BYU removed LGBTQ resource pamphlets from welcome bags for new students [View all]

Brigham Young University removed pamphlets with off-campus resources for LGBTQ students from welcome bags for incoming freshman in late August.

Created by RaYnbow Collective, a non-profit that founder and BYU student Maddison Tenney says focuses on education and allyship for queer students, the pamphlets had information on weekly and monthly events available to LGBTQ students as well as lists of organizations in the area that could provide therapy, safe housing, mentorship and more. The RaYnbow Collective is not officially affiliated with the university.

Tenney says RaYnbow Collective created the pamphlets because she — who identifies as gay — remembers the loneliness she felt as a freshman at the university, which is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. At the university in Provo, Utah, located about 45 miles southeast from Salt Lake City, LGBTQ students are restricted by university rules from dating or showing signs of affection toward members of the same sex. Violation of those rules puts students at risk of being disenrolled.

“I remember sitting in my white dorm room with these cement walls and breaking down,” Tenney told TODAY Parents. “I didn’t know anyone who was like me, who wanted to be faithful and embrace the fullness of themselves.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/byu-removed-lgbtq-resource-pamphlets-from-welcome-bags-for-new-students/ar-AA11pDQX