My friend Cameron was telling me that the library at his university, Brigham Young University, closes at midnight every night and like incredibly awesome music plays on the loudspeaker. Cool music like “Pirates of the Caribbean” or like “Lord of the Rings.” Cameron told me about these legendary upperclassmen, this one guy and a group of his friends, at BYU who spent the night at the library, against the school’s honor code and like if you get caught you can get like expelled. And so at about two a.m., the loudspeaker came on saying something like “You may think you’re so cool and can get away with hiding out in the library, but we’ll find you!” I’m not sure what the exact words were and they weren’t sure if it was like a recording or a person you know. And Cameron and his friends don’t know if this story is true or not. They don’t even know if the loudspeaker comes on past closing to scare students who have overstayed their welcome, but they’re planning on finding out for themselves sometime.

Both Emilie and her friend Cameron are Mormon and lived in Irvine, CA. The two of them are really close friends. They have grown up together since the fourth grade, they went to the same church, they attended the same high school, and they hang out together often. Her friend currently attends Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. They stay in contact and her friend told this story to her over winter break when they were telling each other stories about their college experiences thus far since they are both freshmen.

Emilie said that Cameron and his friends are a bit rowdy. She explained that the atmosphere and area of BYU is quite different from L.A. She said that at BYU they have police reports, which are similar to the DPS crime alerts at the University of Southern California, but the material reported is so different. She gave the example that in the DPS crime alerts there would be mugs and thefts while in the police reports, there would be statements such as “there was a suspicious guy with a mustache by the library.” Cameron told her that his friends and he have already been in a couple of police reports for playing with fireworks and swimming in the pool before it opened, but they were never caught. Emilie also explained that there was an honor code at BYU that all the students had to sign and follow all year round, including when they went home for holidays such as Thanksgiving. Some parts of the code include no drinking, no smoking, no facial hair except for mustaches for the males, and no long hair for the males. Other stipulations include special hours for members of the opposite gender to be able to visit and no member of the opposite gender allowed in a dorm room past midnight.

The rules and regulations that restrict and almost oppress student behavior may encourage students like Cameron and his friends to act rebellious and find fun, sneaky activities to do. Also, since everyone involved in these activities is male, it ties into Marina Warner’s chapter in her book Six Myths of Our Time that discusses the mischievous, playful behavior of boys. Cameron heard this story from another male upperclassman at BYU. Therefore, this legend can be considered a friend of a friend story or a FOAF.

Warner, Marina. Six Myths of Our Time: Little Angels, Little Monsters, Beautiful Beasts, and More. Pg. 25-42. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.