Amplify Utah supports and facilitates dynamic journalistic storytelling to celebrate diverse points of view. By partnering with traditional media, we cultivate an environment that encourages stories be shared widely and made easily accessible for our communities to read, hear, watch and engage.
At a Utah debate tournament, teen refugees find their voices and build their confidence
12-15-2025 By Elle Crossley
Developing the skills to argue intelligently allows refugee students to ‘leave the label to the side,’ an organizer said.
11-05-2025 By Vanessa Hudson
From photojournalist to public servant: Bruin alum Jesse Valdez aims for mayoral seat
10-21-2025 By Pearl Ashton
'I think we deserve to start telling our own narrative rather than let others do it for us.'
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Nearly a year ago, Jillian Orr, with help from her sister, stitched a rainbow pride flag to the inside of her Brigham Young University graduation gown.
Orr filmed the process to post on the social media app TikTok. The video ended with Orr walking across the stage at her commencement ceremony last April and flashing the bright colors to the audience.
The video went viral, garnering 7.5 million views.
Orr created the video in protest of BYU’s Honor Code — in which students and faculty pledge to create “an atmosphere consistent with the ideals and principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Among those principles is that same-sex relationships are not compatible with church teachings.
In the months since that first viral post, Orr has amassed a following of nearly 39,000 followersAnother video, with the title “Homophobic Assignment,” drew another 1.3 million views.
In that video, Orr shows viewers a quiz question from a marriage and family class required for her psychology degree. The multiple-choice question asks students to finish this idea: “One who truly loves LGBTQ people will …”
Orr explained in the video how her choice — “...love them unconditionally and accept whatever they want as what is best for them” — was graded as incorrect. The correct answer, she was told, was “… love them unconditionally while continuing to realize that their greatest happiness will come through living the gospel plan.”
Orr said TikTok is providing members of Generation Z “the information so they can choose and think for themselves. When given all the information and allowing people to learn, question and challenge, that is when people can make decisions for themselves.”
One of the hashtags Orr attached to her first viral video was #exmormon — a term that refers to someone who has left the Latter-day Saint faith. The hashtag began trending well before Orr used it, and its use has expanded since, catching the attention of younger audiences, especially those in Gen Z, with tagged videos receiving more than 1.4 billion views as of January 2023.
Layah Kou, a student at Salt Lake Community College, left the Latter-day Saint faith as a teenager, and without that association, she said, she found herself feeling lonely.
“My entire life I was taught to believe in God and that my purpose on Earth was to be with him again,” Kou said. “But now that I don’t, it feels like I don’t know anything anymore. I didn’t know my purpose.”
Kou said she found a sense of community on TikTok, watching videos of former Latter-day Saint creators like psychologist John Dehlin, who hosts the “Mormon Stories” podcast and interviews individuals on topics and personal experiences relating to the church.
“Seeing their experiences … and how relatable and similar [they were] to mine,” Kou said, “made me feel validated.”
Samantha Shelley and Tanner Gilliland, best friends and former students at BYU-Idaho, had left the Latter-day Saint faith and were processing that loss. In 2016, they created the web platform Zelph On The Shelf, making parody song videos and humorous responses to church blogs on Instagram, TikTik, YouTube and elsewhere. The tag line: “post-religion discourse but make it fun and cute.”
In a 2018 video, “My Favorite Sins,” Shelley and Gilliland take the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic song “My Favorite Things” (from “The Sound of Music”) to list things considered unholy by faithful Latter-day Saints: “Coffee for mornings and whiskey on weekends, hiking on Sunday with all of my dear friends. Exposing my shoulders and my stomach skin, these are a few of my favorite sins.”
“Gen Z is probably the first generation in Mormonism to have access to others to validate what they are going through,” Shelley said. “If you have doubts about the church, you can always find a community [on TikTok].”
As a creator who uses the tag #exmormon on TikTok, Shelley said the goal extends beyond just having a laugh with other former Latter-day Saints. “A lot of [creators],” she said, “are trying to give [viewers] an opportunity to consider whether their beliefs or ways of looking at the world might be skewed or wrong.”
In a talk at the church’s General Conference in April 2021, on Easter Sunday, President Russell M. Nelson told members of the faith to take their questions “to the Lord and to other faithful sources.”
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ young adult education program, called institute, introduced a new class last year, “Answering My Gospel Questions.” The Salt Lake Tribune reported that the class is aimed at helping students examine and discuss specific questions they have, and learn how to find answers from sources church leaders regard as reliable.
Some young adults, like Jill Morrison, a Utah Valley University film student, are fine with going to outside sources. “Accounts like Zelph On The Shelf let you actually explore those questions and find answers,” Morrison said. “It’s important for members of the church to really explore the history and maybe [the] negative sides of their religion.”
