‘The name change is unnecessary’: County Commission passes resolution to keep ‘Dixie’ in university name

ST. GEORGE — The Washington County Commission chambers overflowed with people Monday, the majority of which wore red shirts with “Keep Dixie” printed on them. They came to support a resolution to keep the word “Dixie” in the name of Dixie State University.

The unanimous adoption of the resolution supporting the Dixie name receives standing applause from members of the Defending Southwestern Utah Heritage Coalition who packed the Washington County Commission chambers, St. George, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The resolution, which passed unanimously following a reading and statements made by the commissioners, has been sent to the Utah Legislature along with a letter asking state lawmakers to vote against the latest name proposal during its upcoming Nov. 9 session.

The latest proposal for the school’s new name is Utah Tech University. The name neither keeps the Dixie in it nor reflects the locality of the school beyond the state in which it resides. These points – especially the treatment of the word Dixie – have drawn the ire and frustration of many Washington County residents who feel their voice on the matter has been ignored.

“Dixie has been mislabeled recently as if it were a school where the past shameful practice of slavery was somehow the focus of its activities and name,” Commissioner Adam Snow said as he read the resolution in its entirety before statements were made.

Points highlighted in the resolution were that efforts had been made over the last 20 years by the school to remove activities, items and mascots that may have appeared to reference slavery. It also stated that claims that the Dixie name hinders enrollment prospects for the university are not true due to six consecutive years of record-breaking enrollment reported by the institution.

Dixie State University students who attended the Washington County Commission meeting in hopes of speaking in support of removing Dixie from the name of the university, yet were unable to, St. George, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The resolution contested other claims of how the word Dixie harmed the university and its students before moving on to mention the people who support the Dixie name, which the resolution, and therefore the County Commission, state represent the majority of Washington County residents.

“Large groups of citizens have rallied together to defend against efforts to remove Dixie from the name of Dixie State University,” Snow read, further reading that efforts to sever the name from the school were “in direct opposition to the majority of Washington County citizens.”

The resolution concluded: “The Commission of Washington County strongly supports retaining the word Dixie in Dixie State University, and be it further resolved that Washington County supports retaining the word Dixie in perpetuity as a part of the name of Dixie State University.”

People wearing the red “Keep Dixie” shirts erupted into applause at the resolution’s conclusion. These individuals primarily came from the Defending Southwestern Utah Heritage Coalition. While they stood and clapped, a small group of university students led by Student Body President Penny Mills remained seated and silent.

The handful of students had come in support of a name change and had hoped for a chance to speak. However, the commission did not open the floor to comments from either side during the meeting.

For over a year now, Dixie State officials have stated a change in the university’s name – primarily one dropping the word Dixie – will aid greatly in student enrollment and faculty recruiting efforts from out of state. While “Dixie” and “Dixie Spirit” are said to denote a location and the professed sense of unity, cooperation and friendliness that built the community, outside of the region, university officials highlight its negative association to slavery, bigotry and the Confederacy.

University officials have also stated Dixie State graduates have lost employment opportunities outside of Utah due to the association with the name, which they say is another reason it needs to be replaced.

The Commission speaks on the resolution

Washington County Commissioner Victor Iverson states that the local use of the term Dixie and its use in the university’s name have nothing to do “with the trappings of the Confederacy,” St. George, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Each commissioner shared his thoughts on the resolution prior to voting on it.

Commissioner Victor Iverson said the Dixie name had nothing to do “with the trappings of the Confederacy.”

He further stated that while the commissioners had previously given their personal opinions on the controversy surrounding the Dixie name, they hadn’t done so in a united and public manner until then.

“This really is not just the voice of the three of us, this is the voice of the three of us who have received the majority of the votes of the citizens of our county,” Iverson said.

Washington County also has a stake in Dixie State University with the millions of dollars it has invested in the school. This has included funding a part of the building the Human Performance Center and ongoing renovations to the Greater Zion Stadium, the latter of which may run the county up to $20 million, Iverson added.

“We do have a right to speak out,” he said.

Both Iverson and Snow said they felt university officials and others pushing for the name change were sincere in their belief the school needs a new name based on the data they have gathered. Still, both commissioners said they respectfully disagreed with that assessment.

Washington County Commissioner Adam Snow says he does not believe the current name of Dixie State University is harming the school’s enrollment and graduate job placement based on increasing student enrollment year after year and good job placement numbers, St. George, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Dixie State officials nonetheless made a good argument based on their data, Snow said, adding he had been asked: If they had a business that the research data showed needed a name change, wouldn’t he do it?

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t if I was selling so much that I couldn’t keep up with demand,” Snow said, once more referencing increasing enrollment numbers and successful job placement for students that happened in spite of the name on a graduate’s diploma or certification.

“That is the point that undercuts everything else,” Snow said.

Washington County Commission Chair Gil Almquist said he took issue with people who claimed having Dixie on their diploma hurts their prospects for work or enrollment in high education. He spoke of the success of his own children who graduated from Dixie State and hadn’t experienced any negative impact tied to the name of their former school.

“I have an issue with that, especially since my son, just six months ago, got accepted to Kellogg MBA school at Northwestern (University), and it says Dixie on his diploma,” Gil said. “So on a personal note, I’m a little confused about (the) ability to not get in somewhere, and I would hope that a Dixie graduate, even if someone brought it up, would quickly move to the true dialogue, the true purpose and the true meaning behind that name.”

Washington County Commissioner Gil Almquist states he has a hard time believing having Dixie State University on someone’s diploma or certification will damage their chance to find employment or access to other future opportunities, St. George, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

As expressed by the commission through their statements and the resolution, the true purpose behind the local use of “Dixie” not only denotes a location in Utah but also a welcoming spirit of friendship, unity and cooperation that built Washington County. That sense of unity and friendship has long been referred to as the “Dixie Spirit” by locals.

