university experience.
“Things are different in Hawaii because you are close to the beach, so you want to wear beach gear,” Stanger said. “But, since you are surrounded by other BYU students, it is easy to remember that the standard stands even at the beach.”
Though Stanger and others at BYU-Hawaii are close to the beach, BYU-Hawaii has strict dress standards.
According to the dress and grooming standards at BYU-Hawaii, grubby attire, which includes tank tops, shirts that expose the midriff, or are without sleeves, jogging attire including sweats, “medical scrubbies,” work overalls, fatigue outfits, informal lava lavas, and clothes with holes or that are noticeably frayed, cut off, or patched are not allowed anywhere but residence halls and at informal outdoor activities.
BYU-Idaho has similar requirements of students.
At BYU-Idaho, the dress and grooming standards identify inappropriate clothing as bib overalls, patched, faded, frayed, torn, or tight formfitting clothing, shorts of any kind, sweat suits or workout clothes, and caps are not allowed in classrooms.
Jim Sessions, Dean of Students at BYU-Idaho, said the university has always had a more conservative approach due to the nature and composition of the institution.
“In the past, our students have been younger than BYU students and we have traditionally held to our conservative values,” Sessions said.
Sessions also said the university doesn”t want to change the dress and grooming standards because that is what sets it apart from BYU-Provo.
“The prophet was very clear when he announced on June 21, 2001 that Ricks would become a four year institution named BYU-Idaho, but that we would retain our identity and hallmarks,” Sessions said. “One of those hallmarks is our dress and grooming standard.”
Students at BYU also have dress and grooming standards, but they are not as strict as the ones at the other two universities.
Kayla Burton, 20, a junior from Ogden majoring in recreation management, moved to Provo after graduating from BYU-Idaho.
Burton said she appreciated the standards in Idaho, but enjoys the standards in Provo.
“Staying within the standards at Ricks was easy because it was usually too cold to wear shorts and other stuff,” Burton said. “It is nice that we can wear shorts and flip-flops here since it gets so much hotter. There really are just a few differences in the two honor codes.”
At BYU in Provo, the dress and grooming standards require students to maintain a modest, clean and neat appearance, while maintaining basic standards that the other BYU locations require.
