"Chill out, peach-fuzz."

That's what I say to them. You know, one of your roomates is heading out the door to the testing center, stops to examine his five o'clock shadow in the mirror and asks, "Oh man, I better shave or else they're not gonna let me take my test!"

Ah yes, the old Honor Code Dress and Grooming Standards. The quintessential example of mind-control and suppression of free-thinking that proves BYU is more of a day-care than a university. At BYU you cannot even choose how you're going to dress or comb your hair. And that's not the way things should be, because I can hold a temple recommend and still have a beard. Not only that, but Brigham Young couldn't go to his own school. Or Jesus Christ for that matter, this being "The Lord's University" and all (even though I prefer the moniker "University of Zion"). Are BYU students more righteous than they?

I have heard these same arguments over and over again ever since I first came to BYU. In my opinion, they are all missing the point. The Honor Code Dress and Grooming Standards are rooted in reasons that are practical, not spiritual. We live in a world where, unfortunately, image matters. It cannot be escaped. And if there were no stipulations against shaving, most guys (or girls, the Honor Code is for you too!) would stop shaving, not because they like how they look with a soul patch or goatee, but out of laziness. You'd have half a campus of mini-Michael Moore look-alikes at BYU.

But instead, we get non-member visitors complimenting BYU on the radiant, clean look of the campus and students. The fact that this is a sad reflection on human society is a separate issue, so stop fighting for your right to be a pig.