Activists to urge gay tolerance at Y.

Jane's punk look, black shoes, ripped jeans and boy-cut hair were enough to make her stand out when she entered Brigham Young University as a freshman in 1994.

"Nobody would talk to me at church," said Jane, who asked not to be identified by her real name. "I didn't make a single friend my first several months there."

Then, Jane was caught dating another woman. After that, people would make comments under their breath, and scripture was pasted on her window.

"I wouldn't say I felt afraid, but I felt very ostracized," she said. "People were really quite cruel."

University spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said she couldn't speak to the campus climate more than a decade ago, but she said the treatment Jane described is in direct violation of the school's honor code.

The honor code, based on doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, encourages students to be respectful. It also prohibits advocating a homosexual lifestyle or homosexual conduct.

"Our policies are based on the principles of religious doctrines," Jenkins said. "They are not policies that in any way advocate hatred or unkind treatment of any individuals."

But a group of activists say the treatment Jane received at the campus isn't unique. So, the Soulforce Equality Ride is including BYU as a stop in a 19-school tour promoting acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.

The ride, styled after the 1960s Freedom Rides for racial equality, is meant to open a discussion about policies the activists say promote intolerance.

"We believe that BYU has some of the more stringent policies that discriminate against LGBT people as an extension of the LDS church," said Equality Ride co-director Havin Herrin.

Openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson will speak at an equality rally scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday in Kiwanis Park. Then, on Tuesday, the activists will be allowed to go on campus to visit one-on-one with students.

"Our hope is that it will be a respectful dialogue that takes place," Jenkins said.

As an LDS school, BYU's honor code is a direct reflection of the faith's principles, requiring all students to "live a chaste and virtuous life."

In 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley said of gays and lesbians, "we love them as sons and daughters of God.

"They may have certain inclinations which are powerful and which may be difficult to control," President Hinckley said. "Most people have inclinations of one kind or another at various times. If they do not act upon these inclinations, then they can go forward as do all other members of the church."

Jenkins said that, like church policy, the honor code is directed only at a student's behavior, not at orientation or feelings.

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