The New York Times, The Huffington Post — the fight for beards at BYU is getting national attention. By the sound of the articles, you’d think BYU students were up in arms, united in fighting the burdens placed on them by “the man,” a practically puritan, outdated administration, but that’s just not true.
First of all, why is this even an issue? We all signed the Honor Code. We all agreed to be clean-shaven. If that’s a deal breaker for you, for whatever reason, then maybe BYU isn’t for you. We’ll let you go. No hard feelings.
What’s that? You don’t want to leave BYU over something as silly as the “right to bear beards”? Alright, I’ll work with you. Get support from BYUSA. Develop a legitimate petition. Convey your concerns to the Dean of Students. But forming an ad-hoc biking gang to protest around Provo and “whistle blow” to the media? Not cool. You’re giving the rest of us a bad rep.
And even if you do carry your crusade all the way up to the administration, I’m willing to bet a month’s worth of razors that the majority of BYU students wouldn’t agree with you anyway. Just last year Business Insider rated BYU number one for “College Students are Both Hot and Smart” because “thanks to the Honor Code, every guy is clean-shaven and well-groomed.” I like our look. Most of us do. And if you’re feeling oppressed, I hear there’s a nice university up in Salt Lake City with openings.
Braden Hancock
Dayton, Ohio
