There was an op-ed in the SLTrib yesterday that brought up an issue I had never thought of. I guess it was a case of not recognizing privilege for what it was, and just thinking that's the way the world is.

I don't know the full details, because I didn't participate, but apparently an RM from a foreign language mission could take a course or two at BYU, and upon passing the course(s) purchase a minor in that language for a nominal fee. Apparently the same sort of "opportunity" is available to RMs at other Utah universities.

Here's the catch: if you happened to be raised in a family/culture where your foreign mission language was a language you were already fluent in, then this program is not available to you. You can test out of intro courses in the language, but you don't receive credit for the courses you test out of, and you can't "buy" a minor.

Further, if you are in a program that has a foreign language requirement, then your native language doesn't count toward that requirement. If you come to BYU bilingual, you have to pass courses learning a third language. English-only missionaries who buy the language credits don't have to do that.

There are other ramifications. The bilingual, or foreign language only student has to compete for scholarships and grades (often tied to scholarship eligibility) against the English speaking RMs who were able to purchase basically a semester of high grades without having to do much work except for going on a foreign mission.

The privilege part is why do basically white American Mormon RMs (the overwhelming majority of the people who qualify for this program), get credits that will get them out of college sooner, enhance their eligibility for scholarships, show up on their transcripts, while students who learned the same languages, often more proficiently, by other means, not have the option to participate in this program? Yeah, I know - not pure racism, but a mixture of religious and racial privilege.

Stikes me as a very good point. Either bilingual students, whether RM or not, should be eligible for the program, or both groups should be able to test out of intro courses in the language, but receive no credit for those courses, they just don't have to take them. Both groups should be held to the same standard.

[I think it is possible to challenge a course for credit, but even though I taught college for a number of years, I had students skip courses, but nobody ever challenged one for credit that I knew of, so I don't know exactly how that works. Embarrassing ignorance. :( ] Hopefully some of y'all can fill in the details of how that program works.

the Law of unintended consequences Strikes Again!

(btw, how/why did u become so familiar with those details?)

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2021/06/21/arthur-diaz-allowing/

From above:

"Schools deny the privilege of purchasing language credit to students who grew up speaking a foreign language, whether as a heritage speaker or an international student. However, these universities deem outside knowledge of a foreign language from a religious background to be of acceptable academic merit."

Suggests discrimination on the basis of religion as well.

It seems similar to universities giving credit for previous, or life experiences. However in this case the credit is not being evenly applied.

I'm Hispanic-looking, with a Hispanic surname. I spoke some Spanish before the mission, thanks to three summer vacations spent in Mexico. But I wasn't fluent before 'serving' ...

But the people at BYU didn't know that when they allowed me to minor in Spanish. Being an honorably <cough-cough> released RM entitled me to enough Spanish credits so that I only had to take two Spanish Lit classes to 'earn' my minor.

I think it's possible that BYU was not mentioned in the article because BYU DID allow native speaker RMs to do what Los Americanos were doing.

What a nice religion!!

It appears that each school has slightly different wording for restrictions to keep native speakers of a language from participating in this "buy a foreign language minor" program.

The U of U bars international students from the program. Presumably, US students, even if they learned a foreign language at home, can participate. I can see where limiting participation only to LDS RMs might get state universities into legal trouble, so they do a convoluted tap dance to make that limitation the practical result, without actually saying "US LDS RMs only can take advantage of this".

Either EOD slipped one by on them, or BYU, like the U of U, only bars international students.


From the op-ed:
The University of Utah states on its website “international students are not eligible to purchase credits in their native language.”

Much to the same affect, Utah Valley University Policy 522 states: “Students may not take 1000 or 2000 level language courses in their dominant language, nor may they receive credit for those courses through testing procedures.”

Likewise, Weber State University’s procedures for foreign language credit state “students may not earn lower-division foreign language credit for proficiency in their native language.”

Not only do these policies unfairly privilege LDS students, but they also exacerbate inequities that threaten access to scholarships and funding for minority students. Bolstered by up to 16 credits, many LDS returned missionaries gain easy access to merit-based scholarships, while diverse students are expected to attend college in their second language, and must learn a third language to qualify for the bachelor of arts distinction.

Latter-day Saints gain their foreign language from experiences outside the classroom, so why is the same impermissible for students who grow up speaking a foreign language?

After I returned home from my French-speaking mission and re-enrolled in college, I took a couple of Introductory French courses, because why not? Easiest A's I ever got, bar none; aced all the tests without having to study. Since each course was good for 6 units, twice that of a typical class, they did wonders for the GPA. I even managed to help one or two girls in class conjugate their verbs.

So you were providing conjugal assistance?

Isn't that what any cunning linguist would do?

To call this systemic racism is really a reach. Someone with a white French mother doesn't get credits if they serve in Quebec, but a black guy whose family only speaks English does when he goes to Samoa...

It's a little bit of a reach. You are correct in that the policy does not explicitly ban people of other races from participating. But as a practical matter, the vast majority of the participants will be white American RMs.

That's why I said "not pure racism, but a mixture of religious and racial privilege."

I'm not sure why Diaz did not include BYU in his list. I assume he was making the point that state operated universities have a policy that discriminates in favor of a particular religion. The same question ought to apply to BYU. Religions in the US can discriminate on the basis of race or sex (Catholics and Mormons still discriminate on the basis of sex), but schools cannot, even if the religion that runs the school is discriminatory.

How does BYU get away with not allowing Mormons to attend if their bishop won't renew their Ecclesiastical "you may pass Go" Card?

Suppose a gentile gets admitted, and pays the 'out-of-religion' much higher tuition. But then he converts the next summer and comes back his sophomore year with a Bishop's 'you may pass Go' card. Obviously his tuition goes down to the member rate.

But the conversion was just to save money and he's drinking and drugging and doing lines of co-eds and his bishop finds out and refuses to sign the "pass Go" card. The kid's grades are straight A, it's just his off-campus activity that is below mormon standards.

I would think that an argument that signing the pledge to follow the honor code was not a genuine "Arm's Length" agreement would be given some credence, as would the argument, "I never broke a mormon commandment while on BYU grounds."