Month: December 2016

Though you won’t find much snow in St. George during the Christmas season, the city still offers a down-home Christmas feeling with events offered all around the city.

This Christmas season I have traveled around St. George looking for events that would bring the spirit of the season and help me remember the true meaning of Christmas. Three events that stuck out to me and helped me capture the joy of Christmas with my family and friends were “Christmas in the Canyon” held at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts, “Light the World” held at the St. George Visitors’ Center, and “The Christmas Light Spectacular” organized by HedgeHog Electric.

“Christmas in the Canyon” at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts

“Tuacahn has provided ‘Christmas in the Canyon’ for almost 20 years,” public relations director Joseph Smith said. “And for about 16 years, we have done the Nativity through community volunteers.” 

According to Tuacahn.org, “Christmas in the Canyon” is a way for Tuacahn to say “thank you” to the community. The event is held every Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evening through Dec. 23 and features a live Nativity and Christmas lights.

My experience at “Christmas in the Canyon” brought the Christmas spirit as some friends and I listened to the seasonal music, rode the Ruby Inn Train around to see the lights on the trees around the parking lot, and told Santa Claus what we wanted for Christmas. 

“Christmas in the Canyon” also offers two showings of a live Nativity performed by community volunteers — one at 7 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m. — and is a steal for only a $2 admission. The Nativity includes live animals such as a donkey, horses and a camel. A reverence came over the audience as we listened to a narration of Jesus Christ’s birth along with “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World.”

Zach Shephard, a sophomore nursing major from St. George, said the Nativity was more relaxing and less crowded then the other Tuacahn plays, and he enjoyed the spirit the Nativity provided for him for this Christmas season. He hoped everyone would attend this play to experience the birth of Christ.

“We love opening it up for the community to be part in this play, and the community loves doing it,” Smith said. “There are families that have made this a very important family tradition for them, and we love supporting it.”

“Light the World” at the St. George Visitors’ Center

Susan Iverson, a senior missionary at the St. George Visitors’ Center, is in charge of the events happening on the Visitors’ Center grounds. She said The Visitors’ Center will help community members to remember the true meaning of Christmas.

The Visitors’ Center activities and programs are performed by local choirs and singers every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 23.

Iverson said the purpose of the events is to “share the reality of Christ’s birth with the guests who come to the Visitors’ Center.”

Walking around the temple grounds with all of the beautiful lights and Christmas music playing in the background was a peaceful experience for me.

“Christmas Light Spectacular” by HedgeHog Electric

If you find yourself tired from walking around “Christmas in the Canyon” or too busy for the events at the Visitors’ Center, try the “Christmas Light Spectacular.” The HedgeHog Electric Company put together a map of the St. George providing 16 different Christmas light pit stops, available at HedgeHogElectric.com. The houses and parts of the city featured in the “Spectacular” are covered with lights from the bricks to the trees. Community members can enjoy the lights and music from the comfort and warmth of their cars each night through Dec. 25.

The “Spectacular” is a simple date activity for the holidays. Two of the houses I visited — No. 1 and No. 12 on the map, in Washington and Santa Clara — created dancing lights to the tune of Christmas songs played on certain radio stations. House No. 10 in Bloomington Hills made my mouth drop; it is plastered with Christmas lights, reindeer, Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and many more Christmas decorations.

With 16 different locations, I did not get to see all of them. But I have until Christmas to visit the rest of them. 

Braden Tobler, a HedgeHog Electric marketing representative, said his company has been putting on this event for three years now, and the company loves the positive feedback and publicity the event has captured.

HedgeHog Electric is doing something new this year by giving participants a chance to win a $300 gift card by sharing a photo of themselves visiting their favorite Christmas lights on the HedgeHog Electric Facebook page. In addition, with every “like” to their Facebook page, HedgeHog Electric will donate $1 to The Dove Center, an organization that provides shelter, advocacy and counseling to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

With affordable events like these, the Christmas season can be both unforgettable and inexpensive for college students.

Dixie State University will become a home away from home for some students who will be spending the holiday break on campus. 

Many students staying on campus are international students, like Irem Dilek, a freshman general studies major from Izmir, Turkey.

“I’m broke, and I can’t go home,” Dilek said. “I’m sad I can’t leave because all of my friends are leaving me for the Christmas break.”

Despite some students staying on campus during the holiday break, the campus will be nearly completely closed between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2. This will mean there will be limited access to services like campus dining services during this week.

Carole Hulet, assistant director of International Student Services, said there are many international students who stay on campus during the holiday break. In the past, she said there have been small activities held on campus that International Student Services put together for those students staying, but no events will be held this year due to the campus closing.

This is the first time in DSU history that the campus will be closed for a week during the holiday break, said Dean of Students Del Beatty. Beatty said activity on campus between Christmas and New Years’ has been tracked and it is always incredibly low. 

“It’s a waste of resources to keep over 1,000 employees sitting in offices with the lights and heat on for nothing to happen,” Beatty said.

