BYU students speak out against ‘dystopian’ randomized testing

Bella Isham said she never wanted to be a rebel, but opposing required testing and contact tracing at BYU has made her feel like an outcast on the BYU campus.

“There was nothing more in the world I wanted than to go to this school growing up,” she said of BYU. “The fact that I’m having struggles with it is actually heartbreaking.”

Isham is the author of a petition signed by 2,842 BYU students and employees that says randomized COVID-19 testing and the use of the Healthy Together app are violations of privacy and personal liberty.

“This is a violation of our privacy, bodily autonomy and a breach of the contract under which we accepted our invitation to BYU as a student or employee,” the petition states. It demands BYU “respect God-given rights” by ending required medical testing of students, faculty and staff.

The petition also calls on BYU to make downloading the contact tracing Healthy Together app voluntary, claiming the app gives the state of Utah and the Utah Health Department access to students’ health, location and Bluetooth data.

BYU’s COVID-19 website says that while the Healthy Together app does use Bluetooth technology, it only tracks the app user’s position relative to other app users, not the actual location.

The petition cites a data breach in 2012, when private information from over 780,000 Utah residents was hacked on the state server, as a potential concern. Potentially vulnerable information the app collects includes names, phone numbers, potential exposures to COVID-19, daily symptoms, and if individuals have been tested for COVID.

BYU student Kelton Rindlisbaker said he signed Isham’s petition because he believes the Healthy Together app to be in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), which was created “to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient’s consent or knowledge,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rindlisbaker said because the app tracks who he’s made contact with, it is a threat to his right of privacy. He also said he’s concerned that BYU doesn’t accept responsibility for the privacy policies of third parties with which this information is shared, as stated in Article 9 of BYU’s privacy notice.

BYU spokeswoman Natalie Ipson said HIPAA does not apply to BYU’s use of the Healthy Together app, and BYU complies with applicable privacy laws.

Rindlisbaker is not alone in his concerns about privacy, however. In June of this year, the Kansas legislature passed the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Privacy Act, which requires contact tracing to be voluntary and prohibits the disclosure of sensitive information to third parties.

BYU students were briefed on campus procedures for COVID-19 through an online video tutorial and quiz, both required before the start of fall semester. By completing the quiz, students agree that they can be denied registration for classes or other campus privileges if they don’t comply with social distancing guidelines.

Isham did not comply. Not wanting to cause a stir on campus by openly defying guidelines, she resolved to continue her education at home in southern Utah. But because Isham didn’t complete the online video quiz, she was barred from her online classes.

“I called them and said, ‘Hey I’m not even there. I’m 300 miles away,” Isham said. She said she was told that’s just the way it is by Daniel Peterson, dean of Chinese at BYU and member of the Disruptive Student Committee.

The Disruptive Student Committee exists “to address conduct that is disruptive to our educational processes and educational environment,” according to spokeswoman Carri Jenkins.

It took two and a half weeks of phone calls for Isham to regain access to her classes.

BYU student Larissa Brady, another petition signer, has been the target of insults and even death threats on Instagram for speaking out against BYU’s new guidelines, which she said are dystopian.

She said BYU’s “Compassion is Contagious” campaign has created a shame culture against those who disagree with contact tracing and mandated testing. “Choosing not to be randomized tested is not a sin, and we should never compare it to that.”

Brady said as a senior preparing to graduate, the new COVID-19 guidelines made her feel stuck. She didn’t want to agree to randomized testing in order to come on campus, but the classes she needed to graduate were only offered in-person. “You can’t just suddenly threaten to take away my schooling because I won’t get randomized testing whenever you want me to.”

She eventually complied when she was informed by BYU Human Resources that her internship as a health coach with Y Be Fit was on the line.

“This university taught me to stand up for my rights and stand up for agency and they’re the ones saying that for the greater good they’re going to take away agency? Sounds kind of like Satan’s plan,” Brady said.

Brady expressed concern about the backlash she has received for voicing her opinions and said she hopes others will see her as someone who is trying to incite positive change, rather than as a radical who “hates any and all rules.”

Isham said some BYU faculty members signed her petition, but she didn’t feel comfortable sharing their names because of possible retribution by the university.

A Daily Universe reporter who joined the petition’s Facebook group posted to ask if any faculty members were willing to comment. The reporter was immediately removed from the group.

Since it was written four weeks ago, the petition has failed to create any lasting change. Regulations actually tightened last Tuesday when President Kevin J Worthen released a joint statement with UVU President Astrid S. Tuminez, telling students to stay home except for church, work, or other essential activities. “We feel quite ignored,” Isham said.

Isham said she would have liked to talk with President Kevin J Worthen about students’ concerns with contact tracing and randomized testing. “If they had come up with a situation where we were allowed to exercise our agency, I think that would’ve been the greatest thing in the world.”