By Tory Betts
The practice of closing down campus for the Tuesday morning devotional has produced mixed attitudes among the student body, but BYU officials say they simply want to encourage students to take advantage of a good opportunity.
'I find it frustrating that everything is closed, but I understand why they do it,' said Josh Park, a junior, majoring in finance from Nephi. 'They just want everyone to go to the devotional.'
Every Tuesday morning from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., a larger than usual crowd will sit at the tables in the Wilkinson Student Center, most of them studying or talking with each other.
'Every Tuesday people just sit over there (pointing to the Wilkinson Center tables) and don''t go to the devotional,' said Lorna Dries, an employee at the BYU food court from Tehachapi, Calif. 'I''m pretty sure administration wants them to.'
Almost all BYU facilities are closed during the one-hour devotional.
'We want as many members of our campus community as possible to come to the Marriott Center and participate in the devotional and forums,' said Carri Jenkins of the BYU communications department.
Jenkins said a survey was issued in 1999 by the university to the 1999 graduating class. The graduates were asked, 'What is the single most important act that affected your spiritual development?' The number one answer was the Tuesday devotionals.
Feedback concerning the quality of the devotionals is diverse among students.
'They make it out to be a big deal, but sometimes the quality of devotional is a letdown,' said Danielle Harmon, a junior from Klamath Falls, Ore., majoring in pre-nursing. 'Overall, I do think it''s a good idea.'
Devotionals have been a part of BYU for decades, but the practice of closing down campus is more recent.
Janet Rex of the BYU communications department said BYU President Jeffrey R. Holland, in the spring of 1986, gave the approval for the campus-wide shutdown of facilities.
'Attendance for the devotionals was strongly encouraged,' Rex said. 'Classes during Tuesday morning times were changed to permit the students to attend.'
Since 1986 almost all of the BYU facilities are closed during devotional time with few exceptions.
'There are a few facilities that must remain open because of necessity,' Jenkins said.
Several computer labs in the library remain open to students who need to use them. Because most of the other labs are closed, the waiting lines to use the open computer are long.
Dries said some people think the time during devotional is a good opportunity to eat lunch.
Everyone wants to know if they can be the exception and buy something, she said.
'Everything else is closed and so is the food court,' she said. 'We open back up at 11:45 just like everything else.'