Honor Code Change?

            Brigham Young University is possibly one of the best universities in the country.  Throughout the country few can rival the research and athletics that BYU can produce.  BYU is very modern in its ideas in both athletics and research.  However, looking around campus you can acquire the sense of how old BYU actually is.  The buildings look as if they were built a hundred years ago.  When in fact the Maeser building was built in 1909. The buildings reflect the rules at BYU, old and outdated.  These rules are part of the honor code of the school.  One major part of the honor code that is very outdated deals with dress and appearance for both men and women.  This rule has to change in order to conform to 2011.

            The honor code dates back to the early days of the University.  President Karl G. Maeser created the Domestic Organization in which teachers would travel to the students houses to make sure they were doing what they were supposed to, refraining from sex, alcohol, drugs and other harmful substances.  However, President Maeser relied mostly on the students “honor” that they would do the right thing and not participate in activities such as those. 

            In dealing with dress and appearance the honor code of BYU states about men “A clean and well-cared-for appearance should be maintained. Clothing is inappropriate when it is sleeveless, revealing, or form fitting. Shorts must be knee-length or longer. Hairstyles should be clean and neat, avoiding extreme styles or colors, and trimmed above the collar, leaving the ear uncovered. Sideburns should not extend below the earlobe or onto the cheek. If worn, moustaches should be neatly trimmed and may not extend beyond or below the corners of the mouth. Men are expected to be clean-shaven; beards are not acceptable.”  Many of these rules are very outdated.  However, I can see why the University would want to have such strict rules.  The administration wants the students to look overall better with no crazy hair or piercings.  Nevertheless, these are the only two rules that should be enforced. https://honorcode.byu.edu/

            In the honor code it says no sleeveless shirts even while working out.  At the beginning of summer school here at BYU, I went to work out at the Smith Fieldhouse.  I instinctively put on a sleeveless shirt and started the half an hour walk from Wyview Park apartments to the Fieldhouse.  I was used to working out with shirts that didn’t have sleeves on them from lifting at my high school weight room.  I was excited to start my BYU experience by working out in a place I have never been before.  I noticed people checking in with their BYU student cards so I followed suit and gave the man my BYU card.  He looked at me, then the card, then to my sleeveless shirt.  After looking at me, he forcefully told me that I was not honoring the honor code by wearing a shirt without sleeves and told me to leave.  I walked the half an hour back to Wyview Park thinking to myself how BYU could have such an outdated rule.  As college students we need to make the choice of what we wear, especially as such simple and basic clothing like sleeveless t-shirts.

            If this rule does have to be enforced, then it should be enforced to both sexes.  Part of the honor code states that girls cannot wear immodest or short shorts.  These shorts come to about the middle of a girl’s thigh.  I believe that this type of dress is much more immodest and detracts from the spirit more so than sleeveless t-shirts do with men.  If guys are getting kicked out of the weight room because of their “immodest” dress then the same standard should apply to girls with their short shorts.  Also, if these rules have to be enforced everywhere then they should be enforced with the sports teams.  Girls on the volleyball team wear very tight and immodest shorts.  These rules should apply to everyone, not just the men.

            Another key element of the honor code that needs to change is the length of someone’s hair.  In the honor code it states that the hair cannot touch the ears at all.  Last year a very good friend of mine that went to BYU signed up for an intermural basketball team.  He cut his hair prior to the first game of the season and didn’t cut it after that.  He was able to play every game before the big championship game, which his team was able to get into.  As he was lining up to do the jump ball, the ref stopped him and told him that he was not following the guidelines of the honor code by having his hair touch his ear.  He was then ejected from the game and his team lost because they didn’t have him.  This rule has no relevance to anyone.  It shouldn’t matter if the hair touches your ears or not.  My roommate tried taking a test in the testing center during the summer.  He waited for 20 minutes in the line and tried to get his test.  However the test giver saw that his hair grew just past the top of his ear and turned him away until he cut his hair.  He had to go get his hair cut before he could take the test.  There should not be such a trivial rule that interferes with someone’s education.

            There are instances in the church where they had to change the rules to conform to the times.  The “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet has been changed over nine different times.  This shows us that rules can and have to change with the certain times.  This includes long hair that touches the ears and wearing sleeveless t-shirts.

            BYU has a very old and rich history.  However, it has some rules that are a little outdated.  We as BYU students have the responsibility to go to the administration of this university and demand and petition rules that are meaningless and that sometimes interfere with our education.