Month: October 2015

Different desert animals, mythical beasts and icons of the American Southwest are all being considered to be Dixie State University’s next mascot. 

Ideas for the new mascot will be narrowed down in the coming weeks from input by university stakeholders including students, faculty, alumni and community members. 

An online survey with six to seven different proposals for the new mascot will be public within the next month, said Jordon Sharp, director of student involvement and leadership and director of the identity committee. The identity committee is also using research and data compiled by Love Communications, an advertising and communications firm based out of Salt Lake City, to make its decision on what the mascot will be. 

Sharp said some of the mascots being considered are the Heat, Suns, Scorpions, Rattlesnakes, Raptors, Dragons, Coyotes, Pioneers, Trailblazers, Renegades, Mustangs and Red Devils. However, the official choices for the survey have not yet been finalized and may be changed and refined as time goes on, Sharp said.

“We’ve been combing through past data we’ve collected over 10 years on what students want in a mascot, and we’ve also been collecting new data to see what the stakeholders want in a mascot,” Sharp said.

Looking at options

The identity committee and Love Communications recently met with alumni, faculty, and focus groups composed of members of the DSU Student Association, DSU Student Alumni Association, D-Crew and ambassadors.

“In these meetings, the student leaders were all able to come together and voice their opinion on what we as the students would like to see happen,” said Student Body President Matt Devore, a senior integrated studies major from Mesquite, Nevada, and member of the identity committee. “I’m just [part of the identity committee] as the student voice and student advocate.” 

The research from Love Communications will help create the mascot ideas for the survey that will be unique to DSU without any alternative definitions and without any trademark issues, said Aaron Evans, vice president and group account manager for Love Communications. 

Evans said Love Communications has researched the history and heritage of the St. George area and DSU, the history of DSU’s former mascots, prior student input on the mascot, and what makes mascots successful at other universities.

“In meeting with everyone at the university and in the community, it became more and more clear how invested the overall St. George community is in Dixie State and the history of the university,” Evans said. “So we feel strongly that the ideal mascot will play off that and resonate with students and the community in a way that the Red Storm doesn’t do.”  

Jordon Sharp, director of student involvement and leadership and director of the identity committee, tweets on Oct. 20, asking for the public’s ideas for the new mascot of Dixie State University. Ideas for the new mascot are currently being evaluated by the identity committee and Love Communications, an advertising and communications firm based out of Salt Lake City.  

Moving forward

Sharp said, while it’s impossible for everyone to be happy with what the mascot will eventually be, the identity committee will try to make sure there is no group on campus that feels silenced or unable to weigh in on the process.

“But if we open it up for a complete vote, a lot of people aren’t thinking about branding and components that are important for the institution,” Sharp said. 

After the survey, the list of potential mascots will be narrowed down to three choices. Sharp said the final decision will be made by Love Communications and the identity committee after the three finalists have been analyzed by “higher-end stakeholders,” including administration, faculty members and alumni.   

“Love Communications and the (identity) committee will choose one authentic brand that we feel encompasses who we are and where we’re going,” Sharp said. 

The mascot isn’t scheduled to be chosen for another several months and won’t be implemented until fall 2016, Sharp said. DSUSA will help implement the mascot by distributing swag with the new mascot logo once it is chosen. 

Devore said whatever the mascot ends up being, “it’ll be better than the Red Storm.”

Student entrepreneurs will have a chance to pursue independent projects after winning the Legislation Day competition held by the Dixie State University Student Association.

The DSUSA has announced the winners of its competition held a few weeks ago which offered student groups, clubs and organizations a chance to make presentations and vie for $3,000 in prizes. Legislation Day gives student government a way to utilize funds not already earmarked for senate purposes.

Warren Anderson, DSUSA vice president of academics and a senior accounting major from Santa Clara, said he could not speak as to why the winners were chosen because the decision was made by an entire panel. The judges consisted of Anderson, his assistant and eight student senators.

“Each of us filled out a rubric for each group and then we added up all the totals when the event was over,” Anderson said.

The presentation rubric was divided in seven categories and included evaluating project development, fund necessity, organization of ideas, the number of students affected, how students are impacted, the impact the project will have on DSU, and whether the presentation was delivered with passion, clarity and confidence.

The physical science and biology department students took first place and won $1,250 for a peristaltic pump for the biology department. The second place prize of $1,000 went to the finance club, and third place with a prize of $750 also went to members of the biology department for independent cancer research.

According to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration website, peristaltic pumps are capable of delivering fluids in large and small amounts in a variety of environments. It is a process similar to many biological systems.

Finance club president Tyler Brooks, a senior finance major from Santa Clara, said the club presidency and its members were delighted to be able to pursue their plans.

“We felt the clubs and departments involved in Legislation Day had valid arguments for receiving the reward,” Brooks said.

