Bisexual Brigham Young University student protests school's anti-queer policies on graduation stage
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Depending on where you live and your upbringing, hearing people reference Bringham Young University (BYU), the private, religious university operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, might bring up a number of connotations for you. Here at Daily Kos, for example, we’ve covered the institution’s frustrating and disappointing stance on LGBTQ+ issues, including the brave forms of protest coming from current and past students.
One form of protest has gotten a lot of attention in recent days as graduate Jillian Orr went viral on social media for revealing an LGBTQ+ Pride flag stitched into her graduation gown while receiving her diploma. At some universities, this wouldn’t be a huge deal; after all, some schools let students wear Pride pins and related memorabilia as part of the ceremony. But BYU explicitly bans students from being in same-sex relationships under the school’s Honor Code.
Orr, who is bisexual and had to hide her relationship with another woman as a student, decided she wasn’t going to end her time at BYU in silence. Thus the hidden Pride flag and the big reveal on stage, which was reportedly shown on live TV.
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Orr, who graduated with a degree in psychology, told the Salt Lake Tribune in an interview that she knew she wanted to “protest” her time at the university after feeling like she had to hide for so many years. She explained to the outlet that she worried about being disciplined or even expelled from the university if anyone found out about her same-sex relationship while she was a student.
And according to Orr, it wasn’t just social norms among her peers—the issue came up in her actual classes. For example, Orr told the outlet she was once assigned a paper on why it’s God’s “plan” that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Orr said she ultimately refused to write it and got a lower grade because of her decision.
With the help of her sisters, Hope and Rachel Orr, the graduate explained she decided to incorporate rainbow imagery into her graduation gown but felt she had to be a bit “sneaky” to pull it off without the administration catching on before she walked across the stage. In the end, her sister stitched the rainbow colors inside her traditional graduation gown, not to be revealed until she was on stage.
In an additional video shared on TikTok, Orr said she actually received her diploma in January. She said she’s not sure if the school can revoke it based on what she did at the ceremony. In an interview with Good Morning America, she said she has not yet heard from the school about it either way.
Orr has shared that she still identifies with the church and that the whole reason she initially attended the school was because of her religious beliefs and the less expensive tuition options there for church members. But she doesn’t feel that her faith and sexuality are inherently at odds with one another, and wants to see more acceptance and inclusivity for religious LGBTQ+ people at the school.
And Orr is certainly not alone in this experience. As she shared in an Instagram post, for example, she recalled that while moving through the crowd after the ceremony, another graduate thanked her for doing what she did she said her girlfriend saw her on live TV and was proud of her.
You can catch a brief interview with Orr via local outlet FOX 13 below.