BYU and the Mormon Mastercard

**MAKE SURE TO READ THE COMMENTS AT THE BOTTOM!!  This conversation is an interesting one...**

I have been to the Idaho campus of BYU twice now, thanks to my new job.

The first time was for a guest lecture my boss was doing at one of the Social Worker classes.  This last time was for an intern fair, looking for the next crop of students looking for work experience (and us looking for some cheap labor).

Both times were so eye-opening, a blog had to be done.

And it has taken me a while to craft it into the shape I want it.  Is it epic?  Probably not.  But I like it.

Visit one, I was generally impressed.  All the students were well-dressed, orderly, and a lot of them were in study groups.  Nothing like when I went to college, where there was eye-candy galore, and studying was reserved for midterm and finals weeks only. 

Study hard, people.

It was only when I entered the classroom that the religious vibe kicked in.

Class started as normal, with one girl standing up to read a poem she had crafted about child abuse.  It was very moving, and the classroom (including myself) clapped.

Then all of a sudden… silence.

Heads were bowed.

The poem reader began saying a prayer.

…wha-what?

Keep in mind I went to public schools all my life.  I have never seen prayer in a classroom setting.  Minds were blown.

She prayed for my boss and I, and the hopes that we lead an upright life worthy of His blessing…

For the love of Me...
You really don't need to pray every 5 minutes...

…hokay…

The rest of the visit went like a normal college classroom, but that instance stuck in my head.  Weeks later, on my second trip to BYU, I wondered if I would experience the same thing.

Yes.  And moreso.

First off, before the intern fair, was a luncheon for the visiting agencies.  Kind of a mixer setting, sans-alcohol.  And coffee.  And any type of caffeine.  Before we ate, a prayer was said to bless the food and the staff/guests.  Drinks were lemonade and water.  Not even tea.  I guess, Mormon or not, if you’re at BYU your options are limited.

I wish I would have thought of this beforehand.  I would have stopped by a Starbucks and got a GIGANTIC latte, just for shock value.  Would I have been told to throw it away?  Or asked to leave?  If there is a visit #3, I’ll try this test and let you know.

After the luncheon, there was a training seminar on how to be better instructors/mentors for interns.  Another prayer was said, blessing the lecture, the staff and the guests (again). 

“Wow” I thought.  “Twice in less than an hour.  I feel super-blessed.”

After the lecture concluded, we prepped our tables for the fair to begin.  Students began to enter, but nobody was coming to the tables.  They were all congregating in the center area, looking at the lectern.

Why?  Well duh, we haven’t prayed yet.

Aww crap.  You guys AGAIN?

Everyone in the room was properly blessed, so we could finally begin the fair.  Things went nicely, and I found a few rockstars in the group that would work well for my company.  A few of them were the “high and mighty” types, but they really didn’t have a lot of good qualities to begin with.  Their smugness just helped seal their own grave faster.

I collected resumes, and kind of chuckled as to what these kids thought should go on a resume.   Almost all listed their mission as past experience.  A lot of them listed their availability status (single/engaged/married), which I will go into in a bit.  Some were well put-together, but most of them looked, well, like students have done them.

Times when I wandered were interesting:

-         -  I went to use the restroom at one point, and a group of 5 guys were in a group, telling dirty jokes about blacks and gays.  Since everyone at BYU (that I saw, at least) was white, and you can’t be gay & mormon, I guess it’s ok to tell these kinds of jokes?  Pfff…

-        - They didn’t have any refreshments for us during the fair, so I went to look for a soda machine for my partner and I.  When I finally found one, there was no soda to choose from.  Water, juice, milk, and other caffeine free drinks were available.  That’s it.  I was fine with water, but couldn’t buy it anyway.  The machine only took the dreaded “Mormon Mastercard”, the student cards that some universities use.  When I went to Cal State, they had the card as an option, but you could still use cash or any major credit card.  Not here.  Not Visa, not American Express.

Gas to get to BYU: $8.64

Breakfast on the go: $5.35

Gum to Prevent Death-Breath: $1.26

Being prayed for and overly scrutinized for 4 hours: Priceless

There are some things normal money can buy.  

If you’re at BYU, there’s Mormon Mastercard…

By the end of the trip, most of the faculty knew I wasn’t “a brother.”  Some of them were cool with it, including the professor I met a few weeks before.  Others gave smug looks, like I didn’t belong there.  Next time… coffee.  Maybe a fake piercing or two?  A Mike Tyson tattoo on my face?  We’ll see…

Speaking to my friends about the trip, the students, resumes, etc., they pointed out that BYU is well-known for girls going there simply to find a man.  That said, I would say about 90% of the girls I saw had rings on their left finger, either engagement or wedding-type.   During on-site interviews after the fair, I noticed it even more.  All the girls talked about their fiancée or husband during the interview, what he is going to school for, etc.

So my question to these girls would be this:  Why are you paying for a degree, when your ultimate goal is to get married, become a housewife, and have a boatload of babies?  Are you ever going to use that degree?  Or is it just viewed as a necessity when finding an ideal mate?

Suffice it to say, my views of the BYU campus, not only with my personal experiences but recent headlines in the news, is pretty amusing.  I worry about these students (amplified because of the naive little BYU intern currently in my office) when they get out into the real world and see that everyone isn’t like them.  Or worse, if they move to Vegas, Manhattan, San Diego or other majorly non-mormon spots in this country, where they’re not the majority anymore.  Are they being prepared for this? 

We better say a prayer, just in case…

*sigh*
Really?  Dude...

Edit:  This HAD to be shared at Dude Write...