Kanaan VyShonne Barton, a Black student at Brigham Young University-Hawaii, has been told by staff to cut his shoulder-length hair because it does not adhere to school policies, he said. Barton, who has been in a dispute with the university since September, refuses to cut his locs, stating they represent his culture and family heritage.
The university's honor code requires hair to be 'neatly trimmed' but has no official guidance on length. Barton told the Salt Lake Tribune that he is following all other rules and is spiritually involved. 'My locs mean something to me. They are culture. They are family,' he said.
Barton said Jonathan Kalaonalani Kau, vice-president for student life, told him in November that his locs were 'a distraction' and that Barton was 'trying to push his own agenda and be defiant'. As a compromise, Barton has begun folding his locs above his collar.
BYU-Hawaii is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The school's grooming rules state men's hair should be 'neatly trimmed' and men should be clean-shaven. The university did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In 2021, BYU published an internal report finding that many Black, Indigenous, and other people of colour students felt isolated and unsafe due to racism at BYU. The church has previously disavowed past teachings that black skin was a sign of divine disfavour.
