12 | QSALTLAKE MAGAZINE | NEWS
Qsaltlake.com |
Issue 328 | OCTOBER, 2021
‘Faggots go to Hell’ chalk art destroyer no longer a BYU student The man who defaced an LGBTQ-supportive, off-campus sidewalk chalk instillation and said “faggots go to Hell,” is no longer a student at Brigham Young University, school officials said. The private religious school said in an email to The Salt Lake Tribune that the man was a student previously this semester but, as of this week, is no longer taking classes. BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins declined to say whether he dropped out or was expelled. “Because of federal laws and university privacy guidelines, BYU cannot pro-
vide additional information,” she said. Officials at the Mormon university in Provo, Utah said the day after a video of the incident surfaced that they would investigate the matter. “We unequivocally condemn behavior and language that is disrespectful
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and hurtful,” BYU said in a statement. “There is no place for hateful speech, or prejudice of any kind, on our campus or in our community.” “The Honor Code explicitly states that each member of the BYU community has the obligation to respect others,” the statement continued. “The incident seen in a video circulating on social media is now under review.” “We are striving to create a community of belonging composed of students, faculty and staff whose hearts are knit together in love. Every student and in-
dividual on our campus deserves to feel that belonging,” the school added. In the viral video, a man appears to rinse off large chalk drawings on the ground, which consisted of several messages in support of the school’s LGBTQ community. It followed a speech by former BYU president and church elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who earlier in the week declared his love “for those who live with this same-sex challenge,” but added that “we have to be careful that love and empathy do not get interpreted as
condoning and advocacy.” The speech angered the school’s LGBTQ community and allies. Former students organized an event where people gathered on a sidewalk across from the campus to create LGBTQ-positive messages on the pavement in the form of chalk art. On a Reddit post, titled “Ran into this asshat on BYU campus tonight after LGBTQ+ supporters drew loving chalk art on the sidewalk,” Provo videographer Amber Sorensen said she saw a man walking around one of the drawings, attempting “to rinse off a big rainbow drawing and a rainbow-colored Y on the sidewalk by the intersection.” She started filming filming and a man nearby said to him, “I hope you feel a little less homophobic.” The defacer looked at the camera and said, “No, uh, faggots go to hell” before running away from the scene. Social media readers quickly found his name, where he was from and what school within the University he is attending, and notified the BYU Honor Code office. Q
