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.
Odd.
I’ve never thought of Utah as the “Dixie” State...
Stake is like a parish to LDS
It was named after the “Dixie Cup” re ice cream or the waxed paper cup itself. A late family friend headed that company in Baltimore County, Md. for many years. We had free paper cups and straws for years. /sarc
I heard a rumor that the Dixie Chicks originally wanted to change their name to “Free Tricks Chicks” but somebody thought better of it.
Wasn’t there a US government cabinet member named “Dixie”? Or perhaps a governor of that name? Or both?
I really don’t give a damn.
Singing “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”.
PC-Ness is such fun for sarcastic writers like moi! Gives me so much to work with.
But it has racist connotations, dontcha know?
connotations: What ignorant people believe.
Regards,
Running as a Democrat, she was more conservative than most Republicans of that era, but out of step with the Seattle Democrats who made sure her first term as governor would be her last.
It’s doubtful a woman with Dixy Lee Ray’s credentials, intelligence and skepticism of environmentalism and global warming could gain any support within today’s Democratic Party.
Dixy Lee Ray’s middle name (she had her name legally changed from Marguerite when she was 16) BTW was in honor of a relative, Robert E. Lee.
So much for diversity.
Trailblazers will soon be found offensive as it’s a reminder of those who explored the West which eventually lead to the demise of the Indians.
Never compromise with the Left.
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So many Indians in Utah now, might as well call it Mumbai State University of Utah.
I would love to meet the one minority that the current wave of PC name changes/revisionist history has helped.
BTW all of these useless virtue signaling measures cost money. The left doesn’t advertise that part.
It’s a play on the Mason Dixon line
This is how we lost America
How about Shmendrik U.?
“Trailblazers will soon be found offensive as it’s a reminder of those who explored the West which eventually lead to the demise of the Indians.” The word Pioneer is now being purged from campuses. Trailblazers won’t be far behind.
British Americans might be offended. Or might not.
PC attempts at gender/race/age/nationality (plus the flavor of the day that Congress overlooked) neutrality are doomed to failure no matter how hard the SJW’s try to limit the vocabulary. There’s no shortage of people who will take offense at the drop of a hat.
What happened to diversity, inclusion?
The song, “Dixie”, was probably composed by a black man.
Lincoln told the band to play “Dixie” after it was announced that Richmond had fallen — ie, the war was over, and now we were one people again.
But apparently moderns think differently...
DICK STATE that sound about right
“ I think just cause its located in southern Utah”
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You’re right. But there’s more to it than that. Kinda interesting actually. Google it. Wikipedia does a pretty good job with the history.
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