BYU's board of directors is the quorum of the twelve. BYU is funded by the church. the school is operated and run by the church. employees are considered church employees and must live the standards. BYU's standards are controlled by the church. The school was founded by the church. The church's president has typically been a general authority. The entire world views the school as the church's school.
The only people I hear make this argument are ALUFs because they are attempting to justify their allegiance with the church and their hatred for byu.