Black Students Are Disproportionately Affected By BYU's Beard Ban

BYU's dress and grooming standards prohibit all of its students, faculty, administrators, and staff from having a beard. Growing facial hair, other than just a mustache, could result in being  reported to the university's Honor Code Office. 

In Dallin H. Oaks' first address to the student body as BYU president in 1971, he said the beard ban was being put in place because beards symbolized "hippie and drug culture." He said he expected the ban to be temporary, but half a century later, it still exists. 

Since the ban was first enacted in the 1970s, groups of students have repeatedly protested the policy, arguing that beards are now socially acceptable and that the policy doesn't reflect the doctrine of The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints.

But for many Black students, it's more serious than preference: it's a health issue.

Pseudofolliculitis barbae, or razor bumps, predominantly affects Black men. Because Black men tend to naturally have tightly curled hair, the hairs often curl back into the skin after a close shave. These ingrown hairs lead to inflammation, small papules and pustules, and sometimes scarring. Between 45% and 83% of Black men suffer from this condition, according to Wolters Kluwer. For white men, that number is 3%.

"A 100% effective treatment is to let the beard grow," says the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology's website. 

Joshua Beacham is a Black student at BYU studying experience design and management. He has pseudofolliculitis barbae.

"It's a lot of itching, a lot of discomfort, swelling, lots of red bumps," he said. "If you're shaving every day, it's very hard to avoid cutting your face because you have all these bumps and raised spots on your skin." 

Ethan Walker, a BYU graduate student with this condition, posted a picture on Twitter showing what his face looks like after shaving. 

"Looks like BYU's policy that was made before black people were allowed on campus is discriminatory, who could have seen that coming?" he tweeted.

The Daily Universe reported in 2005 that it is unknown when the first Black student attended BYU, but according to Utah Historical Quarterly, there were only a few Black students at BYU in the 70s. Black men were barred from being ordained to the Church's priesthood until 1978 and if a Black student tried to apply to BYU in 1965, they received a letter from BYU saying the university did not approve of interracial marriages, according to Utah Historical Quarterly. 

Beard Waivers

BYU's website says pseudofolliculitis barbae "is the only medical condition that merits a recommendation for a long-term beard waiver." 

Walker and Beacham have both received waivers that allow them to grow out their beards. Walker also did his undergrad at BYU but never got a beard waiver because he didn't think it was possible. 

"Once I started grad school, I was like, I hate this so much. Let's just see if I can do it" he said. 

To apply for a beard waiver, a student must be evaluated by a clinician at the Student Health Center. Beacham said there is only one physician there who does beard waiver appointments and a diagnosis from an outside medical provider does not count. 

"This observation can only be made if the patient has shaved every day for at least three days prior to the appointment. The patient's medical history alone is not sufficient," BYU's website states. 

Beacham said he's still waiting to hear back from his insurance provider about how much his copayment will be, but without insurance, the appointment costs over $100. Walker told the New York Times that even with insurance, his appointment cost him $70 last year. 

After the appointment, the clinician reports their diagnosis to the Honor Code Office and the Honor Code Office makes the final decision of whether the applicant receives a beard waiver.

Walker told the Prodigal Press that after his application was accepted, he then had to go to the Honor Code Office and sign an agreement. 

Walker said he agreed to have his name published in a database of everyone with a beard waiver, which all BYU students and employees can access. He didn't realize how public the database would be when he signed the agreement.

"This is just, like, super invasive," he said. 

Only Lasts One Year

Walker said he has to reapply every year because the waiver only lasts one year. That means shaving and paying for another visit to the Student Health Center. 

"Why BYU forces me to give myself hundreds of ingrown hairs to prove to them that I have a self-diagnosable skin condition, even though they already recognized it last year, is beyond me," he tweeted. 

Kofi Aidoo graduated from BYU last April with a degree in advertising and was also in the presidency for BYU's Black Student Union. He said he doesn’t understand why he had to reapply every year for a beard waiver.

"Like, I can't change my hair texture in a year. There's no medication I'm on that can change the way my hair grows," he said. "The logic, you know, is just baffling."

Future of the Ban

Walker said most BYU students are not aware of how the beard ban affects Black people differently than white people.

"You can guarantee that a majority of people here don't know any Black students," he said. "Because there's only like 350 of us."

Beacham said he thinks the ban still exists because a lot of professors still believe beards are unprofessional. 

"That might have been the case in past years," he said. "You can look in many professional settings today and obviously many professionals, regardless of their field, can be either clean-shaven or not clean-shaven."

Walker said he hopes BYU's Office of Belonging takes this issue seriously. The office was created in August after a report was published last February by BYU's Committee on Race, Equity and Belonging.

"We have some hope of people in administration who will examine these issues," he said. "Examine how different rules at BYU disproportionately affect different students."

Walker said this issue is smaller than other problems Black students and marginalized groups on campus are dealing with. 

“But at the same time, I think this is something that’s very easy to tackle,” he said. “I feel like it’s pretty easy to just change the honor code and undo all of this.”

Aidoo told his concerns to BYU's Committee on Race, Equity and Belonging. The committee was created in 2020 after the Black Lives Matter protests that summer.

"We still haven't seen anything change," Aidoo said.

Aidoo said he isn't trying to attack BYU, but he believes in leaving places better than he found them.

"There's another Kofi or another Black student that goes to BYU. Hopefully, I can make some sort of impact," he said. "Make it a better place for them, or just future generations in general."