I need advice for my daughter regarding the anti-LDS reputation the U has

[AlohaUte]

So I’m a huge Ute fan, born on their campus, my dad works there, etc. But I only attended the school for a semester and my wife and I have never lived in Utah, so I don’t know the culture for students there.  We are active LDS and my daughter has been admitted to the U as well as USU, SUU, Dixie, and all the public Idaho universities. She fully intends to participate in Church and Institute, etc.  She is leaning going to the U, but my wife in particular is very concerned about anti-LDS there. How real is it? Is it more difficult for Latter-Day Saints to stay faithful there than at other schools?  etc.

(Note, I recognize that there are plenty of folks here that don’t like the Church. Please respect my question and only comment if it adds value to the conversation. I appreciate the diversity of thought and opinions at the U and hope all of you do as well.)

[PhiladelphiaUte]

Utah is a “public state” school — just like USU, SUU, and Dixie.  At public state institutions, you’ll meet all types of people.  At BYU, you’ll meet only one type.  And it’s icky.

That said, the “anti-LDS” theme is something you mainly “hear about”, but rarely ever see.  That’s why I believe it to be more of that classic zoobie folklore.  I’d never been torn down on the merits of my faith.  Most students didn’t even know I was LDS, because it’s not something that typically comes up in conversation — unless you start it (i.e. “When I was on my mission.…”), or start speaking a foreign language, whereby most folks just assume you’d picked it up on your mission

[** Exceptions:  If your daughter starts speaking Spanish, and she looks latina, or looks asian and starts speaking a native east oriental language, no such assumptions would likely be made **]

And the only professors I’d ever had that made any mention of religion in any sense were my Classical Civilizations class — where the discussion leaned toward the Greek and Roman pantheon — and my Medieval History class, where discussions leaned toward “Christianity” and the early Roman’s persecution of them, up until about the 3rd Century AD, when the Catholic church eventually became the mainstream religion of its day. There wasn’t anything pro- or anti- Catholicism though.

I would imagine that those LDS members who opt to wear their religion on their sleeve, and/or openly discriminate against non-LDS members, and/or are predisposed to persecution complexes might find themselves in unfriendly atmospheres.  But if your daughter isn’t the “judgy” sort, she shouldn’t have any issues being active in her faith.

[AlohaUte]

Thanks! That aligns with what I figured.

[Waybackutefan]

So your dad works there and you need this forums feedback?

[AlohaUte]

Yes, he’s in his 60’s.  He’s not a student and not as well keyed into the student culture.

[Charlie]

Actually, the U offers everything the Y offers in way of religion classes, and LDS environment.  Next, the U offers something in addition to what the Y offers:  Freedom of Choice.  I actually know LDS people that prefer the U over the Y for that very reason, they enjoy the choice and do not care for burden of control.  But the U experience is best if you can manage to be around others that make different choices.  

[DataUte]

This was me. Had scholarship to each and freedom to choice to take an Institute class and go to church was one key factor. I was engineering, so never heard anything about religion (my senior project advisor was lds though). Heard sometimes philosophy classes could have you really challenge your beliefs, but those weren’t classes I took.

[Extra Medium]

The U has the 2nd largest LDS student population. LDSSA is the largest student group on campus. You’ll find people who disagree and don’t like the church but you’ll find that at every school. She’ll also find great people of all kinds of faiths that you won’t find at BYU. She will be at a school where she’s respected and treated like an adult. She might actually find herself in a situation where she can stand up for her beliefs and have meaningful conversations with others. She won’t be actively persecuted at all. There are plenty of kids there that will be just like her.

[Extra Medium]

[deleted]

[pedro]

I attended there, so did my wife.  She currently teaches there as well.  As with anything, you will find those who are anti but you will also find those who are like minded.  If she gets involved in institute, she will be in good hands in terms of her faith.  

[Utah5410]

Like anything, there are those who hate the church etc. But, Utah has a Large institute and many active students. Your daughter will be around others and I guess as long as she is open and respectful she will get the same back.

