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Show opinion/ MONDAY-FEBRUARY 6 -2006 A7 Falling from grace at BYU AmmonVanOrden Opinions Editor A letter was recently written to BYU's Daily Universe. The letter was written by Michael Halcrow who is a former BYU student, and a former member of the LDS church. Halcrow had removed his name from the records of the church because he no longer believed in God. But when he tried to apply to BYU's Marriot School of Business, he was categorically denied for being an ex-member of the church. The application reads as follows: "[An applicant] who has asked to have his or her name removed from the records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not admissible until reinstated to full fellowship." BYU has every legal right as a private institution to approve and deny any applicant they choose - but as we all know, or should know, legal and ethical behavior often travel down two separate paths. While doing a quick search of BYU's demographics, it turns out that two percent of the student body and five percent of the faculty are non-Mormons. Granted, almost all of those are recruits for their sports program, but that's a story for another day. The first sentence in the admissions policy states, "The University admits persons of either sex and of any race, creed, religion or national origin who meet the University's admission requirements, and agree to abide by standards of behavior as established by its sponsor." If I'm not mistaken I believe an Ex-Mormon Atheist still qualifies as a creed or religion. Halcrow was not kicked out of school for an Honor Code violation, nor did he contest following it if he returned to the halls of BYU. I can't vouch for his academic credentials, but the fact that he wasn't even allowed to apply just does not sit right. Just like every other institution of higher learning, BYU flashes its ranking and prestigious numbers in an effort to promote itself. And also similar to other institutions, BYU seeks and recruits the highest profile and most qualified students to fill its ranks in order to climb the national scale of notoriety. But unlike every other secularly owned institution in the country, they ban students who were once members of the LDS church but have since denied the faith. The problem with this policy is that it keeps out qualified and potentially brilliant applicants who could add to the school rankings and diversity. Brigham Young Student Matthew Neal wrote a response to Halcrow's complaint with this reasoning behind BYU's action. "The church doesn't put tithing dollars into this school just for prestige. It is all done with an effort to spread the influence of the gospel throughout the world. Now, even a non-member has a better chance of building up the kingdom because he or she is a potential convert. But someone who has decided to remove themselves from the church obviously has also removed that desire as well." The problem with this argument is that it forgets the crucial teachings of Christ, in which he told his disciples that it is better to leave the "ninety and nine" believers and seek after the one that is lost. So if the goal of the institution truly is to build the kingdom, then maybe they should be help ing those who have lost their way get back into the fold. The saddest part about this whole affair is that there are I thought that you didn't want to be a sheep anymore. We are pretty nappy with the 99. 12. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which has gone astray? 13. 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