Posted on 12/14/2020 7:13:34 PM PST by nickcarraway
Dixie State University is en route to a name change.
The university's board of trustees voted unanimously Monday to approve a recommendation to change the name of the university, which must be approved by the Utah Legislature in consultation with the Utah System of Higher Education.
Some trustees were choked up with emotion before casting their votes.
"It's been a struggle. It's been a real struggle," said board Chairman Dave Clark, a former Utah Speaker of the House, noting the tug between the area's pride in the institution and tradition but also the need to do what is best for students' and the institution's future.
But he voted for the change along with the other trustees.
Trustee Jon Pike, who is also St. George's mayor, prior to the vote said, "I don't think it's wise to kick the can down the road any further."
Trustee Jill Beck noted her "solid ancestral and personal connection at Dixie State University as an institution."
Advertise with usReport ad But she noted remarks of Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, calling on government, business and educational leaders to review processes, laws and organizational attitudes regarding racism.
Beck said public perception of Dixie State University "is still not taken seriously."
Beck said she spent eight-plus years listening to comments from people "that just tell me that many people perceive us as playing at higher education in Washington County. And that perception cannot continue if we are to grow. Just the fact that we are reluctant to release that name shows that we don't take it seriously."
Tiffany Wilson, an alum of Dixie High School and Dixie College, said she grieved when the school changed the mascot from the Rebel.
She now understands that the institution must work to "create a place that follows the mission that we have created for the university. One of the key components of the mission of Dixie State is to be open and inclusive."
According to a university website, the institution has had six name changes since it was established in 1911, each with "Dixie" in the title except for its inaugural name, St. George Stake Academy.
There has been growing pressure to rename the university, with an online petition calling for a name change, a vote by the university's faculty senate calling for a change, and the NAACP urging a change. There was also an online petition to preserve the name.
In July, Intermountain Healthcare officials announced that Dixie Regional Medical Center would change its name. The hospital that has had some version of "Dixie" in its name since 1952, but starting Jan. 1, it will be known as Intermountain St. George Hospital.
Nationally, "Dixie" has become increasingly problematic as the nation has begun to reckon with racial inequality. In June, the country music group known as the Dixie Chicks changed its name to "The Chicks," acknowledging recent protests led them to reconsider how that word makes some of their fans feel, the Associated Press reported.
This summer, in the wake of the nation's racial reckoning sparked by the death of George Floyd who died while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, Dixie State's faculty senate conducted an emergency vote in support of removing the word "Dixie" from the university name due to its racist connotations to slavery in the South.
The university commissioned an impact study by the Cicero Group "to be attentive to the current dialogue regarding racial symbols and terms, and we are likewise sensitive to the affinity that many have for the Dixie name," the school announced in a statement this fall.
"We value and respect the rich pioneering history reflected in the local use of the term, and we understand the negative connotations associated with the term as well."
Earlier in the year, however, the university released a statement that said: "Despite current media coverage, there is no formal process in place to change the Dixie State University name at this time. The power to rename an institution ultimately lies with the Utah State Legislature, which would receive input from the Utah System of Higher Education."
In recent years, the university has taken other steps as concerns were raised by the institution's names, mascot and Confederate imagery removed from the campus, including a statue titled "The Rebels," which depicted a horse and Confederate soldier, one who carried a Confederate battle flag.
Formerly, the university's mascot was the Rebel. It was later changed to the Red Storm. In 2016, Dixie State changed its mascot to Trailblazers and its mascot to a bison dubbed Brooks after Samuel Brooks, the first student to attend St. George Stake Academy.
Just drop the “ie” and become University of Dix.
It will probably become Romney State University. :)
Never heard of them so this makes sense.
Never compromise with the Left.
“ Why is a university in Utah called, “Dixie?”
*********
Wondering the same thing. Maybe some confederates settled in the area after the civil war? Started the school?
Never understood the problem with Dixie. It just means the southern states. Do the southern states have to change their names?
Next target: Dixie Cup
Soon we could have a BLM review board with power to allow or disallow any institution or company brand name. Or iconic symbol such as the Princess Mia picture gone from Land O Lakes butter and Rastus gone from Cream of Wheat (soon).
Board members will graciously accept gratuities and donations for charitable personal purposes (luxury cars, boats, dream vacations, houses, cash in Swiss accounts). Helps them make up their minds.
Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner.
I think just cause its located in southern Utah
Dixie is a name. Cleveland Indians is a name. It never stops there
Now will it be called The Chicks University?
What about the Dixie Cups? They were a pop group in the 60s. A trio of black women.
How about Pixie instead.
My word, the things that are worried about these days. Weak.
The Band- The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
https://youtu.be/jREUrbGGrgM
Just call it pixie state university
I knew a woman back in school named Dixie. Then there’s the Dixie Truck Stop (established around 1927) in central Illinois and the Dixie Highway that runs through the south suburbs of Chicago. I wonder if they will have to change?
I remember stopping at St. George years ago while en route to Mt. Zion and thinking “What a great town. These folks are the salt of the Earth.”
Guess those were the good old days—leftist zombies have over-run the place...
Xi U
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