In March 2022, the American Survey Center found 34% of Gen Zers — roughly, people born between 1997 and 2012 — are religiously unaffiliated, compared to 29% of millennials (people born between 1980 and 1996). According to a study by the Pew Research Center, adults who are religiously unaffiliated stand at 29%, 6 percentage points higher than 2016.
Membership among younger Latter-day Saints has followed the trend, according to researcher Jana Riess’ book “The Next Mormons: How Millennials are Changing the LDS Church.” The book notes the church is retaining 45% of its young people in the United States, compared to 80% in generations past.
Orr, the BYU grad whose rainbow graduation gown went viral, said, “previous generations are told to obey, and I believe we have a new generation that is choosing to reflect on what they feel is right rather than what they are told is right. [Gen Z] is finally getting accurate information and choosing for themselves.”
Shelley added that, because of social media, younger people have greater access to information.
“In the past,” she said, “a Mormon in Salt Lake in the ’70s would have to go to a scary bookshop to get some forbidden book about the truth of [church founder] Joseph Smith.”
Shelley, who has created content for nearly every social media platform, said she believes there has been a cultural shift among the faith’s practicing and former members regarding views about those who decide to leave.
“Over the last 10 years, there’s been so many more people leaving the church, and they’re not doing it in the shadows anymore,” Shelley said. “It feels like the culture has shifted — the church itself seems like it’s made some kind of effort to not demonize people who leave.”
Nicole Spearman wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.
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We also request organizations include the following text either at the beginning or end of the story text :This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and [Your Media Organization's Name] to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through emerging journalism. Nicole Spearman wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. For more stories from Amplify Utah, visit amplifyutah.org/use-our-work.
When Cameron Dean was learning to become a barber, a friend took him on an excursion to Salt Lake City’s streets. Together, they offered free haircuts to men living in encampments and other homeless communities.
It was a small gesture, but the impact was immediate, recalled Dean, who works at Hair Lab+ Studios in Millcreek.
“To see how happy these cuts can make people,” he said, ‘it’s truly amazing.”
Recognizing the barriers COVID-19 brought to those experiencing homelessness, Dean saw an opportunity to bring his shears back to the streets earlier this year.
Salt Lake Community College journalism student James Seo joined Dean. Watch Seo’s video, produced in partnership with Amplify Utah.
James Seo wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.
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We also request organizations include the following text either at the beginning or end of the story text :This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and [Your Media Organization's Name] to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through emerging journalism. James Seo wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. For more stories from Amplify Utah, visit amplifyutah.org/use-our-work.
As the weather fluctuates between warm and cold heading into spring, many college students attending class in January, February and March — Utah’s coldest, darkest and cloudiest months — are faced with the obstacle of seasonal affective disorder.
The disorder is a form of depression that returns annually as the seasons change to fall and winter, when days get shorter and darker. The condition begins to fade, as spring and summer return with longer days and more sunlight, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Symptoms often align with the common symptoms of clinical depression: Lack of energy, little interest in doing things, sleep irregularity, trouble concentrating and feelings of hopelessness. A study published in the medical news journal Medscape found that 5% of U.S. adults suffer from the disorder every year.
Such a depression can be “disruptive” to a student’s daily routine and academic progress, according to Salt Lake Community College counselor Scott Kadera.
“When we diagnose [any form of] depression or anxiety, part of that diagnosis is that it is negatively impacting social or occupational functions — like school or work — so if someone is having serious symptoms, it’s going to affect your ability to study, to go to class,” Kadera said. “It’s not that ‘you’re feeling bad.’ It’s that you’re not functioning how you normally would.”
Kadera said the disorder is predominantly linked with the lack of sunlight throughout the darker and colder months. According to Weather Spark, an online weather database, Utah’s cloudiest month on average is February, when the sky is overcast or cloudy 52% of the days, followed by the month of March, when it is cloudy about 51% of the days.
The average temperature rises from 37.8 degrees Fahrenheit in February to 46.6 degrees in March, according to a monthly climate breakdown of Salt Lake City on weather.us. March, which brings the first month of the spring, tends to remain chilly in Salt Lake City, with an average temperature ranging between 32.5 and 46.6 degrees.
Megan Malovich, an anthropology major at Salt Lake Community College, said these cold and cloudy months can make it a challenge to get into a routine until much later in the semester.
“I find getting up in the middle of a cold, depressing day with no plants, no sun and warmth very unmotivating to go to school and do what I need to do,” she said.
Malovich said the overcast weather, dry air and freezing temperatures make the spring semester more challenging than fall. She said she feels sluggish and less interested in school work than she does in warmer months.
“If you don’t have any motivation to get up and do anything at all,” she said. “The last thing you want to do is sit down and do math homework or write a paper.”
Kadera noted that the absence of regular sensory triggers can also cause seasonal depression.
“It’s cold, it’s dark, people are inside so it’s quiet, there are no flowers in bloom, there are not a lot of smells,” he said. “It’s sensory deprivation to me.”