The club plans to use its winnings to pay for a trip to Salt Lake City to introduce its members to graduate studies at the University Of Utah and develop relationships within the master’s program in finance. Students will also have an opportunity to make personal contacts while taking corporate tours at Goldman Sachs and Zions Bank .

Brooks said the goal of the trip is to give students a good understanding what potential employers are looking for and then ultimately lead to future employment and placement in graduate programs. He said the club had been planning the trip all semester, and attaining funding was its only concern. 

“It will benefit the finance club tremendously,” Brooks said. “The finance club is grateful to the university for holding such events where we could participate.”

Several other groups that presented at the event and did not win will have to seek alternative sources of fundraising for their projects. These proposals included extending the broadcast area for the campus radio station, X 91.3, purchasing video equipment for student filmmakers, and receiving funding for a possible TEDx talk.

The children’s health and safety fair involved the St. George community in promoting safety this Halloween with its biggest project of the year.

The Dixie Students Nurse Association planned the fair and other health science programs members of the healthcare community were also invited to participate.

DSNA president Jorden Gary, a junior nursing major from St. George, said the main goal of this fair was to create awareness of what the health science department at Dixie State University has to offer.

“We want to help promote health, involve all the clubs, and get everybody involved in the community,” Gary said.

This fair has been one of the biggest projects the DSNA has planned this semester, and this is the first year this event has taken place.

“We wanted to plan an activity where all the health science programs could be involved,” Gary said.

The fair included booths where children and their parents could walk around,  trick-or-trick, and learn different safety tips.

The fair benefits the students and the community by educating children on how to be safe and healthy, Gary said.

The DSU student chapter of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association was able to have its mobile clinic at the fair and showed kids it’s not scary to go to the dentist.

Randi Goodell, a senior dental hygiene major from Bountiful, said this was a good activity for the dental hygiene clinic to get its name out there and gain experience.

“We want to get kids involved, show kids its fun to go to the dentist, and inform them about oral health,” Goodell said.

Ashtin Barclay, a senior dental hygiene major from Circleville, said service fairs and activities are one of the many things the program does throughout the semester to create awareness for the services they provide.

The dental hygiene mobile clinic goes out twice a week to workforce services, nursing homes and elementary schools, Barclay said. The students rotate out in the mobile clinic, so they each have turns practicing the skills they learn in the classroom. It is really beneficial for the students to be able to have the hands-on experience. 

The event had a lot of children involved, and one set of parents said they were enjoying being able to promote safety while having a good time. 

Other members of the healthcare community were also involved such as the Intermountain Healthcare’s life flight program.

Flight Nurse Steve Connolly was involved in setting up a life flight booth at the fair to show what kinds of things the program has to offer.

The life flight program tries to be involved in as many community activities as possible in most parts of southern Utah.

The health science department does not have any big activities planned for the rest of the semester, but it is happy about the outcome of this event, Gary said.

Dixie State University’s honors program was awarded a $500,000 grant to help the experience of honors students on campus. 

The grant was awarded to the honors program by Dr. Craig Booth, a DSU alumnus and local medical practitioner. He said he wants to find ways to support the university and to leave a legacy for his family by granting this money to the honors program.

Representatives from the honors program hope to one day have an honors house or a floor of a dormitory dedicated to the honors program. 

“We’re not shy,” Mark Jeffreys, honors program director and department chair for interdisciplinary arts and sciences, said. “We intend to build something here that other universities will be envious of when we’re done. This grant is a huge first step in doing that.”

Booth said probably the top students of each high school in St. George don’t come to DSU and usually choose to attend a school in northern Utah. He said he wants this grant to entice more students to come to DSU.

“The university is new,” Booth said. “It will take us a number of years to grow up, and the more motivated students we can get to come here, the sooner the university will become more substantial.”

Honors program adviser Beth Axelgard said she hopes to create a student-centered program, and the money from the grant will help honors students’ experience at DSU.

“This money will go toward scholarships but not in the traditional sense,” Axelgard said. “It will be for grants that will allow [students] to study abroad or field study opportunities.”

Axelgard said the money will also be used to help develop unique courses for honors students they would otherwise be unable to take.

Some of the courses offered in the honors program are honors seminars, including contemporary issues, introduction to great works, honors junior seminar, and senior thesis, according to the honors website. Maintaining a 3.5 GPA is one of several requirements to be an honors student.

Jeffreys said the grant will be used to help better the experience on campus for honors students.

“The primary goal is to enrich the experience of honors students on this campus to the point that [the university] is an attractive destination for the very best students and our local community,” Jeffreys said.

Jeffreys said strategizing for the grant money for the honors program is still an ongoing process.

Students who are interested in the honors program and who qualify for it should contact Axelgard at [email protected].