BYU, What an Odd Place.

Last Friday I spent five hours at BYU to take a psychological examination for work. This is the first time in my adult life I have walked into the BYU campus. Please, if you attended BYU or are just a fan do not be offended by my remarks but man, that place is weird! Sure, academically it is top-notch but the student culture is one-of-a-kind. During my short time at BYU most of my time was spent at the library and the student center so I was exposed to numerous students and I was so perplexed I jotted down a few observations. I attended Snow College, Weber State, UVSC and grad school at UNLV and I have visited a number of other schools but boy things were different in Provo. Take a look, I'd love to hear if I am the only one that has made so many strange observations at that "special" place.

1. There is no facial hair.

2. Bridal magazines and advertisements riddled the campus.

3. A lot of college campuses have white majorities but this place was really white. Sadly, it is probably the most diverse community in Utah County.

4. Co-eds were modest (This is actually a good one, I was shocked at some of the outfits I have seen students wear to class!).

5. In my four years at UNLV I can recall seeing only one pregnant woman and not a single baby stroller. In one afternoon at BYU I saw dozens of both.

6. For a school owned by a church ardently opposed to homosexuality they seem to like talking about gay people. In the six-page daily newspaper there were 3 stories addressing this issue.

7. At most schools the conversations you overhear are school/work related, at BYU it's church talk. While walking around and sitting in the student center I heard a distinct LDS vocabulary including ward, home teacher, stake conference, mission, mission president, and temple recommend to name just a few.

8. No Spring Break! Yippee! Oh, wait, no spring break. But I did see some posters for an "Unofficial Spring Break Party/Dance."

9. While eating lunch I noticed several people blessing their food. This is nice, but I'm not sure how much God can really bless your Taco Bell Gordita to "strengthen and nourish" one's body.

10. No caffeine. Zip, zilch, nada. Oddly enough there was an impressive food court where one could by donuts, hamburgers, pizza, Taco Bell, and other preservative packed products that contribute to heart disease, Type II Diabetes, cancer, and other ailments that kill far more people than alcohol or tobacco ever do and when was the last time you heard someone die a caffeine related death?

So, that was "Dan's Adventure in BYU Land." I didn't fit in when I was younger and I don't fit in now and I now understand why I never had any desire to attend the nearest university to my childhood home. Too be honest, I'll support Henry where ever he wants to attend but something tells me I won't fit in at BYU when I'm older either.