Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyOctober 17th, 2008
Chad Hardy, the Las Vegas man who was excommunicated from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints because of his role as creator of a the calendar that featured shirtless Mormon missionaries, has now had his diploma yanked by Mormon-owned Brigham Young University.
Chad Hady had completed his last four units for graduation in June, and he participated in graduation ceremonies on August 15. Now BYU is reneging:
A letter from BYU’s director of student academic and advisement services says Hardy’s graduation application is on “hold” and that he can reapply if he is “reinstated as a member of the church in good standing.”
I find it incredible that a major accredited university could withhold a diploma over church membership. How is this possible?
Latest Posts
Featured Reports
In this original BTB Investigation, we unveil the tragic story of Kirk Murphy, a four-year-old boy who was treated for “cross-gender disturbance” in 1970 by a young grad student by the name of George Rekers. This story is a stark reminder that there are severe and damaging consequences when therapists try to ensure that boys will be boys.
When we first reported on three American anti-gay activists traveling to Kampala for a three-day conference, we had no idea that it would be the first report of a long string of events leading to a proposal to institute the death penalty for LGBT people. But that is exactly what happened. In this report, we review our collection of more than 500 posts to tell the story of one nation’s embrace of hatred toward gay people. This report will be updated continuously as events continue to unfold. Check here for the latest updates.
In 2005, the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that “[Paul] Cameron’s ‘science’ echoes Nazi Germany.” What the SPLC didn”t know was Cameron doesn’t just “echo” Nazi Germany. He quoted extensively from one of the Final Solution’s architects. This puts his fascination with quarantines, mandatory tattoos, and extermination being a “plausible idea” in a whole new and deeply disturbing light.
On February 10, I attended an all-day “Love Won Out” ex-gay conference in Phoenix, put on by Focus on the Family and Exodus International. In this series of reports, I talk about what I learned there: the people who go to these conferences, the things that they hear, and what this all means for them, their families and for the rest of us.
Prologue: Why I Went To “Love Won Out”
Part 1: What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Part 2: Parents Struggle With “No Exceptions”
Part 3: A Whole New Dialect
Part 4: It Depends On How The Meaning of the Word "Change" Changes
Part 5: A Candid Explanation For "Change"
At last, the truth can now be told.
Using the same research methods employed by most anti-gay political pressure groups, we examine the statistics and the case studies that dispel many of the myths about heterosexuality. Download your copy today!
And don‘t miss our companion report, How To Write An Anti-Gay Tract In Fifteen Easy Steps.
Anti-gay activists often charge that gay men and women pose a threat to children. In this report, we explore the supposed connection between homosexuality and child sexual abuse, the conclusions reached by the most knowledgeable professionals in the field, and how anti-gay activists continue to ignore their findings. This has tremendous consequences, not just for gay men and women, but more importantly for the safety of all our children.
Anti-gay activists often cite the “Dutch Study” to claim that gay unions last only about 1½ years and that the these men have an average of eight additional partners per year outside of their steady relationship. In this report, we will take you step by step into the study to see whether the claims are true.
Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
“Google” is a trademark of Google Inc.
© Box Turtle Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
Posts 
Posts via daily email:
Teddy Partridge
October 17th, 2008
Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.
John
October 17th, 2008
It really calls into question the whole legitimacy of all the other diplomas that BYU grants.
Richard W. Fitch
October 17th, 2008
It will be interesting to see how this plays out over the coming weeks. If BYU actually denies a diploma to a student who has already fulfilled the academic requirements for a degree program, I wonder how the regional accreditation association will rule when a challenge is presented? BYU may find that their standing is suddenly stripped away.
Pomo
October 17th, 2008
This issue really ticks me off.
My boyfriend was writing his thesis at a seminary. He had completed all his coursework and was mostly done with his thesis. When they found out he was gay they wouldn’t let him finish. And to this day he still cant go back without letters from a (conservative) pastor saying his gayness is all better.
I don’t see how they can get away with it. And I think something needs to be done. I support freedom of religion but again, if they want government accreditation, they’ve gotta play by the rules…
right?
Lynn David
October 18th, 2008
Well, BYU has an “honor code [ http://honorcode.byu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3585&Itemid=4643 ].”
But only “in student housing?” And more under “clarifications of the honor code [ http://honorcode.byu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3578&Itemid=4634 ].”
As with anyone who butts heads with the Mormons, one usually loses. He might have been denied his diploma because he is coming out with a 2009 calendar and a second one featuring Mormon mothers (see: http://www.modbee.com/life/faithvalues/story/444370.html ).
John
October 18th, 2008
So, BYU does not accept anyone who is not Mormon? I guess I did not realize that.
I attended Georgetown University (Catholic) with plenty of Protestants, Jews and even a few Muslims. We were never asked about our religion prior to acceptance.
Mirele
October 18th, 2008
BYU accepts non-Mormons. They just have to promise to uphold the honor code. (I’ve always tried to figure out how Catholics, Episcopalians and Lutherans can do that, since the honor code forbids alcohol and the central rite of these three churches involves…you got it…communion wine.) But don’t get excommunicated from the Mormon church while you’re at BYU, because that means your schooling is a waste.
Additionally, the honor code applies to ALL students, not just students in student housing. For example, honor code applies to any “BYU approved” private housing. This impacts non-BYU students (e.g., students who go to UVSC down the hill). To live in these PRIVATE COMPLEXES, they have to agree to live by BYU honor code standards, which to me is insane, but is apparently legal under an exemption to the Fair Housing Act.
