I have heard from a trusted source (who will remain anonymous) that 8 male performers from the Music, Dance, and Theatre Program at BYU were kicked out of school for being gay. This source is currently working with "high-up" faculty members at BYU and I believe what she says. She went on to say that, "these men were transferred to the University of Utah" where, I'm sure, they will find more peace, acceptance and love. This scares me.
BYU is supposed to feel like a safe haven for gays. Well, at least the HFAC and the Richards Building are. This source also informed me that the theatre department is also starting to crack down on the "inappropriate content" that is so rampant in BYU plays. If I can't even feel safe to be who I am in the HFAC, where am I suppose to find that safety?
Granted, I could be overreacting. Or, I could be justified in my fearful feelings. There are a lot of people who know I'm gay in the theatre department--including professors. Now, I'm just waiting to be called into the Honor Code office.
I mean, I haven't done anything contrary to the Honor Code--and neither did all those guys who got kicked out. The source told me that most of them were "living a life of sin", but some of them weren't. I think they were kicked out of heresay and hysteria.
Am I going to go through my own McCarthy trials? Does the witch hunt start now?
I don't know. I'm just...worried.
If they _were_ kicked out "just" for "being gay" and not for "acting on it," then their expulsion violates BYU policies as I understand them.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, if this actually happened, the following explanations are possible: (1) they were kicked out in violation of policy; (2) they were kicked out for other reasons you don't know about.
Facts are crucial. Don't jump to any conclusions. Get the facts first.
@Rob--I know. I don't know all the facts first. Like I said, "The source told me that most of them were "living a life of sin", but some of them weren't."
ReplyDeleteSo, I don't know if that meant they were all doing bad things, or not. Hmmm...maybe I should look into the details first.
Yes, Andy, find out the facts before getting too anxious. I feel for you though, friend. Regardless, it's never been easy to be a gay at BYU. I've got faith that someday things will change; it just might take a while to get where they need to be. There are a lot of us out here praying for you and your brothers.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought, but you might want to cover your tracks until the storm passes. Evidence from your blog could be used against you in the Honor Code office (like this post: http://keeptreadingwater.blogspot.com/2011/02/life-after-part-fourteen-hungover.html)
ReplyDeleteThis isn't the first "purge" and it won't be the last.
ReplyDeleteAnd @Rob, or (3) BYU violated its own policies, or (4) Any one of them were expelled because someone else claimed they did something. I mean how will you prove they didn't?
Andy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mister Curie, your blog could be used against you.
As much as I love your blog and hate suggesting that you censor yourself, you should think about covering your tracks.
You might consider making it private or just taking it offline for a while (I think that blogger.com has some way of doing this while preserving all your content and even allowing you to continue to add posts).
I'll be sad to not read your updates but I'd rather you be allowed to finish your education and get your degree.
If you do make it private, I would love an invite: jeffwcos@yahoo.com. But either way, best of luck to you!
Covering tracks is great. Don't give them any (overt) reason for them to kick you out. Btw, I was turned into the Honor Code Office by a high up HFAC faculty.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got back in, I didn't talk about anything gay with anyone. Ever. I had one semester left, and I was going to finish that degree. Find a way to get out of there asap.
BYU is supposed to feel like a safe haven for gays.
ReplyDeleteIt is?
I must have missed that memo. As I understand it, the best that any gay guy could hope for at BYU is disgruntled tolerance--and even that's a relatively new (since 2006) phenomenon.
@Clive--I did try to find out more information about this. Apparently, they were all doing "bad things". Now, I do not know what that means or what actions it constitutes. According to the BYU Honor Code you can be dismissed from the university because of the vaguely defined "homosexual actions".
ReplyDelete@Mister Curie--Thanks for the heads up! If you haven't noticed, I've changed my display name and my profile.
@Jeffwcos@yahoo.com--I have thought about that. However, since changing my display name, removing my email address, and changing my profile, I do think that "they" will have a heard time tracking me down.
@Romulus--I'd really like to discuss that experience with you and the HFAC faculty member. I don't know how you'll contact me seeing my email address is no longer available. I'm sure we can find a way--that is, if you're willing to discuss that issue with me. Let me know!
@Scott--Well, I would at least hope that the HFAC felt like a safe haven! But, sadly, it's turning out to be something very different.
BigRedHammer is right. Not the first purge, and by no means the last. Albeit, it has been several years, but there was a similar purge when I was going to BYU that some friends and myself worried. Keep your head down because the BYU Honor Code office has and will twist their policies to give someone the boot if that's what the Honor Code office wants.
