The "standards" have their origin as a backstop against forces that aren't relevant any longer.

Initially, these standards were imposed to counter the GIs who returned from WWII smoking and drinking on Provo campus. Secondarily, they respond to the hippies of the 1960s and anti-Vietnam movement.

Are those really relevant social issues today?

Some leaders like the branding created by clean cut appearance, but it's not the same. To argue we're doing anything which has ephemeral relevance is an extreme exaggeration. That's the problem with the mantel of authority used for social reasons at times.