Month: August 2015

Dixie State University is making significant changes to the school of health sciences by seeking to offer new degrees in exercise science and restructuring others to be more student-friendly.

The school of health sciences created a new department of health and human performance which has taken over for the physical education, health and recreation programs and is actively developing new curriculum and opportunities for students. The university is also considering degrees in health promotion, recreation and sports management, athletic training, and physical education teacher education.

“It is part of a 5 to 10 year plan,” said Patricia Wintch, interim dean of the school of health sciences and dental hygiene department chair.

Susan Hart has been appointed department chair of health and human performance and has been developing the program for the university since being hired three years ago.

Gaining approval for the new degree in exercise science has been a year-long process of scrutiny by the university and several committees, Hart said. It recently received approval by the Utah State Board of Regents for a Bachelor of Science in exercise science. Final approval for the program by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities is not expected for 90 days.

If approved, the exercise program will enable students to participate in laboratory courses, gain practical knowledge from working with the population and within the industry, and will require an internship in the community to increase students’ experience in the job market. Upon completion, graduates will be prepared to pass a test, obtain necessary certifications and have the credentials needed to rapidly enter the workforce, Hart said.

Hart said it is expected 150 students will declare it as their major within the first year, and by the fifth year, the total number is predicted to increase to 300. Students are excited it will become available soon and think it would be a great addition to the region, Hart said. 

“We don’t yet have a program, and instead of decreasing enrollment, we’ve increased enrollment,” Hart said. “We are offering multiple sections, and we have wait-listed students we are letting in.”    

Although it is not yet officially available as a program of study, many related courses are filled to capacity.

This is the first step in considering other possible degrees for the program, Hart said. The department currently offers an integrated studies degree with an emphasis in recreation management that could develop into a four year degree program. Future courses could include commercial recreation, professional golf management and therapeutic recreation.

Plans are currently underway to build a new Human Performance Center that will house the new programs and replace the facilities currently housed at the Student Activities Center.

Pursuing the new exercise science degree is just one of many goals outlined in “Dixie 2020: Status to Stature,” which is the university’s strategic plan to expand its offerings.

The Bachelor of Science in dental hygiene has also undergone changes to enable completion within four years. Students have been taking nearly six years to complete a degree, but courses have been restructured to run concurrently and allow them to finish with a bachelor’s degree in four years.

“The plan was to streamline the process,” Wintch said. “They work so hard, they deserve it.”

The dental hygiene program also operates a dental health clinic that is open to the community and offers lower prices to DSU students and faculty. The clinic is housed on the first floor of the Russell C. Taylor Health Science Center located on the Dixie Regional Medical Center’s River Road campus at 1526 Medical Center Drive.

With record attendance, the fifth annual Foam Dance at Dixie State University was the most successful end of Week of Welcome bash in its history.

Sarah Ramaker, vice president of student life and a senior dance major from Midland, Michigan, said an upward of 1,450 pre-sold tickets were purchased by students, bringing its total to more than 150 than last year. Over 1,500 students flowed into the foam-filled North Instructional Building plaza to celebrate the start to a new year at DSU.

Ramaker said DSU is founded on traditions such as the Foam Dance and the Dixie spirit thrives on it.

“It helps the incoming freshmen understand this spirit and what it can do for them,” Ramaker said. “This event and all others are for the students to bond with each other and to get to know their classmates.”

Ramaker and Luke Kerouac, assistant director of student involvement and leadership, along with the Student Life Committee have been organizing the Foam Dance for months.

Kerouac said booking the disc jockey, security, fencing and ticket sales were set up weeks and months in advance.

“It takes a crew of about 40-50 people the day of the dance to make sure everything happens smoothly,” Kerouac said.

Even with months of planning, not everything fell into place as the DSU Student Association intended. The usual host, DJ Marcus Wing, was involved in multiple accidents leading up to the event and left the responsibility with DJ Jorge.

With the usual host out of commission, students still flowed into the plaza with record numbers until DJ Jorge rang the bell at midnight.

Sydney Adams, a freshman general education major from South Jordan, said: “The Foam Dance was so sick. Everyone was just going so hard and dancing like crazy. I have never been to a dance party that intense. I can’t wait for the next one.”

The day after, buzz of the Foam Dance spread over social media with pictures in front of DSUSA’s wall mural and in the middle of knee-high foam.

Austin Moss, a sophomore general education major from West Valley, tweeted “Brace yourself for all the foam dance pictures, mine included.”

Kerouac said this year’s event featured a light package for the foam and aerosol chalk for the backdrop, helping students to capture this moment with their friends. DSUSA looks for new additions each year to increase the Foam Dance attendance and help excite students for a new year at DSU, Kerouac said.

