BYU Student Flashes Rainbow Gown at Graduation to Protest Anti-Gay Rules
posted a TikTok of her putting together the gown and wearing it to graduation where it received more than 2.7 million views and 5,700 comments since Sunday."At BYU it's against the honor code to be in a homosexual relationship," the on-screen text read as Orr used a sewing machine to stitch a rainbow pride flag inside her graduation gown."If you are discovered to be dating or just holding hands there are severe consequences," the on-screen text continued. "They threaten to take away your degree and kick you out of the university."BYU, located in Provo, Utah, is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Students who attend must follow the university's honor code, which includes abstaining from "alcoholic beverages, tobacco, tea, coffee, vaping, and substance abuse" as well as living a "chaste and virtuous life, including abstaining from any sexual relations outside a marriage between a man and a woman."An estimated 7.1 percent of American adults self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or non-heterosexual, according to data collected by Gallup.
Nearly one in six Generation Z—born 1997 through 2012—adults identify as bisexual.In the video, Orr tried on her homemade graduation gown which looked normal on the outside but was lined with a pride flag on the inside."Students are afraid to be who they are.
So they hide out of fear until they get out," she explained. "I will not hide. I will be seen."The TikTok then cut to Orr wearing her navy blue graduation dress and standing in front of the BYU sign while flashing the pride flag inside her gown.During the ceremony, Orr went on stage to receive her diploma and opened her gown to reveal the flag while on the jumbotron.Orr also shared photos of her.
