SALT LAKE CITY – Utah House on Wednesday passed legislation allowing a public trial in southwest Utah to consider a name change for Dixie State University.
The House voted 48-23 for a replacement version of HB278, which doesn’t specifically rule out a university name with Dixie, but says the state will allocate $ 500,000 to preserve the institution’s history when the DSU trustees and that Utah Board of Higher Education recommend a name that does not include the name Dixie.
The bill now goes to Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who can sign it, veto it, or allow it to become law without his signature.
Some House members expressed frustration that the original legislation, which was handily passed in the House of Representatives, specifically stated that the name Dixie would not be part of the university name, but that the St. George campus could be referred to as the Dixie campus.
Rep. Brad Last, R-Hurricane, the only member of the Southern Utah House of Representatives to vote on the original bill, said the replacement bill was “obviously not what I wanted”.
Proponents of the name change “are trying to help the students and send them out of the university with a name that doesn’t bring negative baggage, especially if they’re looking for jobs outside of the area,” Last said.
But Last said it was better to pass the bill and “send a message that we expect the church to go to work and find a suitable name”.
In the past, both the university commissioners and the university board unanimously passed resolutions calling for a name change. However, because the names of public colleges and universities are part of the state statute, changes must be approved by Utah lawmakers.
The original bill, sponsored by Rep. Kelly Miles, South Ogden, was aimed at approving a name change process and starting a community process to find alternatives to Dixie State University.
The superseded version, passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday and earlier that day by the Utah Senate, calls on the Trustees and the college board to form a committee to recommend a name for the university. It contains a list of the constituencies that should be part of the committee, e.g. B. Students, university staff, residents of southwest Utah, and institutional partners to serve on the committee.
The committee will make recommendations to the trustees who will decide whether to make recommendations to the Utah Board of Higher Education.
The bill states: “The Board of Trustees ensures that the name reflects the mission and importance of the institution to the surrounding region and enables the institution to compete and be recognized at the national level.”
Most recently, he said: “It has to go past the trustees. It has to bypass the Board of Higher Education. You wonder, is it likely that Dixie will be in the name when this happens? ”
After the law was passed, the university issued a statement thanking key lawmakers “for their leadership role in drafting and supporting this legislation”. We acknowledge that this has been a difficult but important process, but look forward to the opportunity to continue this dialogue. We look forward to working with Governor Cox as this legislation is awaiting signature. We feel confident that we can find a name that will enable our institution to move forward in the best interests of our students and the community. “
Talks about the name and identity of the Dixie state have been going on for more than 30 years, the statement said.
“Ongoing discussions about the name are not due to Dixie’s local meaning, but rather to the immutable national importance associated with the south of the Confederate States, civil war, and slavery.
“As Dixie State University grows in size, stature and influence at the national level, the implications of dual meaning cannot be overlooked and more detailed discussion is needed to find lasting solutions.”
It continued, “The love, respect and understanding of the local term Dixie has never been questioned. … Legacy is very important to our school and community, and we are deeply grateful for the longstanding support we have received from our partners. ”
While some members of the House of Representatives refused to expand the process any further under the replaced legislation, Miles said it keeps the process on track. Following a public process, a recommendation for a new name must be submitted to the Legislative Management Committee on or before November 1st.
Last, the DSU vice president on advancement, said lawmakers essentially had two options: either “vote and go back through hell for another year and who knows what we’ll end up with” or pass this bill.
“Ongoing discussions about the name are not due to Dixie’s local meaning, but rather to the immutable national importance associated with the south of the Confederate States, civil war, and slavery. As Dixie State University grows in size, stature, and influence at the national level, the implications of dual meaning cannot be overlooked and more in-depth discussion is needed to find lasting solutions. “- Statement from Dixie State University
MP Lowry Snow, R-Santa Clara, spoke out in favor of the bill as the process will increase participation from locals who are so interested in the region’s heritage and name. No one can guarantee what the result will be, but we can say with this change that it will broaden the process and make it more inclusive and engaging when it comes to respecting those who feel strongly about the Dixie name. “
MP Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, said she preferred the original legislation.
“Now we’re spending half a million dollars on something that has already invested a lot of time and resources on a body, the Dixie Board of Trustees, that has already voted on it and is eager to move forward,” she said.
Earlier in the day, the Utah Senate voted 26-3 for HB278.
Nobody in the Senate spoke out against the bill, but some, like Senator John Johnson, R-North Ogden, expressed frustration that the urge to change the university’s name was tantamount to dissolving the culture.
“Mr.. Potato Head is now Potato Head. OK, Dr. Seuss is on his deathbed. OK. Where does that end?” He said.
But others, like Senator Derek Kitchen of Salt Lake City, D, said HB278 was “the right thing. Ultimately, this is where we respond to the young people, the students at Dixie State University. “
He noted changes in the bill that “speak to the value of this (legislative) process”.
“We’re not trying to cancel anything,” said Kitchen. “In fact, we are giving back to the community to get involved in a process and empower them to move forward in the direction that makes the most sense for the university and the community.”
Senator Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross noted that Yale University was founded by a slave trader.
“Why do we have to change the name to Dixie State and Yale, named after a slave trader, get a passport? I really want someone … to explain this to me, “said Weiler. However, he voted for the bill.
The revised invoice doesn’t require a specific name or rule out the Dixie name. The original bill was passed by the House of Representatives on February 10th with 51 to 20 votes.
Senator Don Ipson, R-St. George, sponsor of the Senate legislation, spoke of the community’s deep attachment and support to Dixie College, which later became a university.
“Several times, at least twice in their lifetime, the people of St. George came together and mortgaged their homes to keep this facility alive,” said Ipson.
Senator Don Ipson, R-St. George is discussing HB278 in the Senate Chamber of the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 3, 2021. After about 20 minutes of debate, the Utah Senate passed bill Wednesday that will initiate a process to recommend a new name for Dixie State University Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
While the name change debate has been controversial at times, Ipson said, “I’m just glad we have this opportunity, that the people at the university, the people in the community, the alumni have the chance to come together and share their dixie ghost and come to a conclusion. And I can tell you, as a wild man from Dixie, that I have made a commitment, ”he said.
Proponents of the change say the name “Dixie” harms students as they seek admission and employment for a graduate school.
The university commissioned a study from the Cicero Group to investigate the effects of the name. It found that the university’s name “has become increasingly problematic for our students and alumni”, hampering the university’s ability to recruit students, faculties and staff, and limiting its ability to partner, receive scholarships and funding .
Discussions over the name have been going on for decades, but have intensified after protests across the country over George Floyd’s death in police custody last summer. On site, Intermountain Healthcare changed the name of its hospital from Dixie Regional Medical Center to Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital, effective January.
Tim Anderson, a St. George attorney opposed to the name change, said Latter-day Saint pioneers came to the area to grow cotton, which is the origin of the name.
“They struggled in a very, very difficult, harsh, inhospitable environment to create a place that turned out to be a pretty good place thanks to the air conditioning. … History suppresses the argument about the name change, ”Anderson said in an earlier interview.
In recent years, the university has scrapped its rebel mascot, switched to trailblazers, and removed images of the Confederates from campus, including a statue titled The Rebels depicting a horse and Confederate soldiers, one of whom carried a Confederate flag .
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