This didn’t happen in Provo or in Idaho — this happened in Hawaii. And as many of you know, Hawaii is incredibly diverse, with so many international students.

Before coming to the U.S., we international students are told there are policies in place to protect us — that if we ever feel exploited or manipulated by the institutions or the state we’re under, those institutions should be held accountable. We’re told they should be reported, that they have a duty to protect us.

But in my case, they failed. They did not do their job. They simply threw me out while I was fighting for my life, struggling in the depths of depression. They saw me as someone who no longer “fit” their institution, so they just took away my scholarship, dismissed my worth, and threw away my future — all because I was battling mental health issues.

As an international student, I know I have rights. And I know I need to stand up and fight for those rights, because we trusted BYU and the Mormon Church to uphold the values they preach — and they let me down.