Students and alumni call for return of SOAR program at BYU

On March 26, students and Brigham Young University alumni gathered at the Wilkinson Student Center to hold a peaceful demonstration in response to the SOAR multicultural summer program being discontinued.

The multicultural summer program, SOAR, was recently dissolved after changes were made to federal policy.

A small group of BYU alumni gathered in the hopes to change this. Amanda Quintana, a SOAR attendee in 2004, was one of those people.

The goal was mostly just to have more of a culture share, an opportunity for us to share our culture with the current students of BYU, Quintana said. Demonstrate that the culture that we would like to share is something that is valuable to the BYU campus and the BYU students, and its something thats not to be afraid of, but its something that is important.

Before the demonstration could begin, it was shut down as soon as alumni and students gathered.

Gabby Hinds, a junior in the human resource management major with a minor in American Indian studies, attended the demonstration.

Theres just been a lot of censoring in a way which is extremely frustrating because you know were students and we really want to be able to have a voice and speak out on things that were passionate about this would have been something to make people more aware about it and hopefully lead to a change, Hinds said.

The SOAR program has been influential in offering low-income, first-generation students the opportunity to attend college.

For many attendees, SOAR gave them resources, connection and a feeling of belonging at the university.

Shani Tuimaualuga, a sophomore at BYU and a family life major, attended SOAR between her junior and senior year of high school.

I wouldnt be at college without SOAR. I wouldnt have learned of the resources that helped me succeed since being here, Tuimaualuga said.

The demonstration was meant to be a gathering. Music was meant to be played and cultural numbers were to be performed.

The intended goal was that through the sharing of culture, students would have greater awareness and understanding of the importance of diversity on campus.

Diversity is not a scary political or bad thing. Its a positive thing that is beneficial to all, Quintana said.

Members of the group emphasize that this is not a political agenda, rather it is about inclusivity and belonging as a whole.

For many attendees, SOAR was a pathway to higher education. The hope is that the next generation will also have access to that pathway.

The alumni have an ongoing petition and have collected hundreds of testimonials from prior SOAR attendees.

The group hopes that their efforts will provide resources necessary to multicultural students in the college application process and encourage prospective multicultural students to attend BYU.

Were not here to create an uprising. Were not here to be rebellious. Most of us are active LDS members who love BYU. We loved our experience at BYU We want our voices to be heard. But were not going away. Were going to keep fighting, and were going to find a way to help our future generations of multicultural brothers and sisters, Quintana said.

In a statement posted on the SOAR program BYU website, BYU said its commitment to supporting all students, especially first-generation students, remains a priority.