ReplyDelete@Grant--Thanks. Gosh...I was just getting into the "swing" of the HFAC and Theatre Department being normal. I guess nothing gold can stay. Bummer. I just don't want to go back to hiding in the shadows...
ReplyDeleteI changed my name on my blog once too. I originally had my real name. I just figure that at least I can say "Hey, it doesn't say it's me." I did that because I was a nurse and you really have to watch yourself. Especially in Mormon territory (which I live in). Now I have quit my job and am not working, but I still feel like I have to "watch myself". It sucks. Wish we were all free to be ourselves!
ReplyDeleteI've been nervous about my transparency on my blog and facebook as well. Nothing has happened so far- and I hope it stays that way until my degree posts in June. I'm interested in further detail on this story.
ReplyDelete-bradcarmack.blogspot.com
Thing is with the Honor Code Office, they don't need much by way of evidence to incriminate you. Depending on the appearance of anything that could smear the facade of the university they crack down on you harder than deserved. I had a mohawk during the summer, when I was only working early morning custodial and not taking classes and I got reported for my extreme appearance and I had to go into the Honor Code Office for several hours. For a hair violation. But one thing that the guy said, which kinda made me more than paranoid was, "There are eyes everywhere, and you never know who is going to report something." So, be careful, fly under the radar. Don't even say the word "gay." None of my professors know that I'm gay and I'm going to keep it that way. I know, kinda frustrating how careful we have to be. On one hand we want to be open about who we are, but the other we need to, like your "about me" sidebar say, we need to cover up so we can follow our goals. And sure we can all transfer but BYU is relatively cheap and the education is good.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I wouldn't trust the fact that the Honor Code has been changed, seemingly to our benefit that we can't be kicked out just for being gay. Like I said, if it even appears like something "shady" and by that I mean out of the BYU prescribed norm, then they'll swooped down and stifle it.
Anyways, I've heard a few rumors surrounding this. Like, they were just in the dressing room TALKING about gay things and a cast member recorded them. Heard they had a orgy. Heard this and that so I don't really know what to believe on the subject.
Honestly Andy, as far as what I know about you, you have nothing to worry about. I've heard about that incident with the 'cleansing' of the MDT program, but as far as my sources (some of their gay friends) are concerned, they had good reason to be kicked out.
ReplyDeleteA lot of gays at BYU will not agree with me, but if you're gonna be gay and act on it, then leave BYU. Otherwise stop the whining and complaining. They knew what they were signing up for. Why should BYU have to be the side to change?
Whoa! I just reread my comment and I totally didn't mean it that you (Andy) should stop whining and complaining. I was referring to the gays at BYU that break the Honor Code without an ounce of guilt and then have the gall to complain that BYU is unjust and insensitive for wanting them out.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ben--to an extent. If the students in question violated the honor code then BYU is justified in kicking them out.
ReplyDeleteThe issue I have is that the honor code itself is a double standard. Straight students are encourage to date, hold hands, kiss, etc., while gay students can be kicked out of school for doing the same things. The honor code is more restrictive than the law of chastity that a temple-goer commits to.
It's easy enough to say "just don't go there if you can't follow the HC", but when you have scholarship money, or when parents will pay for college only if you go to the Y, it's not quite as cut and dried as that.
Personally, I believe that gay people should avoid the Y. And if that's impossible, I think that adherence to the honor code is probably the better way to make it through what are bound to be four difficult years. But I also won't judge those who choose differently, and I'll mourn the strict "letter of the law" approach that the honor code office often takes toward them.
Hey, does anyone know the names of any of the individuals involved? I stopped by the Honor Code Office to try to get some information (fully expecting to be stonewalled), and they said that they could give me some general information and some of the procedural stuff with what happened if I knew who was involved. If anyone knows anyone who was kicked out in this 'purge' or whatever it is, please drop me a line. drex.olympus[at]gmail.com
ReplyDeleteI was at BYU during the 1975 gay purge. Though not gay myself, I often wondered why BYU targeted the gay male students and not lesbians. The latter did not face the hassles that the gay men had to deal with. Could it be that lesbians were harder to find or that they did not present the threat that gay men were. And funny how campus security NEVER bothered the guys on the football, wrestling or basketball teams.
ReplyDeleteI was at BYU during the 1975 gay purge. Though not gay myself, I often wondered why BYU targeted the gay male students and not lesbians. The latter did not face the hassles that the gay men had to deal with. Could it be that lesbians were harder to find or that they did not present the threat that gay men were. And funny how campus security NEVER bothered the guys on the football, wrestling or basketball teams.
ReplyDelete