"In light of this, the Church asks that Soulforce members and others involved in its advocacy respect the Church's rights and not enter Church property for any purpose. We hope that this request will be honored voluntarily without the need for enforcement."

Kulisch said the Equality Riders, who arrived in Utah on Monday, will comply. The group plans to hike in Provo Canyon today and then give presentations tonight at a Salt Lake City church.

On Wednesday, Soulforce will give hour-long presentations from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at UVSC, with a break for lunch. Then three or four BYU or former BYU students will conduct a panel discussion at the Provo City Library at 7 p.m.

Thursday, the Equality Riders will march around the perimeter of the BYU campus from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in what they're calling a "Walls of Jericho" activity, then hold a rally at Kiwanis Park, 820 N. 1100 East.

Kulisch said he still hopes to negotiate a compromise with BYU to allow Equality Riders on campus to speak with students.

Soulforce Equality Riders are split up on two buses, one traveling in the East and one in the West, to visit 32 colleges and universities to challenge policies they say discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students.

Five Equality Riders were arrested by police in Shawnee, Okla., on Wednesday when they attempted to attend a church service on the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University. They had been warned they would be arrested if they entered the campus.

Earlier this month, six Equality Riders were arrested at Notre Dame University and two at Central Bible College in Missouri, all for entering the private campuses.

Another private Christian school, Bob Jones University in Greenville, S.C., has rejected Soulforce's request to have the Riders talk with students on April 4, but Soulforce plans to visit anyway.

The Riders on the West bus had a very different reception last week at MidAmerica Nazarene University, which warns students they can be expelled if they engage in sexual acitivity with members of the same gender. The school hosted the Riders for dinner with student leaders on Thursday and six classroom presentations on Friday, according to the Kansas City Star.

The West bus traveled from Kansas to Utah and will then proceed to Malibu, Calif., to visit Pepperdine University. The UVSC Gay-Straight Alliance Club is sponsoring the Equality Ride presentations on the college's Orem campus.

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com