Don’t cue the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and no, Brigham Young University is not on a slippery slope to tapping kegs of light beer in its cafeteria.
But yes, the LDS Church-owned school has decided to end its more than half-century ”caffeine-free” policy on the Provo campus, at least when it comes to soda.
Based upon what church officials recently declared a long-running misunderstanding of the Mormon faith’s “Word of Wisdom,” BYU had banned caffeinated beverages — coffee, tea, and other than caffeine-free soft drinks — since the mid-1950s.
That health-related revelation, which appears in the faith’s scriptures (Doctrine and Covenants 89), prohibits “hot drinks” — specifically tea and coffee — along with alcohol and tobacco, but does not specifically prohibit caffeine, church leaders pointed out in 2012.
However, it took BYU five years to acquiesce. On Thursday, Dining Services Director Dean Wright indicated increased requests for caffeinated soft drinks had prompted the policy change.
It’s happening. https://t.co/ZjomHCrYCo pic.twitter.com/KOyikaZ0l4
— BYU (@BYU) September 21, 2017
“We have already started adding caffeinated soft drinks to the inventory of beverages we sell on campus,” he stated. “Although we are now offering canned and bottled caffeinated soft drinks, it will take longer to change out our fountain equipment.”
However, BYU will not be offering super-caffeinated “energy drinks,” and it will still offer caffeine-free versions of soda products on campus, Wright added.
Those soda products will, under a longstanding contract, continue to be provided by the Coca-Cola company.
As for coffee or tea, hot or cold, forget it. This is all about just the sodas, says BYU spokeswoman Carri Jenkins.