BYU Student Says He Was Attacked, Evicted After Disclosing "Same-Sex Attraction"
A Brigham Young University student is suing the owners of a Provo, Utah, apartment complex over his eviction, which he claims came after he confided to a roommate that he felt "same-sex attraction."
In January, Andrew White, 23, opened up to a roommate at his apartment in The Village at South Campus about his sexuality.
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Instead of having any compassion, though, the good Mormon boy told their other two housemates.
Within days, White, 22, was told he would no longer be allowed to live in the apartment, in an argument that escalated to "abusive language and threats of physical violence," according to the lawsuit.
The housemates also declared White shouldn't be allowed to study at BYU, be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or work at the Missionary Training Center.
White refused to leave the apartment and went to bed, but claims his roommates entered his room, dragged him out of bed and began removing his belongings from the apartment. White alleges he was again threatened with physical violence, and his roommates took his keys and said they'd throw his belongings from the roof.
After sleeping in his car, White contacted Provo police the next day. (An investigation into the alleged assault is ongoing.)
Then, on January 23—10 days after the altercation—White was served an eviction notice.
The building's management claimed in the eviction notice that White "is a nuisance who has violated the policies in his lease, including residential living standards and BYU's honor code," according to The Salt Lake Tribune.
The Village at South Campus is privately owned but agrees to hold tenants to BYU's honor code.
In court papers, White insists he was wrongly ejected and is seeking more than $101,000 in damages, to cover relocation costs, damage to his belongings, and compensation for anxiety and stress.
Earlier this month, the Utah state Legislature passed a landmark measure banning discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace and housing. S.B. 296, nicknamed the “Utah Compromise," was backed by the Mormon church, but critics claim its religious exemptions render the law almost powerless.
Update: White has settled out of court with the apartment company for undisclosed terms.
"I stand strongly against any form of invidious discrimination, particularly the type of behavior that my roommates exhibited toward me," White said in a statement. "However, my complaint against The Village did not allege discrimination by them."
The lawsuit, did, however claim that White "suffered emotional distress as a result of management's sharing his sexual orientation."
