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PROVO, Utah (AP) — A group of Brigham Young University students is protesting the Mormon church-owned school's ban on something its namesake once sported: a beard.
About 50 students biked, skateboarded or rollerbladed their way from the Provo City Library to campus during the "Bike for Beards" protest on Friday night.
Protest organizer Shane Pittson says he loves being a Brigham Young student but finds the ban on facial hair other than mustaches outdated.
The 23-year-old international studies major and other students have launched a petition drive to get the school to lift the ban.
University spokeswoman Carri Jenkins says students agree to its grooming standards before their first day of class and the beard ban was set in place by students.
Many early Mormon church leaders, including Brigham Young, grew beards as they aged.
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