[BigUteGuy]

I attended the U of U from 2002-2008, with a mission in between. I was from out of state and lived in the dorms freshman year, Greek row sophomore year and off campus the rest. To sum up my experience, the U offers everything one could ask/look for, LDS or not. I loved being able to attend Institute, short trax ride to temple square, and experience all that college has to offer all in the same spot. In all my years there, I had one professor make one comment on the first day about how we as students might try to determine if he was active LDS by the clothes he was wearing. I thought it was an odd statement to make and shrugged it off. That was the only thing that I recall ever hearing about the church, associated with someone on the faculty. Nothing but respect from the diverse student body. I had friends at both USU and BYU, which we would visit on occasion. There wasn’t anything going on at the U that wasn’t happening on those campuses.

[Central Coast Ute]

The anti-LDS narrative at the U is all zoob propaganda. The fact is, university students are young adults, living away from home for the first time. College will be whatever they make it. Your daughter can have an awesome LDS experience at the U. They have a great institute program, better than USU or any other school you mentioned. The great part about being LDS and going to the U is, if she walks into a room and there happens to be a young man there, she won’t get kicked out of school.

She may go to school and have professor or two challenge her beliefs, but that’s not being anti. Zoobs call it anti because of their persecution complex, but it’s not real. Having your faith challenged is not a negative thing either. Isn’t that what college should be?

[Central Coast Ute]

I should add, Taylor Randall is LDS. Not sure an LDS president t would allow anti-lds sentiment to be taught there.

[krindor]

I have limited experience as a Utah student (dual enrollment one semester in HS) so can’t speak too much, but do have a few things worth sharing.

1) My Sister-in-law was a return missionary at Utah and part of an LDS sorority, said there were never any issues.

2) I attended BYU for two years prior to my mission and actually found it a worse religious environment than when I went to the Air Force Academy after my mission.

At the Air Force Academy, I was the LDS guy and had a circle of strong LDS friends. Beyond that, everyone knew and respected what I stood for. At BYU, everyone is LDS and so it isn’t always taken as seriously.

I received more anti-LDS information while at BYU, was propositioned for sex more times at BYU, and generally saw more discontent with the church from members while I was at BYU.

That may have been the (fairly liberal, especially for BYU) circles I tended to run in while there, but several roommates, friends, and girlfriends from my time there ended up leaving the LDS faith. That was also true to USAFA, but the reality is that wherever you go (BYU or not), it’s going to come down mostly to YOUR testimony and YOUR beliefs, not the people around you.

I’m sure Utah has some great stalwart members. I’m sure there’s also people there who dislike and campaign against the church. But I believe it’s at least easier to distinguish there than somewhere like BYU where the attacks or temptations seem to come from within.

[chinngiskhaan]

Few things… Sorry in advance if this sounds overly harsh.

First: I know several family members/close friends that went to the U and only got stronger spiritually while there. I don’t know any that stopped going to church that weren’t already headed that direction before attending the U. My friends that staying strong in their faith never encountered anti LDS sentiment at the U. I don’t doubt that there are people like that there, why wouldn’t there be? It’s a free thinking institution in SLC, a place founded by the religious group in question?

I know truckloads of people who have gone to BYU only to later stop attending church. There are a lot of things that go on at BYU and it’s associated schools that make people think twice about church membership.

Staying faithful has little to nothing to do with where you go to school. Outside influence is rarely ever enough to ruin someone’s faith, or strengthen it beyond the point of vulnerability. That comes from things your daughter will be doing on her own. Her own choices. Adversity is a good thing, not a bad thing. People of our faith believe we came to this earth to experience difficult things. Let your daughter live her life. Let her pray about where to attend school, get her own answer, and attend there. She’ll learn from it one way or the other.

Second (and most important): Have a little faith. Quit trying to protect your daughter. If her faith is strong enough to overcome trials she may encounter in the world, then she’ll be fine regardless of where she ends up. If it isn’t strong enough, then is she doing the things she needs to do to strengthen it? Yes? She’ll be fine. No? She won’t be fine (in terms of her faith specific to your religion).

