But Easton, valedictorian of Brigham Young University’s political science department, put aside fears he could be expelled and found the courage he said was inspired by a presidential candidate.
“I stand before my family, friends and graduating class today to say that I am proud to be a gay son of God,” he said last Friday in a commencement speech before 10,000 people inside the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.
To his surprise, the crowd erupted into cheers.
“I am not broken,” he continued in a speech that immediately went viral. “I am loved and important to the plan of our great creator. Each of us are.”
In an interview Monday, he said he had always known he was gay. He told his parents two years ago, but never expected to come out while at Brigham Young, where any exploration of his sexual identity could result in losing his chance to earn a degree.
While the university states that “same-gender attraction is not an Honor Code issue,” the policy prohibits — and punishes — violations like immodest attire, premarital sexual activity and homosexual behavior.
Despite his fears, Easton said he began to change his mind a few months ago, inspired by how Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is running for president, had spoken about his faith and sexuality.
But he was also inspired by something much closer to home: For years, the university has not allowed its LGBT group to meet on campus. At a rally to protest the university’s honor code, attendees observed five minutes of silence for gay and transgender students, a moment that cemented for Easton why coming out was so important.
“There were 500 people saying we see you, we hear you,” he said. “I thought maybe I can give the same hope to other LGBT students who are afraid.”
Easton submitted his commencement speech to the dean’s office for approval two weeks before graduation, which included the words of church apostles who were supportive of LGBT Mormons. Easton said he prepared for the speech to be rejected, but to his surprise, the dean’s office told him, “Go for it.”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.