Activists Light Up Mormon University's Iconic Y With Rainbow Colors

The action was an act of resistance against anti-LGBTQ+ policies at Brigham Young University.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

March 05 2021 2:54 PM EST

May 31 2023 5:10 PM EST

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A giant Y that adorns a mountain near the private, Mormon-affiliated Brigham Young University was lit with rainbow-colored lights Thursday evening by LGBTQ+ activists, prompting a rebuke from BYU.

The temporary queer takeover of the iconic Y took place in honor of the Utah university's unofficial Rainbow Day. The event was first held last year following BYU officials editing their honor code in February 2020; the alteration initially appeared to condone same-sex "physical intimacy" on campus, like hugging, kissing, and holding hands. Then on March 4, 2020, BYU administrators informed students that school policy didn't in fact change and open same-sex affection was still against university rules.

Color the Campus, an unauthorized LGBTQ+ group at BYU, organized the Thursday event, which involved approximately 40 students utilizing 76 flashlights to add rainbow colors to the Y. The hour-long event concluded at 9 p.m., and as the participants walked down the trailhead connecting to the Y they were greeted by parked cars blaring Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" and Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl." The students also encountered university police at the base of the mountain, but no one was arrested or questioned.

\u201cThe Y is BYU property and any form of public expression on university property requires prior approval.\u201d
— BYU (@BYU) 1614914546

Bradley Talbot, a gay student who organized the event, told The Salt Lake Tribune, "We're here. And we're part of this institution. We should have a place at the Y." Of the university's actions last March 4, Talbot added, "That day felt like a betrayal for a lot of LGBTQ students. It was traumatic. So this was a day for us to reclaim that and try to turn it into something positive."

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\u201chttps://t.co/gk36q9FDoz\u201d
— Abram Berry (@Abram Berry) 1614949374

\u201cOne more for all the homophobes crying about the rainbow Y being a crime\u201d
— aliens can be happy too (@aliens can be happy too) 1614925769

\u201cFifty BYU students held up these lights for one hour in the cold.\n\nStudents planned this. I did some of the old people work, but the students led all of it, as it should be. \n\nThey deserve all the credit, but their names are kept private so they can be safe.\u201d
— Momma Pool (@Momma Pool) 1614924557

\u201c"Please, PLEASE, do not assume we love our queer students. We don't, we promise!"\u201d
— \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08NEWYEARison\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08NEWYEARison\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1614917246