I am grateful to attend a university where standards of dress and grooming are maintained so we can all enjoy a clean, enriching atmosphere. I appreciate the privilege of associating with students who are dressed both modestly and attractively. As such, there is one area I would like to discuss with regard to our standards. BYU’s dress and grooming standards have continually (and appropriately) been updated to account for both the positive and negative elements of contemporary tastes.
In one revision years ago, the men of the university were suitably prohibited from growing beards, in large measure because of the negative associations they carried when the standard was implemented. I propose that it might be time to revisit this subject, as the modern view of well-maintained beards has changed considerably since the 1960s. Short, well-kept beards convey honorable and virtuous impressions of professionalism and masculinity, rather than those of rebelliousness and unbridled indulgence of years past.
I hope that this entreaty will be considered so that the students of this university can continue appearing clean, comely, and fashionable so that we might show the world that a college student can be both current and classy.
MIKE MANN
Murray
