How can the happiest town produce the most stress-inducing college? That's the case for Provo and Brigham Young University. USA Today ranked Provo the #1 happiest town in the US in 2014 while CollegeMagazine.com rated #4 in the nation in overall stress levels in 2013.
We understand that BYU expects great things out of its students; i.e., the honor code, academic excellence, and missionary service. This trend has built many great leaders of the church and built a great name for BYU. But it comes at a cost.
Go to a testimony meeting in a student ward at BYU and hear the underlying message of almost all of the testimonies. Count how many times you hear words like trials, tests, troubles, difficulties, and problems. Granted, things typically turn out well because they rely on the Lord, but I don't see why everybody has to feel so much stress in the first place.
Spring break is BYU's attempt at decreasing students' stress levels; however, this just chips away at a much deeper problem. That problem is pressure. Students are always having a hard time handling pressure, especially when everybody else looks like they are doing just fine.
What would happen if BYU decided to focus more on learning and enjoying life and lesson and grading and campus rules? I'm confident students would be more satisfied with their education and still be able to get the jobs that BYU expects them to get. Additionally, the average age of marriage would go down because students aren't stuck studying for a test that's curved. We would actually fulfill our purpose: "men are that they might have joy" (Alma 32:34).
We understand that BYU expects great things out of its students; i.e., the honor code, academic excellence, and missionary service. This trend has built many great leaders of the church and built a great name for BYU. But it comes at a cost.
Go to a testimony meeting in a student ward at BYU and hear the underlying message of almost all of the testimonies. Count how many times you hear words like trials, tests, troubles, difficulties, and problems. Granted, things typically turn out well because they rely on the Lord, but I don't see why everybody has to feel so much stress in the first place.
Spring break is BYU's attempt at decreasing students' stress levels; however, this just chips away at a much deeper problem. That problem is pressure. Students are always having a hard time handling pressure, especially when everybody else looks like they are doing just fine.
What would happen if BYU decided to focus more on learning and enjoying life and lesson and grading and campus rules? I'm confident students would be more satisfied with their education and still be able to get the jobs that BYU expects them to get. Additionally, the average age of marriage would go down because students aren't stuck studying for a test that's curved. We would actually fulfill our purpose: "men are that they might have joy" (Alma 32:34).
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