IN
DEFENSE OF CHAD HARDY
by Timothy Rollins, Editor and Columnist
February 18, 2009
I
never thought I'd have to bring up Chad Hardy's name again. However, a recent
AP news story compels me to come to his defense. It seems the 'uptighty-whiteys'
along Utah's Wasatch Front and elsewhere keep beating the proverbial 'dead horse'
by refusing to let go of this matter regarding Chad Hardy's receiving his diploma.
In the interests of full disclosure, let me state that for the record, I am a practicing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the same faith from which Chad Hardy was excommunicated in July of 2008. Hardy alleges his excommunication from the LDS Church was because of his beefcake calendar "Men on a Mission", whereas the Church says it was for 'conduct unbecoming a member of the Church'. As I see it, the reasons for Mr. Hardy's excommunication are irrelevant. This is because I support the Church's longstanding policy of not publicly discussing internal matters, citing an essential need to protect the privacy of others. These matters are handled privately and with dignity, and are not - nor should they be - tried in the court of public opinion.
In a previously published article called "Hypocrisy, BYU Style", I argued against BYU's refusal to award Chad Hardy a diploma he rightfully earned. As expected, I caught hell from some for writing the piece. At the time, I was questioned by two local church leaders. I stated politely that I 'stood by the piece' and that it would neither be edited nor taken down, nor would it be a topic for discussion, effectively slamming the door closed on the matter with them. The fact that I since have discovered BYU's Honor Code does not apply to those seeking to complete BYU degrees online, only serves to both validate and vindicate my analysis at the time as being timely, directly on point and particularly on-target.
In a meeting between Hardy, his lawyer, BYU Dean of Students Vernon L. Heperi and BYU's in-house counsel, the discussions clearly took on an inquisition-like atmosphere that would rival anything the Taliban, Sharia Law or even Naval Investigators could ever dish out. Determined to save face for the school, Heperi would rather torch bridges than build goodwill between BYU, Mr. Hardy, and BYU's overall public image.
Having done my share of investigations, I know that only pertinent evidence is admissible. If it has nothing to do with the case, or lacks sufficient causation, it generally is not allowed. With Hardy no longer a member of the LDS Church, Brigham Young University - from the get-go - clearly took on an adversarial approach in the hearing that left the impression that Hardy needed to walk across the water FEET DRY in order for BYU to award him his diploma. Whether or not Hardy currently is getting it on with women, other men or not at all, is none of BYU's business; what goes on in his private life as a non-member of the Church behind closed doors, is between him and God, and is something for which he one day will account. It certainly is none of BYU's business and such questioning of either a current or former church member in an adversarial hearing clearly crosses the line into the pornographic.
What is BYU's business is solely limited to their inquiring as to whether Hardy was abiding by the Honor Code when he was resident on-campus from 1999 to 2002, which he says he was. Anything in Hardy's conduct after his BYU on-campus time would have been the business of local church leaders in Las Vegas, and not that of the BYU Inquisition Panel. Hardy's taking of online courses to complete his degree was not subject to Honor Code requirements; even if it were, Hardy completed his coursework more than a month before local Church officials decided to discipline him, and they never notified BYU of their pending action, which they would have been mandated to do.
It is time now for BYU to grow up, suck it up, and like Tom Hanks did in his smear against the Church over Prop 8, admit their own mea culpa, award Hardy his diploma and let this matter drop quietly. In doing so, BYU can show humility and wisdom, while correcting the insult and injustice of withholding a diploma that never should have been withheld to begin with.
This only goes to show that BYU is its own worst enemy in the arena of public relations, and that a little well-placed compassion never hurt anybody. ***
© 2009 Timothy Rollins
OTHER ARTICLES ON LIFE AT BYU:
A veteran freelance writer, Timothy Rollins
brings a wealth of political and military experience dating back more than three
decades. He is a freelance writer, political consultant, and policy analyst
living in Oklahoma who has been featured on both television and radio. He has
appeared both in online publications as well as in print newspapers in the United
States such as the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel, USA TODAY, the
Deseret News in Salt Lake City, and
also in Canada, where he has appeared in The
Toronto SUN and the Daily Herald in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The views expressed
here by Mr. Rollins are his own and do not represent the official views of any
organization or entity with which he may otherwise be affiliated. As such, Mr.
Rollins alone takes full responsibility for them. He can be reached by e-mail
at rollins@american-partisan.com.
***
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© 2009 BY THE AMERICAN PARTISAN
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