Many colleges make use of honor codes that restrain students from cheating on tests and plagiarizing. But at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Utah, the system is taken one step further, with honor code policies extended to regulate actions of a personal nature.
The same school that suspended Julie Stoffer of MTV's The Real World - New Orleans last year for alleged sexual misconduct voted to suspend two other students in March based on evidence of homosexual behavior. While the Mormon school's "Church Educational System Honor Code" forbids homosexual conduct under the heading "Live a chaste and virtuous life," it essentially leaves interpretation of what constitutes such conduct up to students.
While BYU spokesperson Carri Jenkins acknowledges that the policy is extremely broad, she said that the specifics are based on church lessons. "The president of the Church [of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints] has made it clear that members can't engage in homosexual conduct," she said.
According to a March 29 article in The Salt Lake Tribune, Matthew Grierson - one of the students charged with engaging in homosexual acts - was unclear as to the "correct" interpretation of "homosexual conduct."
"They don't spell it out in the honor code. I just thought it meant no sex," Grierson said. He was accused of kissing a man at school and holding a man's hand at a local mall, but only admits to the handholding.
Jenkins said that any BYU student with questions about policy "will be given specifics if asked." The policy is not meant to be secretive, she said; rather, it is nonspecific to keep things simple.
"We're moving to get away from more of the 'Dos' and 'Don'ts'," Jenkins said.
According to BYU sophomore Amanda Heiner, though, two versions of the honor code are around- one is a brief "summary" accessible on the school's website and initially provided to students. There also exists a "three-ring binder, two-inch honor code," in the school's Honor Code Office. The full version specifies offenses as minor as snowball throwing, for which Heiner's brother has been reprimanded in the past.
Grierson and Escoto did not interpret the short-version honor code as school officials intend it to be understood - and Jenkins believes the two never checked on the specifics. According to the Tribune article, four charges are levied against Escoto, including visiting gay chat rooms and "making out" with another man in his apartment.
Escoto denied all the accusations, which were brought to the attention of the Honor Code Office by roommates, and has submitted character references in his defense, according to the Tribune. Jenkins said that other factors, such as any past offenses, might have been considered by the seven-person review committee, though she refused to comment specifically on the case. But critics of Escoto's suspension believe the committee did not consult any evidence other than the word of the students involved.
"If it were a case of holding hands and a student... misunderstood," the suspension would not have been given, Jenkins said, suggesting Grierson was more than just naive. "It was a very long, very exhaustive, and very thorough review," she said.
Another recent honor code case involved a BYU running back who was cited by local police for underage drinking - a clearer violation of the code - but only placed on probation. A letter to The Daily Universe, BYU's student newspaper, charged the Honor Code Office with "hypocrisy" in its lenient treatment of violations committed by athletes compared to those involving homosexual acts.
But Jenkins insists it is impossible to pass judgment on the honor code committee without knowing if there were "other things involved" - particularly past indiscretions as well as a student's demonstrated desire to live up to honor code standards in the future.
According to Heiner, who admits her liberal views are "in the minority" at the Mormon school, most students supported the University's decision to suspend the two men. "Some are sympathetic, but not very much," she said.
The suspensions didn't cause the controversy some might have expected, given the angry editorials in local newspapers. "It wasn't made a huge issue at BYU because [the decision] was expected," Heiner explained. "It was loud for a couple of days but then it quieted down."
Heiner admits the honor code sets a standard that must be lived up to, but still believes BYU students could stand to be a bit more accepting. "It's hard to deal with the closed-mindedness that's very prevalent at BYU," she said.
