A Costly Piece of Ass

Earlier this week the #3 Nationally Ranked BYU Basketball Team found out that their 2nd best player, Brandon Davies, had been suspended for violating the school's Honor Code. His violation? He had premarital sex with his girlfriend. WTH???!!! To a certain extent, (besides getting an education) isn't that what kids are supposed to do in college? I went to Baylor University, and like BYU is a small, private, religious based college. Also, like BYU we had an Honor Code, in which I'm sure every student violated. Realistically speaking, almost every private & public university in the country has a Honor Code of Ethics/Conduct which almost all students violate within the first week of being on campus. Now of course that doesn't make it right but i absolutely think kicking the kid off the basketball team as a 1st time offender is a harsh and irrational punishment. For 1) It's was his first offense 2) BYU's punishments for 1st offense is a WARNING and 3) He didn't lie about it, he confessed.

This issue caused me to take a closer look at BYU's "Honor Code" and here it is:
1) Be Honest
2) Live a Chaste and Virtuous Life
3) Obey the Law and All Campus Policies
4) Use Clean Language
5) Respect Others
6) Abstain from Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco, Coffee, Tea, and Substance Abuse
7) Participate Regularly in Church Services
8) Observe the Dress Code & Grooming Standards
9) Encourage Others in their Commitment to Comply with the Honor Code

Now, beside all the obvious GREY AREAS, the thing that stood out to me about this Honor Code was how RIDICULOUS some of the expectations are. Coffee? So students aren't allowed to drink coffee OR tea? Virtuous Life? To who's standards? What about if a student slams her hand in the door and yells, "Shit!" out of pain? Should she be disciplined also? The Honor Code also describes grooming expectations for women and more strictly, for men. Men can not wear shoes that shoe their feet, shorts that don't exceed their knees, side burns past their ears and must be clean shaved everyday with NO facial hair! Homosexuality is also identified as an offense that is punishable by expulsion. Really? You're gonna kick somebody out of school for being gay?

So I ask, should schools like BYU update their outdated bylaws or should they uphold their strict Mormon guidelines having that right as a private institution? What about if the students are not Mormon? Should they be forced to uphold Mormon values? How you feel???