Anyway, apparently they’ve got Chad over a barrel. He can’t even transfer his credits to another university because of this honor code thing. His credits are frozen. This is fundamentally debatable, since he was apparently done with school and had walked in graduation before the diploma was yanked. (If I were still a practicing attorney, I’d sure as heck make that argument.) If I were Chad, I’d also ask the accrediting agencies to yank their accreditation or at least couple it with a severe warning that going to BYU could cause you to lose all of your credits if you cross the wrong line.
I’m a profoundly inactive Mormon and I have toyed with the idea of resigning my membership, but this is really getting close to the thin edge of my wedge. You don’t take someone’s degree away from him/her in this way. It’s profoundly vindictive, and for a church that says it follows Jesus, well, yeah…right. NOT.
Maybe I’ll just write a letter to the First Presidency and ask them to cut the crap. Not that it will do anything for Chad (but PUBLICITY will, I think), but it will let them know that some members are irritated at this stupidity masking itself as morality.
Utah Resident
October 18th, 2008
The LDS Church is incredibly vindictive and will go out of their way to “get” a member, current or former, who goes against their agenda. Californians, they are flexing their political muscle in the Golden State. I hope you’re listening.
Dave
October 18th, 2008
“apparently they’ve got Chad over a barrel.”
I disagree with Mirele. Denying admission or suspending a student for excommunication from the Mormon church is one thing, denying a diploma to someone who has already completed all degree requirements is another.
Chad should sue the school and raise hell with whatever body accredited it.
Dave
October 18th, 2008
I should add that I agree with Mirele that publicity should help Chad’s cause.
Writing BYU may or may not be helpful, but I think it a good thing for the University to learn just how nasty such actions make them appear in the public’s eye.
Active Mormon
October 20th, 2008
Okay, here’s where all the flaming starts. But, you can’t have a debate with only one side present, right? :-)
I am a Mormon. A devout, active Mormon. I also have gay friends, never went to BYU, and was raised outside of Utah (though I live there now). So I have a unique perspective.
First, BYU is not the Mormon church. Let me repeat that–BYU is NOT, nor has it ever been, the Mormon church. You are bound to run into some extremist views of any religion if you go where they are. For the Mormons, that is BYU and Utah Valley.
BYU’s decisions rarely conform to logic in my opinion. While in high school, I travelled there for a language fair. Not being a Utahn, I had no idea that shorts were not allowed (a policy that has been instated and rescinded so many times I’m not even sure of the current status). I wore shorts, and I was kicked off campus for the duration of the day. So there I was, a 14 year old kid, wandering the streets of Provo for hours, alone.
I’m still a member of the church. Why? Because the church authorities did not kick me off the campus, the narrow-minded, holier-than-thou school administration did.
So, now that the boundary between the Mormon church and BYU is clear…I think what BYU did was wrong. But it doesn’t suprise me. Nor should it surprise Mr. Chad Hardy. If he survived the climate at BYU long enough to almost graduate and then figuratively “spit in their eye”, he had to see it coming. It doesn’t make BYU right, but BYU’s views are spelled out in the Code of Conduct and in their past history of intolerance.
As for the excommunication, well, he had it coming. The Mormon church teaches tolerance and love. But they also teach personal responsibility. If you do something wrong, you don’t get a free pass. You make it right first. We believe faith and works are both essential to salvation. If your works stray far enough from the church’s teachings, you need to step away to think about what you really believe in. It’s as simple as that.
Dave
October 20th, 2008
“there I was, a 14 year old kid, wandering the streets of Provo for hours, alone … [because] I had no idea that shorts were not allowed”
Yes, BYU has always impressed me as a nutty place. Why anyone would want to attend it is beyond me.
“If he survived the climate at BYU long enough to almost graduate… he had to see it coming. It doesn’t make BYU right, but BYU’s views are spelled out in the Code of Conduct and in their past history of intolerance.”
A very good point, Active Mormon. Chad should have known whom he was dealing with. But the operative words here are “it doesn’t make BYU right.”
Allowing a student to complete degree requirements and then refusing to give him said degree is something that just isn’t done. Nor is it even contemplated as a course of action by truly decent people.
cowboy
October 20th, 2008
It should be noted, we are not privy to the EXACT reason Mr. Hardy was excommunicated. That is where a lot of conjecturing can get us into trouble. It may not have been exclusively the calendar…it could be (speculating again) he wasn’t active but there had to be a reason for inactivity (you don’t get excommunicated for inactivity). It could be (key word here: speculation): he had an immoral encounter. That usually means either disfellowshipment or excommunication depending on his contriteness and/or humbleness…(which is why they hold a court). There are a limited number of ways to get excommunicated and I don’t think it was the calendar business.
But, it seems, like everyone else here said, this was a bit too vitriolic for someone to do all the work and then, poof, it’s gone. That seems a bit too harsh of a punishment. I’m sure you have to acknowledge that?
And Utah (Happy) Valley is not really THAT bad. Hmmmm… Okay…maybe it is.
I’ve worn shorts on campus (even outside the housing and the lower athletic campus) and never had a problem. They just had to be LONG shorts to cover the knees so you can discreetly hide the Temple Garments. (And fortunately, A&F has made that their style in shorts.)
Leave A Comment