[PlainsUte]

Been many years since I was at the U, but at that time many of those you’d call “anti-LDS” had actually attended BYU, witnessed much hypocrisy, etc, there to start their questioning.  From what I could tell, they weren’t that interested in “converting” individual members to their ideas as exposing church problems that had impacted them or close friends.

[UTE98]

I attended school in Rexburg, Provo, Orem, and finished at the U. Yes, I was a lost soul. You might say I found myself at the U. I’m what I like to call tolerant of others and the U was perfect for me.

My experiences 

Rexburg – A roommate whose parents sent him there to be reformed. He and a friend who came up from SoCal snorted cocaine in his bedroom. One of my other roommate’s sister and a guy were found naked on the front room floor by my room roomate one Sunday morning when he was heading to a meeting.

Provo – judgement and hypocrisy, you were judged for everything. One Saturdy night my downstairs neighbor went into labor. Her husband was a Provo policeman killed in the line of duty. So I took her to the hospital at about 11:00 and finally got home at about 4:00 a.m. false alarm. I missed 9:00 a.m church that morning and that afternoon as I walked across the street to visit a friend a counselor in the Elder’s Quorum stopped me, “I didn’t see you at church today!?”  I told him I didn’t make it. “I notice you didn’t shave either!” I had not. He said, “Well we’ll change that.” I also know of a few other stories about immorality, and parents sending kids there to reform. They found others like them, no “reforming” accomplished.

Orem – Nothing really.

At the U – I loved the U, I was married while at UVSC (UVU). I did not attend the Institute but I loved sharing ideas, listening to the ideas of others who were raised different than me, and even those who’d left the church. I never felt judged, criticized or disrespected. I felt like my background and way of thinking was respected. Now that was back in 1998, but I can’t imagine things have changed that much.

My daughter just returned from her mission, she was reassigned to Temple Square, and the only baptism she was able to attend was a student at the U from China. She was accepted to the U, but living out of state we couldn’t afford the tuition. Got too many kids. Okay only four and I’m a poor government employee. Anyway, in my opinion no matter where you go you can find what you are looking for. If she wants to be active in the Muss she will be able to find friends, Institute she’ll be able to find friends. You can find hypocrites at any place, but you can also find good people and make friendships anywhere as well.

I think more depends on your daughter’s choices than her environment at the U.

[GameForAnyFuss]

I echo what’s been said above. You can have an incredible LDS experience at the U…and yes, I would say it is better than the LDS experience at BYU-Provo Campus (I attended both).

Remember that the U has the largest institute program in the world, with 10,000 students. 10,000. Think about that for a minute. The class selection is huge, the professors are amazing, and there’s always something social going on. I took Book of Mormon at BYU-Provo Campus and at the U institute – I liked the institute version better. Why? Because it wasn’t for a grade we could focus on learning the things that matter. At the Y, it was just about memorizing dates. Bottom line: Institute classes are more edifying than their counterparts at the BYU schools.

As far as church attendance goes, remember that there are 5 university stakes. Not wards…stakes. Plenty of LDS kids there, and the fact that their church attendance has no bearing on their academic standing means that they’re all there because they want to be there. I knew more than a handful of kids at BYU-Provo Campus who only went to church so they could get their ecclesiastical endorsement.

For sure there’s an anti-LDS element on campus, but you have to go looking for it if you want to find it. She should go to the U – I’m dead serious when I say that you will have a better LDS experience at the U than BYU-Provo Campus.

[krindor]

I took Book of Mormon at BYU-Provo Campus and at the U institute – I liked the institute version better. Why? Because it wasn’t for a grade we could focus on learning the things that matter. At the Y, it was just about memorizing dates. Bottom line: Institute classes are more edifying than their counterparts at the BYU schools.

I’ll partially echo this. Religious classes at BYU were very hit or miss. I took one that was absolutely amazing and edifying – can’t say enough positive about it. Another one was taught by someone from the nursing program who meant well, but was pretty clearly just trying to get through a course well outside of her expertise. And the there was the teacher who had WAY too much expertise – I remember quizzes where we needed to have memorized the route that Lehi and family took through the desert to the sea and which modern day cities marked their path. Which a) isn’t factually known and b) isn’t the purpose of the gospel or of gospel courses.

