BYUBYU, you have some 'splainin' to do. And, no, not about your general "nothing fun goes" policy, about the fact that you only seem to be punishing minority students for breaking the rules -- particularly black ones.

Brandon Davies, the most recent BYU basketball player suspended for having sex with his girlfriend, also happens to be African-American. And it seems like he's part of a pattern. See, in a recent investigation, it was found that while black students only make up 0.6 percent of BYU's student body, the majority of honor-code violations (fornication and alcohol use, among other things) are by black students. Out of the 70 students suspended for breaking the honor code at BYU since 1993, 54 of them, or 80 percent, were minorities, and 41 of them (60 percent) were black males.

Are African-American students more prone to breaking the rules? Eh, not really. The white kids just have a get-out-of-jail free card, though.

See, white students break the rules too. They drink and have sex like normal college students do -- but afterwards they turn to bishops and church leaders to "repent," as to avoid real punishment. Black students, who are typically non-Mormon, don't have this option. 

So, what gives, Brigham Young? Are students not supposed to be violating your rules? Or they can as long as they repent? Because, you know, that absolves them of any wrongdoing. If this is the case, you're basically telling students they can do whatever they want -- if they're the right religion. Now I'm not a theologian, or a lawyer, but that sounds kind of illegal. And if it's not, maybe I'll convert to Mormonism!

I mean, it would be awesome if I could do anything I wanted to -- steal, cheat, lie -- then simply turn to a bishop afterwards and be like, "Sowwy!" That would be great! Is that how it works? Because that's totally how it sounds like it works.

You need to get your rules straight, BYU. My suggestion -- even if it's just to save face -- would be to have the same rules apply for all your students. Not just the ones who look like the faculty.

What do you think about BYU's rules?

 

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