Her younger brother, Tad, may also be kept from making that same hike when he graduates, but not because of a bad knee.

Rumor has it that opposition to the LDS Church-owned school's hillside letter is festering in Internet chat rooms from people who see it as a religious symbol on public land and plan to speak out when its special-use permit is up in 2008.

As with other special-use permits, the Uinta National Forest will seek public comment and, if there is overwhelming concern, the Y could be no more.

Opponents may face an uphill battle, though. One person complained to the American Civil Liberties Union, but Utah ACLU executive director Dani Eyer said her staffers decided the landmark wasn't an issue.

"We thought it was just the name of the local university, and UVSC or anyone else could probably get one too if they got a permit," Eyer said. "We feel pretty comfortable that there is a permitting process and local schools could apply for something similar. We would not consider it excessive state entanglement with religion."

Mountainside block letters representing schools are nothing new in Utah. Environmentalists object at times to their prevalence. But critics argue the Y is different from, say, the University of Utah's block U - which sits on Salt Lake City land - because, they assert, the Y symbolizes a religion, not just a school.

Provo resident Casey Eyring, who hikes to the landmark twice a week, said he doesn't care much for BYU, but doesn't see anything wrong with the letter.

"It's just for the school," Eyring said. "I'm sure if it wasn't a church school, the Y would still be up there."

A community landmark of nearly 100 years, the block Y was constructed between 1907 and 1911 and was lit for the first time in 1923.

The original plan was to add a "B" and a "U" on the sides of the Y, but that idea fizzled. In 1978, crews coated the letter with sand and white concrete, doing away with the need for the annual student whitewashing.

"It's a school-pride type of thing," said Sugiyama, who will graduate today with a degree in physical education. "To me, it's never had any religious connotation, ever."

BYU has had a special-use permit for the block Y since 1958, said Marcy DeMillion, permit administrator for the Forest Service, and her records show there haven't been any issues with it during that time.

In fact, when the permit expires at the end of 2008, it will be 50 years since it first was issued, the time span required for it to be considered a historical marker.

DeMillion said even if there were public concerns with the letter, she doesn't know if that would bring it down.

"It's been under special use for a long time."

thollingshead@sltrib.com