Like I said, they can be great. But they can also be mediocre or bad. Which is true everywhere

[DieHardUtahUtesFan]

More of my LDS friends who went to BYU are now inactive than the people I met at the institute at the U.

[Utah5410]

Coach Whitt also very LDS and embodies everything I love about the Faith. The he lives and treats others.

[123punt]

I found being active in the faith and attending the U pretty normal. There are a few professors (social sciences mainly) that will disagree with church teachings or policies and may comment about it. I also found a grad student in the English department who was very anti/biased, but overall, there’s no widespread agenda to try and do anything other than teach. As others have mentioned, the institute program is solid and can certainly outweigh any anti-bias that she might encounter on-campus.

USU is fairly similar – it is what you make of it. I only know a handful of examples from SUU / Dixie, but a lot of my friends went to those schools to party… I’m not sure if that’s because of the school’s reputation or just a reflection of my friends that went there lol.

[chinngiskhaan]

Heaven forbid our kids are exposed to differing opinions, right? As long as my kids aren’t ridiculed for their beliefs while they are minors, I would honestly prefer an environment where they are intellectually and spiritually challenged.

[BD]

I attended both Weber State and the U of U in the early 90s. Being that it was so long ago, I don’t think what I experienced applies today. But just for fun, here goes:

I actually experienced more anti-LDS sentiments at Weber State. A psych profession in my first class started the class by saying, “I don’t want to offend those who are LDS…”, then proceeded to really be quite negative and seemed to me he tried to offend. LOL. He was a fantastic professor, however, and I really liked him. But his anti-LDS jabs were really unnecessary and did not contribute to the course at all. It didn’t really bother me much however. Not a big deal.

At the U of U, I really never did experience any anti-LDS sentiment, other than the occassional article in the Daily Chronicle. But, those were mild, and were just expressing a different point of view. Nothing bad at all, and nothing wrong with that. I actually appreciate an alternate point of view, as long as it is logical, and its purpose is simply to have a dialogue of differeng opinions. When somebody gets blatantly biased, or has a spirit of just mocking my beliefs, then I am simply not interested – no discussion or debate from me. I just change the subject, or go on to something else.

According to some BYU fans, especially some threads on CougarBoard, would make it out that the U of U is some sort of institution of horrible, anti-LDS behavior, and that the whole university is dedicated to taking down the Church, and that members are attacked repeatedly, etc. Such nonsense. Such lies and exaggerations. Yes, you might run into an instructor who might throw a jab at the Church once in awhile, but who cares? I don’t really get why this has to be so offensive – it isn’t. And, besides, didn’t anybody serve a mission? You got plenty of it on a mission most likely – that is just the nature of it. I served, and the only anti-LDS sentiment I got on my mission was from those who were overly zealous in their Christian religion, and wanted to do nothing but mock those of different faiths. All the non-religious, atheist people were respectful to me and our beliefs, while acknowledging differences. I realize experiences in this vary greatly, however. But there is plenty of anti-LDS sentiments out there, the U of U, if there is any, is usually very mild.

[Stone]

I had some professors say things negatively toward LDS that would never fly if said about any other religious group. But generally-speaking, things seemed pretty above-board.

Many comments in response to your post reference BYU, despite that not being one of the schools you mention (the shoehorn finds a way). As to the schools you mention, I would definitely recommend the U (not just because I am a fan and alum). Large LDS contingent and great Institute classes. USU would be my second choice – it seems like a really fun college environment (but a bit too cold and lacking the big-time football situation). I might actually choose UVU over SUU and Dixie (I realize you did not mention UVU, but your daughter could clearly get in there if she got into the other schools. 

 

 

[Central Coast Ute]

The question was about the anti-LDS reputation at the U. That comes from BYU. Posters brought it up because the OP did.

[Author]

Posts