Early this year, it seemed as though the ROTC programs at Brigham Young University were about to fold their tents and transfer their flags to Utah Valley University.
It was the logical thing to do.
It seemed clear then that LDS-owned school wanted to hold members of the ROTC faculty and staff to a religious test, specifically a written pledge to adhere to the school’s Honor Code, which bans, among other things, consumption of alcohol, coffee and tea.
A religious test to hold any position in the federal government is clearly banned by the Constitution. So, after the commander of the Air Force ROTC detachment at BYU made it clear that he would not sign the code, reports burbled out that the Air Force and Army ROTC programs would soon be decamping for the secular, state-owned UVU, just about four miles to the north.
In a practical sense, such a change would make little difference. It is common for ROTC programs around the nation to be based at one school and include cadets from other, near-by colleges and universities. UVU students were already participating in the BYU-based programs, and it seemed clear that a simple solution to the dilemma would be to flip the arrangement and have BYU students take their military science courses at UVU.
But, with the opening of the new school year at BYU barely a week away, reports now suggest that no programs will be officially canceled or moved. Instead, it appears that honor will be satisfied by having officers who are not comfortable promising to follow the BYU honor code based at UVU. And the process of training the next generation of military officers will proceed as in the past.
Accommodation without appeasement. Recognizing that people who have a different ethical code still have an ethical code, one that, in most cases, deserves respect.
As we said in February, when the controversy arose, the person showing the most honor in the whole matter was the officer who refused to sign the BYU Honor Code. Clearly, it would have been easier for Col. Timothy Hogan — combat veteran and Air Force Academy graduate — to sign whatever papers were put in front of him, just to go along, then ignore them whenever he was off duty.
But that would have been breaking a promise. And refusing to make a promise you know you can’t keep, even under great social and institutional pressure, was an example of honesty and honor the world could use more of.