No one likes to be used as a means to an end. That is one commonality we all share, regardless of cultural or societal values. It's also why so many people had a sour taste in their mouth after Soulforce left Provo last year.

The gay/lesbian advocacy group said they wanted to initiate discussion with us; they said they wanted to develop understanding. But from our point of view, it felt like they just used us to get attention.

Last year, we students didn't shy away from speaking with them. Some would like to think there was a massive BYU conspiracy that allowed only handpicked students to interact with the Equality Riders, but that wasn't the case at all. The courtesy students demonstrated was simply an outward expression of their character.

The Equality Riders seemed to have initiated the dialogue they desired, but they told BYU administrators they would not leave until they were arrested. They intentionally violated campus policies - applicable to all visitors - and they were arrested, although none were taken to jail. They were just fined about $200 each. But the group achieved their goal; they had something to post on their Web site.

Their Web site doesn't emphasis the discussions they've had with students at the different campuses across the nation. It focuses on protests and arrests. To date, the 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride has tallied a handful of arrests at Dordt College, Central Bible College and Notre Dame. Dialogue is not their final end - it is attention. And they used us as a means to that end.

This year, the Equality Riders will not be allowed on campus. The decision is regrettable, but only because they will say the ban is about their organization's message, when it is actually about their predilection to violate campus policy to draw the media's attention. When they came to Provo last time, no one defaced their buses with homophobic slurs - as happened in Sioux Center, Iowa - but they will still use us to solidify their assertion that we are an intolerant community. Who wouldn't be upset by that?

When Soulforce comes to back to town, don't revile them. Be kind to them, not because you want to refute their assertions, but because it is the right thing to do. It certainly wouldn't hurt to follow Jesus' counsel to "pray for those that despitefully use you."

Copyright Brigham Young University 20 Mar 2007