By Emily Haleck
Six-foot-tall Emily Hulse feels short in a crowd - when she goes to meeting for the BYU2Tall Club.
'I heard about it through a friend and was so excited,' said the 23-year-old junior from Laguna Nigel, Calif., majoring in Spanish teaching. 'I went to a meeting and actually felt short for once, and that made me feel good.'
That''s because to be a member of BYU''s new tall club, women must be 5-foot-10 and men must be 6-foot-3. But don''t worry. Those who don''t meet those requirements can still be honorary members.
David Whitworth, president of BYU2Tall, said he doesn''t want people to think the club is discriminatory.
'It''s just a group where taller than average people can socialize with others at their own level,' said Whitworth, a 24-year-old junior from Valley Center, Calif., majoring in manufacturing engineering technology.
Whitworth got the idea for a tall club from a newspaper clipping his mom gave him several years ago. The article was from an Ann Landers column where a distraught grandmother wrote in expressing concern about the troubles her 6-foot-5-inch granddaughter faced from being so tall.
In response, Landers recommended the granddaughter get in touch with Tall Clubs International, an organization for tall people with chapters across the world.
As the 6-foot-7 Whitworth was sorting through belongings while he was home for Christmas break, he came across the article again, and wondered if BYU had such an organization.
'It''s such a big network, I thought, ''There''s got to be a club here at BYU,'' but there wasn''t,' he said. 'So I decided to make one.'
Whitworth shared the idea with friends, and the BYU2Tall Club was soon formed. Organized in January, the club already boasts an e-mail list of 45 people.
Arnold Luschin, Whitworth''s roommate, joined the club to support Whitworth and because he could relate to tall people, he said.
'My family''s in Germany, so I have to fly often,' said the 23-year-old senior, majoring in French. 'Having to sit up for up to 15 hours, you get extremely cramped, so when I heard of a tall club, I was like, ''Wow! That sounds great.'''
The 6-foot-3 and 1/4-inch Luschin said it''s been fun meeting a lot of other tall people and actually being the short one. He''s measured against members as tall as 6-foot-10 for men and 6-foot-4 for women.
'I''m the shortest tall person in the club,' Luschin said.
Whitworth said he''s gotten a lot of positive feedback from club members and even from shorter people who have tall friends.
'They love it,' Whitworth said. 'They say it''s a great idea and will let their friends know.'
Tall women are particularly enthusiastic about the club. Whitworth recalled a comment he heard a 6-foot-3-inch woman make when asked if she had any dates that weekend.
'Helloooooo,' she replied. 'I''m 6''3'; I don''t date.'
Although the club''s main purpose is not to create tall romances, Whitworth said he felt the club was a good opportunity for tall girls to socialize without feeling self-conscious.
'Girls can socialize with girls as tall or taller than them and know that there are guys there that are taller than them,' he said.
Club member Rachel Barton, 19, a sophomore from South Jordan, Salt Lake County, majoring in marriage, family and human development, said she knew there were tall guys out there, but until now, she didn''t know where.
The 6-foot-1-inch Barton wasn''t concerned so much with dating but joined the club for the useful information it provided on places to shop and other tips for tall people.
'I don''t feel like I''m faced with awful discrimination or anything, but finding pants is hard,' she said.
Luschin said he agrees the club provides great information.
'Swapping information, such as buying a shirt with sleeves that are actually long enough, are things the average person never even thinks about,' Luschin said. 'Not because they''re average but because they''re average height.'
And with BYU2Tall comes anything but average experiences.
Hulse said the club offers lots of fun and a unique experience.
'The purpose of the club is to meet people of your own size, to help each other out, to have the same kind of problems and deal with them in a fun kind of way,' she said. 'I think it''s great that I can be with friends who have the same stature (as me). It makes me feel good to be able to relate them.'