Supporters of the Dixie name have argued that those seeking to remove Dixie either do not understand or appreciate its meaning to the people of Washington County. The commissioners stated the same during Monday’s meeting.

In regards to a survey put out to the community earlier this year concerning the university’s name change, Almquist said he felt like it was constructed in a way to produce a predetermined conclusion. This statement drew audible agreement from the red-shirted coalition members at the meeting.

Moving closer to voting on the resolution, Almquist said that a letter has been sent to the Legislature with the resolution supporting the name. This had been done to hopefully provide more background and emphasis regarding community support behind the name for those legislators who will vote on the matter.

As Dixie State is a state institution, Iverson said, state lawmakers may not readily take the opinions of the locals into consideration. They may simply give an acknowledgment of what county residents wanted before voting on the name change with little care toward the thoughts of the local community, the commissioner said. It is hoped the letter and accompanying resolution will prompt lawmakers to keep Dixie.

Parts of the commissioners’ letter to the Legislature states:

“Any claims of a current necessity of a name change are refuted by the fact the DSU has had explosive growth, phenomenal job placement and substantial infrastructural expansion. The name change is unnecessary…

“The words Dixie and Dixie Spirit are used to describe the community spirit and sacrifice it took to build and survive here, as well as the friendship with all who come here, including residents, visitors and students. Removing the word Dixie from the name will not bring unity, but it will irreparably divide DSU from the community that built it.”

The letter goes on the ask the legislators to “stand up” to “wokeness” and “cancel culture,” and to “honor our heritage and vote to keep Dixie in the name of the university.”

Following a reading of the letter by Iverson, the commission unanimously passed the resolution supporting the Dixie name.

Nothing about students’

Penny Mills, current Dixie State University Student Body President, says she is disappointed the Washington County Commission said little about current and future students of the university and how they feel the Dixie name impacts them and their school, St. George, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Though unable to speak during the commission meeting, Mills and the other current state students, among them being persons of color, shared their take on the issue with St. George News and other media covering the meeting.

“We’re really disappointed that the commission said nothing about students,” Mills said. “I’m really disappointed in that and wish they would’ve included students in this meeting.”

While initially trying to speak with the media, the students were quickly approached by members of the Defending Southwestern Utah Heritage Coalition who started asking questions of their own.

The encounter between coalition members and the students was largely calm and polite, though emotions ran high at points during one exchange.

One of the coalition members said they respected the students’ desire to share their own views on the name change, yet also said she wanted to get her own point across to the students about how the coalition felt about as well.

One student appeared visibly frustrated at her group not being able to address the media directly because of the interruptions from the coalition members, and said, “If you mean what you say about letting us have our own voices, then please let us have this moment to say what we came to say.”

Ilene Hacker, (red shirt), of the Defending Southwest Utah Heritage Coalition, speaks with current Dixie State University students about the pending name change. The students want to see the name go as they consider it harmful while Hacker’s group seeks to retain its historic and cultural significance to the community, St. George, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Someone else asked the students why they cared about the name if they don’t even live in Southern Utah.

“Some of us want to stay here. This is our home now,” Mills said. “We want the Dixie spirit to stay alive.”

Another student was asked why she attended Dixie State if the name was such an issue.

The student responded that she wanted to be a nurse and the university had the most affordable program available. The same student said she had a friend who had been negatively impacted during a job search due to the Dixie name being on their diploma. When asked to provide more details by a coalition member, however, the student declined to.

The exchange between the students and the coalition members continued for a few short minutes until Mills began to lead them away.

“We’ve said what we needed to say,” she said before leaving.

Overall, the students had expressed that they believed the name was harmful due to its associations with slavery and bigotry and wasn’t one fit for a university and its future goals. However, one of the students said they weren’t seeking to change the use of the word in the community proper, as Dixie would persist in names of businesses, streets, locations and other institutions throughout the county.

“You’ll keep the Dixie Rock and the name in the community, but the university has to change,” the student said.

I want to stand with keeping the name’

Abraham Thiombiano, a 2013 Dixie State University graduate, argues for the keeping Dixie in the university’s name as he finds nothing offensive with it and considers it a positive association due to the heritage tied to it, St. George, Utah, Nov. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Abraham Thiombiano, a Black man and Dixie State graduate who was very vocal in his support of the Dixie name, told St. George News afterward that he had visited other parts of the nation and asked people across the ethnic and socioeconomic spectrum what they thought of the word Dixie. Each time the people he asked either didn’t know what the word meant, or didn’t seem to care. Talk of racism was never the first response, he said.

“I have yet to have someone say racism, or slavery or the Confederacy,” he said. “I don’t understand what this outrage is all about.”

Thiombiano said he moved to Southern Utah in 2005 and graduated from Dixie State in 2013. During all that time and since, the people here have been nothing but kind and welcoming.

“I’ve met nothing but the best people in the world here,” he said, adding that he’s lived in places like Chicago and Washington, D.C. “I generally never feel the specter of racism or the specter of anything untoward. … So I want to stand with keeping the name.”

As for the students he spoke to, Thiombiano said he believes they either have a misunderstanding of the name, or someone put them in front of some anti-Dixie talking points. He also said he’d like to ask them to be honest with themselves about the Dixie name.

“When you first heard the Dixie name, was it really that offensive?” he said. “You’re a student at Dixie State University, so you must have thought it was a good name. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have come here. … I don’t feel there’s a lot of honesty in this dialogue.”

Thiombiano concluded his remarks by saying he is not willing to see a great place like Dixie State maligned by what he called untruths.

“I’d be willing to challenge anyone who has anything different to say about Dixie State University, 100%,” he said.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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