Since seasonal affective disorder comes with the changing weather each year, Kadera said students can help notice the recurring symptoms of depression by being aware of their emotional wellbeing throughout the year.
Kadera encourages students to remember the feelings that come with the disorder are common and advises they check in with themselves by asking, “Am I feeling like my normal self, or am I feeling a little down or tired?”
“Then, you can go get it checked out by a professional, and if it is determined to be [seasonal affective disorder], there are treatments that can help,” he said.
Kadera said the main form of treatment is light therapy — exposing oneself to artificial light by sitting or working near a device that “gives off bright light that mimics natural outdoor light.”
The intensity of sunlight is measured in lux, and people need at least 30 minutes of 10,000 lux (the measurement of mid-day summer sun) daily to help treat depressive effects from the disorder, Kadera said.
“The treatment is to sit in front of [the light box] in the morning for a half hour, seven days a week, and it has been shown to help,” he said. “Improvement can happen within a week, but the full effect can take three-to-six weeks.”
Kadera also suggested taking advantage of the winter’s sunnier hours by getting outside during the day. While he was living in Alaska — a state with extensive periods of darkness with few hours of daylight — Kadera said he and his coworkers combatted seasonal affective disorder by using their lunch hour to get outside.
“The sun wouldn’t come up until 10 or 10:30 a.m. and then by 2 p.m., it was dark again, so we had a three- to three-and-a-half [hour] window of light,” he recalled. “We would all go walk around campus for a half hour.”
For those struggling with their academics due to the disorder, Kadera suggests visiting a counselor to try to get back on track. He noted that often, if students are unmotivated, it will be harder to concentrate and more likely they will miss class, and that studying does not sink in because their thinking has been compromised.
“With counseling, that [motivation] improves,” Kadera said. “It’s more like, ‘I’ve got a bit more energy, and I’m able to go to class and pay attention,’ and things start to sink in.”
Alexie Zollinger wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.
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This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and [Your Media Organization's Name] to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through emerging journalism. Alexie Zollinger wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. For more stories from Amplify Utah, visit amplifyutah.org/use-our-work.
Under heavy sun, Salt Lake Community College students took to the Taylorsville Redwood campus for Trans Sports Ball Day, one of many events that commemorated the college’s pride month in June.
The June 26 event was a response to the political climate surrounding transgender participation in sports, said Peter Moosman, coordinator for the college’s Gender and Sexuality Student Resource Center (GSSRC). Last year, Utah lawmakers voted to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in girls’ high school sports, but a judge temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the ban.
“Trans folks are being denied access to play sports. We wanted to do a response to that,” Moosman said, adding that the event was aimed at providing a space “where they can show up in full authenticity … to be intentional about creating space for people who feel marginalized and left out.”
The event started outside with bag toss, Frisbee, soccer and spike ball. As the heat increased, the activities were moved indoors, where participants played basketball and pickleball.
Charlie Erickson, a student specialist for the GSSRC who is majoring in social work, said he was “absolutely excited” about the event.
“There is a certain amount of queerphobia that comes with sports,” Erickson said. At the event, he added, “people can come out and play sports and not worry. I think it’s fun to be able to get out and do athletic things, regardless of your ability level. We’re judge-free, so we welcome anyone regardless of their sporting abilities.”
Cory Smith, a health sciences major, joined for the camaraderie. She also brought her little brother.
“I wanted to feel a sense of community, find people who are like me and understand my struggle, and be involved in my school,” Smith said. “It’s nice to have activities with SLCC outside of the regular sports activities.”
The issue of transgender inclusivity in sports, Erickson said, is “a big red herring. I think trans people perform at the same level as their peers after the waiting period.”
A 2020 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that more than 12 months of testosterone suppression “may be needed” to ensure transgender women do not have an unfair competitive advantage.
Speaking to the BBC podcast “The Sports Desk” last year, Loughborough University sports scientist Joanna Harper, a trans woman, said “the question isn’t, ‘Do trans women have advantages?’ but instead, ‘Can trans women and [cis] women compete against one another in meaningful competition?’”
Harper added, “Truthfully, the answer isn’t definitive.”
For Erickson, SLCC’s Trans Sports Ball Day was a chance for the college’s queer community to be themselves. “This is the kind of space where we don’t care if you’re an oddball or a star player – you’re invited,” they said.
Teresa Chaikowsky wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. It is published as part of a collaborative including nonprofits Amplify Utah and The Salt Lake Tribune.
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We also request organizations include the following text either at the beginning or end of the story text :This story is jointly published by nonprofits Amplify Utah and [Your Media Organization's Name] to elevate diverse perspectives in local media through emerging journalism. Teresa Chaikowsky wrote this story as a journalism student at Salt Lake Community College. For more stories from Amplify Utah, visit amplifyutah.org/use-our-work.
