An end-of-school-year shakeup in the Dixie State College Student Association paved the way for a new student body vice president.
When new opportunities at Tuacahn opened for the winner of the spring’s DSCSA election for student body vice president Wyatt Hopkins, the DSCSA was put in a position to find a new student body vice president.
Jordon Sharp, director of student involvement and leadership, said picking someone to fill the position was not difficult. Naturally, Brandon Price, a senior integrated studies major from Brigham City, was chosen. A former senator in the DSCSA and Hopkins’ competitor in the student body elections, Price had the commitment and had worked hard in the election process.
“I worked with Brandon during his time in the student senate, where he was successful,” Sharp said. “And I can say that Brandon has a good vision of where he wants to take things.”
Although Price’s experience made him the top choice, it was still shocking to find out at the end of finals week, and being interviewed for the position just before the DSCSA executive council was sworn in was overwhelming. Class schedules and job plans for the summer made committing to student body vice president even more demanding, but Price said he was able to make everything work due to his commitment to being part of the DSCSA.
The executive council was able to withstand the major change, and by collaborating on ideas and working long hours during the summer, they came into the school year prepared.
“In the past, it seemed like the first little bit of school was when a lot of the planning happened, but we were able to get ahead of the game and set deadlines for events,” Price said.
Sharp said Price also went to great lengths over the course of the summer to help the student senate—working on a website and designing a handbook for them—and communicate with the different departments and deans at DSC to make this year a productive one.
Price said he understands it can be difficult for students to go to members of the DSCSA with ideas and concerns, and a goal of the DSCSA this summer was to make communicating with them easier for students. They transformed the government room, added vintage couches, and did much cleaning to make approaching a member of the DSCSA less intimidating.
Price also said he would like many DSC academic traditions enforced and started.
“We’ve had events such as the undergraduate research day at Dixie, and that’s been a good thing that I would like to see more encouragement from student government on,” Price said. “Also, we’re working on new events and making others bigger, such as political awareness week.”
Hopkins, who obtained a position in the student senate as the fine arts senator, declined to comment.
