PROVO — Risking a public-relations nightmare of being cast as letter-of-the-law puritans, Brigham Young University has officially frowned on a coed for living in "The Real World."
MTV's version of it, at least.
The school owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has suspended Julie Stoffer for alleged violations of the university's honor code.
The yearlong suspension, which BYU made public Friday, was denounced by Stoffer Friday in an interview with the Deseret News.
"I've totally stayed true to my morals, and if that's not enough for them and they want to make an example out of me then there are other schools," said Stoffer, who is now participating in another MTV show, "Road Rules."
Stoffer, who was seen on the popular, reality-based show rising early on Sunday mornings for church services, can apply for re-admittance next fall, according to BYU officials.
"This decision is not about whether Julie is a good or bad person," said BYU spokeswoman Carri P. Jenkins, who acknowledges the decision may appear harsh to those unfamiliar with the university's standards.
"I think that what we have to look at is the honor code and the idea that just because you're a celebrity you don't have to abide by it," she said. "This decision wasn't governed by what the world would think of it."
Jenkins declined to discuss the specifics of Stoffer's alleged infractions of the code, which requires students to be honest, chaste, wear modest clothing and abstain from alcohol and tobacco. The school's moral code also prohibits unmarried students from living with the opposite sex.
During filming of the show on the music-video network, 20-year-old Stoffer lived with four men and two women in a New Orleans mansion for five months.
"This isn't just about coed living," said Jenkins. "It's about Julie's commitment to living the honor code, and whether she lived up to those commitments."
Stoffer asked for a deferment from BYU before she left to film "The Real World." Deferments guarantee students admittance when they return, but they are only granted for academic internships, Jenkins said.
Jenkins said a registered letter outlining reasons for her suspension was mailed last week to MTV's California offices and another to Stoffer's home in Delafield, Wis.
Officials gave Stoffer six days from the receipt of the letter to appeal the suspension. Jenkins said Stoffer did not contact the university to appeal the suspension.
The charismatic blonde's mother, Jan Stoffer, speaking from the family's home, said Julie insisted to BYU in writing and over the phone that she did nothing to violate the moral code while filming the show.
The suspension letter was placed among the stacks of mail Julie receives from MTV fans across the country. Her parents, who are preparing to send a son to BYU next month for his freshman year, did not open the letter until reporters called the house Friday for comment.
"I'm upset after seeing the letter and I'm sure Julie feels the same way," said Jan Stoffer, who did not know if her daughter plans to reapply after her suspension.
Jan Stoffer bristles at the letter's content. She says the correspondence tells Julie she is being suspended for "relationships with members of the opposite sex."
"She has been adamant that she didn't have any sexual contact with anyone at any time," she said. "It looks to me like they are calling her a liar. If that's what they are saying, I would be upset if I were her."
And Julie, who recently spent some days filming a movie with rap star LL Cool J and waterskiing behind a blimp, feels much like her mother imagined.
"I have been all over the place. The whole thing has been outstanding. I'm jealous of myself," she said. "There's no way I can give all this up when there are so many other schools, places with open-minded people."
The letter also says Stoffer, if she plans to reapply, must call BYU's Honor Code Office monthly, arrange periodic meetings with ecclesiastical leaders and write essays about what she's learning during her time away from BYU.
"The whole thing sounds like she needs to repent of something — and she doesn't need to repent," said Jan Stoffer, who said Julie receives her fair share of letters both chastising her for appearing on MTV and praising her personal beliefs and standards.
"I'm very proud of her. When she said she was going to go on, she said she wasn't going as a representative of the church," Jan Stoffer said. "She said she was going to be herself — but she ended up being a good example."
E-mail: jeffh@desnews.com