Even if you don’t like the foam, everyone is drawn into social connection the Foam Dance provides for students.

“It’s a great way to meet new people,” Moss said. “I will end up going again next year even though I am not a huge fan of the foam.”

Ramaker said DSUSA looks forward to putting together many events throughout the year that will help students connect with each other and feel the Dixie spirit.

 

When college students think about the weekend, they think about parties, crazy adventures and lifelong memories. 

Ancestor Square is another magnificent place to make memories and have crazy adventures.

Ancestor Square is a shopping and restaurant area, that’s perfect for a date or even just hanging out with friends. Instead of visiting just one restaurant I tried the appetizer, main dish and dessert challenge.

The challenge consists of going to different places for each part of the meal, and the goal is to try things that you would not normally try. 

I went to Benja’s Thai and Sushi to start my challenge, which is a restaurant that serves sushi and Thai food. This is where I had my appetizer. When I first walked in, I noticed it was very quiet and had a peaceful feel. It was soothing and relaxing. I would definitely recommend this place to students after finals or a stressful day.

I ordered the potstickers, which are a combination of beef and mixed vegetables wrapped in thin dough and deep-fried to perfection. To complete the dish, the server gave me soy sauce to dip them in. I loved being able to dip them in sauce; it made them nice and juicy. 

My main dish was from The Pizza Factory. The feel of that restaurant was laid back and comfortable. It would be a fantastic place for just hanging out with friends. 

I ordered the build your own calzone. I chose six pizza toppings, which were mixed with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, wrapped in pizza dough and baked until golden brown. The finishing touch was dipping them in more tomato sauce.

I love pizza, but calzones are better. They are like pizzas, but without the mess.

Some other options on the menu are pizzas, pastas and a salad bar. The salad bar is cut fresh every day. Also, they have lunch specials every day before 3 p.m.

Lastly, for dessert, I went to the Sweet Tooth Fairy and ordered a strawberry shortcake cupcake.

It was a vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting and topped with a chocolate-dipped strawberry. I honestly love strawberries and combining them with sweets made my day. 

The Sweet Tooth Fairy also make a variety of sweets such as cinnamon rolls, brownies and cakebites. To top it all off, you get a free treat when you come in on your birthday.

Ancestor Square offers other restaurants like the Painted Pony and George’s Corner, as well as shops like The Nook, Bedard Gallery and The Mission Art Gallery. Also, every Saturday it has a local farmer’s market in the morning where guests can buy fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Even if you don’t want to try this challenge, Ancestor Square is a great place to have fun and be with friends. If you really want to try something new in St. George, the food challenge at Ancestor Square is for you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students at Dixie State University can now dance their way to a diploma.

DSU administrators have announced the availability of a Bachelor of Arts or Science degree in dance beginning this fall. After the proposal for the degree was approved by the board of regents and multiple committees on campus, it finished the approval process on a state and national level in August. Previously, only a degree in integrated studies with an emphasis in dance was available.

Li Lei, a professor of dance and the director of the dance department, said it has been a long journey to get the dance program to where it is today.

Lei started at Dixie State College in 2000 as the first full-time dance professor and started the Dixie State Dance Company in 2001. She was the only full-time professor in the dance program for 12 years.

“I told the administration, ‘I expect in three years we can build a dance degree program,’” Lei said. “However, to handle all the coursework, we need more faculty.”

Thanks to years of her effort in expanding the dance offerings at DSU, there are now three full-time professors, several more adjunct faculty members, and student enrollment in the dance program has more than doubled.

Lei said having a bachelor’s in dance will not only be beneficial for students, but it will also propel the expansion of the university.

“It helps in recruiting and retaining,” Lei said. “A lot of dance students have to leave (and) transfer to other universities to pursue their degree.”

This new degree will also allow dance majors to more easily continue their education by pursuing a master’s degree after they graduate, which will bring more opportunities in dance-related professions.

Mikel Young, a sophomore dance major from South Jordan, said she is excited for the addition of the degree because it will bring more talent to the program.

“The dance degree will put [DSU] on the map,”  Young said. “For dancers, this will make [DSU] more appealing. I’m stoked because one feature that all great universities have is an excellent dance program.”

Lei said she doesn’t have an exact number of students majoring in dance yet because students are still signing up. She said she is looking for as many students as possible. Students are required to audition before they start the program to place them in the right classes to build their technical skills, but Lei said even some students with minimal experience have decided to be dance majors.

“Everybody dances,” she said.

Students and community members can see the dance students’ accomplishments in person by attending the end-of-semester dance class showing and the Fall Dance Concert in November in the Eccles Fine Arts Center.