Harry Potter and the Retched Honor Code

The E-mail
The Point of the Honor Code
The Curfew Rule
Is it that Big of a Deal?

"All BYU-Idaho students are to be in their own apartments .... every night" but who does this apply to and for what reasons, and how is Harry Potter involved?

The E-mail

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a huge fan of Harry Potter, but when I got the following email in my inbox, I was upset, not about the fact that I was forbidden to watch it, but I as well as all those that read the email was threatened with “disciplinary” action for violating curfew. Here is the email:

A wave of the magic wand and the names have been blocked.

I love it how the email is closed “with love” from both the Bishop and the Stake President.ᵗᵒᵖ

The Point of the Honor Code

• Academic Honesty
• Dress and Grooming
• Housing
• Church Attendance
• Ecclesiastical Endorsements for Continuing Students
• Other Standards

After searching the BYUI’s website for quite a bit of time, I found a paragraph that sort of defines the purpose of the honor code, but it lacks the clarity of why it exists, instead it just defines what it contains.  It says:

“[The Honor Code] exist[s] to educate students in an atmosphere consistent with the ideals and principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” ᵗᵒᵖ

The Curfew Rule

"All BYU-Idaho students are to be in their own apartments by midnight every night of the week except Friday, when curfew is one o’clock a.m. When attending university functions that end later than established curfew hours, such as plays and concerts, students should be in within 30 minutes after the event is over."¹

Isn’t it ironic that the rules can be bended for “university functions”? It is also important to note that it says that “All BYU-Idaho students” are to obey this rule so this would include married students too, but we all know that there is special treatment for them.ᵗᵒᵖ

Is it that Big of a Deal?

There is no credible reason to have a curfew at a university. I have a few reasons behind this:

One of the main reasons that the curfew was instated was to prevent premarital sex. While this cause may seem helpful to the weak, how hard is it for any student to tell their roommates that they’re going down to Utah for the weekend and go shack up at some hotel in Idaho Falls? It isn’t that hard to do. People that want to "get it on" are going to do it whether or not there are rules.

I image midnight showings of Harry Potter are like this.

Another reason would be the source of a rumor that has been circulated. The rumor stated the stake president’s very own daughter was seen at the midnight showing of Harry Potter. This may or may not be true, but if it is, it would be very hypocritical to enforce the curfew if the stake president’s very own child was violating curfew. If it wasn’t true, it still doesn’t dismiss the fact that plenty of BYUI students went to the midnight showing, enough to fill the seats of the theaters.

ᵗᵒᵖ

The City of Rexburg needs your $$$!

Is the City of Rexburg really looking out for BYUI students’ best interest when it comes to parking or are they out to make an easy buck?

The Problem
Freeing up Parking Spaces
The Failure of Reverse-Angle Parking
Hurtful for Businesses
Conclusion

Unlike the game of  Monopoly, the City of Rexburg charges for their parking.

The Problem

As the student population has increased at BYUI, the City of Rexburg decided to start charging students for permits to park on city streets along campus.  Their claim was that they would be helping to control the flow of traffic.

Students are already burdened with enough fees:

• $15 per Semester
• That's 2+ hours at minimum wage
• $35 per Year
• That's 5+ hours at minimum wage

• Tuition
• Housing*
• Food
• Classroom materials
• Textbooks
• Clothing
• Other miscellaneous items

*The price is jacked up because it is “approved.” ᵗᵒᵖ

Freeing up Parking Spaces

In the Rexburg Standard Journal the city attorney Stephen Zollinger said that by issuing parking permits it would “free up parking for those who drive in from out of town.” While the permit parking may have freed up parking spaces, the students coming in from out of town don’t have much more of an advantage. ᵗᵒᵖ

The Failure of Reverse-Angle Parking

1-2-3 and it's gone!

Reverse-angle parking was a terrible mistake that was introduced when the city of Rexburg incorporated permit required parking. It was former Mayor Shawn Larsen’s idea after he had observed the same parking standard in Salt Lake City. It was wrong to compare a city that consists of 1.2 million people to a city that has just a little over 28 thousand people.

Instead of improving traffic flow along campus streets, it actually congested them. After complaints from the students and the citizens, reversed-angle parking was repealed. Ironically, Salt Lake abandoned their reversed-angle parking a few months prior. ᵗᵒᵖ

Hurtful for businesses

Since the introduction of permit parking, some businesses have suffered. Many students try to get around buying a parking permit by parking in business parking. This creates a hassle of business owners because they have to take care of the nonpaying customers. The only business that truly benefits from city parking permits is the towing company. ᵗᵒᵖ

Conclusion

How else will the City of Rexburg get their money off of
BYUI students?

The city of Rexburg generally tries to put the people first, but sometimes they forget to include the students of BYUI. Their opinions weren’t well represented in such a big decision. It created a real bad image for the city when they passed an ordinance without considering the voice of the students. ᵗᵒᵖ

Introduction

Welcome to the Rexburger.  The Rexburger may be the name of a special hamburger at Sammys, but that is not the purpose of this blog.  The purpose of this blog is to identify issues in the City of Rexburg this also extends to Brigham Young University-Idaho.  Many of the issues that are addressed may be one sided, but I do invite people to add their opinions and comments.  I also invite visitors to add their own observances in varying issues in the City of Rexburg and in BYU-I.