Story at a glance
- LGBTQ+ resource pamphlets for incoming BYU freshmen were tossed by the university without warning, the groups who created the pamphlets said.
- A BYU spokesperson told Changing America that the materials were removed from a welcome bag for new students because they included information from an off-campus group that is not affiliated with the university.
- The removed pamphlets will be available to students during a Sep. 3 on-campus Back to School Pride Night event.
LGBTQ+ resource pamphlets intended for incoming freshmen at Brigham Young University (BYU) were removed by school administrators before they could be distributed, the groups who created the pamphlets have said.
Groups including Understanding Sexuality, Gender, and Allyship (USGA) and the RaYnbow Collective, an off-campus nonprofit that supports LGBTQ+ students attending the religious school — operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — say booklets with information including mental health resources for LGBTQ+ students were trashed by the administration without warning.
The USGA, an on-campus organization for LGBTQ+ students and allies at BYU, is not approved by the school, nor is not permitted to meet on campus. Other groups with a hand in creating the pamphlets include the Cougar Center, a student-run LGBTQ+ resource center; The OUT Foundation, a group for queer BYU alumni; and Equality Utah.
The groups had had a $200 contract with BYU through its student newspaper, The Daily Universe, to have their information included in a welcome kit typically given to first-year students on the first day of class, the Salt Lake Tribune reported. More than 50 volunteers spent hundreds of hours creating the pamphlets.
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A statement signed by four of the groups alleges that 5,000 booklets that would have provided new LGBTQ+ students with information about therapy, safe housing, scholarships and upcoming events were thrown away by the university despite their contract.
The groups said they had received a refund and are working with BYU to “figure out amends and how to move forward.”
“This decision is disappointing and disheartening, especially when we consider our experiences as freshmen feeling lonely, isolated, and unsupported as queer students,” the groups wrote. “Unfortunately, it follows a consistent pattern of BYU breaking its promises and agreements with LGBTQ+ students.”
The Education Department in January opened an investigation into BYU over its controversial ban on same-sex relationships. The university in 2020 removed a rule from its Honor Code that banned “homosexual behavior,” but later clarified that students in same-sex relationships who engaged in public displays of affection like hand-holding or kissing would be subject to disciplinary action.
The department dropped its investigation less than a month later, claiming the university is entitled to a number of exemptions from Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination, because of its religious affiliation.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not recognize same-sex marriage and believes that while same-sex attraction in and of itself is not a sin, acting on it is.
In a statement to Changing America, Todd Hollingshead, a spokesperson for BYU, said the university had removed the LGBTQ+ groups’ materials from the school’s welcome kit because they included information from off-campus organizations — a violation of a school policy that does not allow “outside entities to imply affiliation with or endorsement from the university.”
“We love and welcome our LGBTQ students, employees and friends and want them to feel a sense of belonging as we work together to be true to our covenants and the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Hollingshead said.
He added that most of the pamphlets had been “returned to the students who created them.”
According to the groups’ statement, BYU students interested in obtaining LGBTQ+ resources may access them during a Back to School Pride Night event scheduled for Sep. 3.
“No student should feel alone, and no student should feel rejected by their university because of their identity,” the groups wrote. “We hope BYU improves its adherence to contracts, educates its employees on industry-standard diversity and inclusion training, and provides these resource guides in the future for all BYU students.”
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