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USGA (Understanding Sexuality, Gender, and Allyship, previously Understanding Same-Gender Attraction) is an organization for LGBT Brigham Young University students and their allies. It began meeting on BYU campus in 2010 to discuss issues relating to homosexuality and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). However, by December 2012, USGA began meeting off campus at the Provo City Library and is still banned from meeting on campus as of 2018. BYU campus currently offers no official LGBT-specific resources as of 2016. The group maintains political neutrality and upholds BYU's
The group released an " It Gets Better" video in March 2012 that received press coverage. A student panel of USGA leaders held on BYU campus soon after in April by the sociology department also received press coverage as well as complaints to the university from a conservative political group.
In 2016 the Provo newspaper ''
USGA's official website
{{Religion and LGBT people LGBT Latter Day Saint organizations Online support groups Brigham Young University
Honor Code A code of honor or honor code is generally a set of rules or ideals or a mode or way of behaving regarding honor that is socially, institutionally, culturally, and/or individually or personally imposed, reinforced, followed, and/or respected by cer ...
. It also asks all participants to be respectful of BYU and the LDS Church. The group received national attention when it released its 2012 "It Gets Better" video. The group also released a suicide prevention message in 2013. A sister organization USGA Rexburg serves the LGBT Brigham Young University–Idaho student community in Rexburg, Idaho.
Publicized activities
The group released an " It Gets Better" video in March 2012 that received press coverage. A student panel of USGA leaders held on BYU campus soon after in April by the sociology department also received press coverage as well as complaints to the university from a conservative political group.
In 2016 the Provo newspaper ''Daily Herald
Daily or The Daily may refer to:
Journalism
* Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks
* ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times''
* ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...
'' published a series of six in-depth articles on the experiences of USGA members, centered around the topics of why they attend BYU, the USGA group, mental health, the Honor Code, and why some leave BYU. The articles were written over the space of two months, with an editorial conclusion at the end of the series asking administrators to listen to USGA BYU students.
Other activities reported by media in 2017 include their Faces of USGA photojournalism project
and their Provo Pride Festival booth.
See also
* Mormons Building Bridges Group * Affirmation Group * North Star *Brigham Young University LGBT history
Students identifying as LGBTQIA+ have a long, documented history at Brigham Young University (BYU), and have experienced a range of treatment by other students and school administrators over the decades. Large surveys of over 7,000 BYU studen ...
* LGBT Mormon people and organizations
References
External links
USGA's official website
{{Religion and LGBT people LGBT Latter Day Saint organizations Online support groups Brigham Young University