For students living on campus with meal plans, they will be given vouchers for meals local restaurants like Wendy’s while the Trailblazer Cafe is closed, said Martin Peterson, director of campus dining services. Everton Araujo, assistant director of international student services, said he doesn’t foresee campus dining being a problem for international students and said it will be a nice break from the same rotation of meals.

While campus will be closed, several renovations will be happening at DSU, said Paul Morris, vice president of administrative affairs. Subway will be moved down the hall from the Trailblazer Cafe to the Market in the Gardner Student Center. A Mexican grill with tacos and burritos will take it’s place in the Trailblazer Cafe. The campus store on 100 S. will also be closed at the end of December to be remodeled as the new Health and Wellness Center.

“These renovations aren’t the reason campus will be closed,” Morris said. “It’s just a holiday thing because of when Christmas and New Years’ are this year.”

Additional reporting was done by Jonny Weakley, Diana Fossett and Markee Heckenliable.

Dixie State University will implement Hope Squad, the nationwide suicide prevention program, as hope for students.

A fresh mind and pair of eyes now oversees Dixie State University’s two literary journals, aiming to inspire students, faculty, staff and community members to create and be published.

Cindy King, assistant professor of English, is the faculty editor and advisor for The Southern Quill, DSU’s yearly printed literary journal and online-only literary journal, The Route 7 Review. 

The journals accept submissions from students, young writers, faculty, staff and community members and publishes creative work ranging from nonfiction, to poetry, to visual art.  King is wrapping up her first semester teaching at DSU and said she is looking forward to improving the journals.

The journals

With a background in putting together literary journals at other universities, King said many hours of work go into curating them and described it as a labor of love. She is invested in growing the journals and has a vision for where they are headed. Excitement filled her voice as she described what it’s like to facilitate publishing writers for the first time.

“I love the idea that we’re discovering writers,” King said.

Bailee Christiansen, a senior English major from St. George, is the managing editor at The Southern Quill. Her involvement began four years ago and has held several different positions every year since. The journals provide an effective way to connect the community, she said.

“It gives an opportunity for people to express themselves creatively and bring the community together through writing and visual art,” Christiansen said. “It’s something you don’t get to see through everyday publications.”

Although the English department has been supportive, one challenge so far is finding more revenue to elevate and grow the journals, King said. A silent auction and reading will be held Feb. 16 to raise money for The Southern Quill. King hopes as time goes on, the Route7Review will be able to accept more international submissions, and The Southern Quill can transform from a yearly publication to bi-yearly.

Randy Jasmine, associate professor of English, said he has been following The Southern Quill for the 12 years he has worked at DSU. 

“I like the fact that it’s local people,” Jasmine said. “[Many pieces] have themes related to the geographical area.”

Another bonus of attending the readings is hearing the writers read their own work, Jasmine said. Writers will sometimes give a little context before the reading, meaning is added to the piece when they read it aloud.

“The way they read it sometimes emphasizes certain things you might not have noticed just reading it,” he said.

In addition to submitting work, King said students of all different majors are encouraged to get involved producing the journals as volunteers or signing up for the class. It’s an excellent opportunity for students to get real world, hands-on experience, she said.

Words on paper and screen

Although King does other forms of writing, she specializes in poetry. She said poetry is different than other writing styles because it’s the most condensed and concise way of communicating. For both the reader and writer, it offers instant gratification without investing too much time and energy, she said.

“You can hold a poem in the palm of your hand and control what’s there on the page,” King said. “You can see it all at once.”

Regarding her work, King said people have mentioned she has a way of addressing serious things in playful ways. Mothers, family and women’s issues are recurring themes in King’s writing, which she said is interesting because she isn’t a mother.

Christiansen said she hasn’t had much time for creative projects due to working on her senior capstone, but she is aware of the importance of creative writing. Expressing thoughts through verbal communication can be hard and it’s easier to get everything out, clearly and concisely, in writing, she said.

“The ability to express yourself through writing is important because it allows you to bridge those gaps,” Christiansen said.

Published

King said although she’s been writing most of her life, she didn’t have many opportunities in college to have her work published, partially because online literary journals weren’t a thing yet. She remembers the first time her work was published by a journal, and herself being incredibly excited. King said she hopes the journals can provide a venue for others to experience the same.

“When you get something published, it gives you acknowledgment that what you’re doing is something people want to read,” she said.

Christiansen said first time submitters shouldn’t be worried about their work being perfect because The Southern Quill staff works with the writers on editing. A lot of opportunities come through being published, she said.

“There’s nothing more incredible than having your work be recognized,” Christiansen said. “It’s a great way to validate yourself.”

Those interested in submitting work to The Southern Quill can find more information on southernquill.submittable.com.

Visit route7review.com for more information on submitting to the Route7Review.

Dixie State University has chosen to not monitor its students and facultys’ internet use.

Ever since Edward Snowden released information on metadata collection by the U.S. Government in 2013, American citizens have protested for their rights in being secure and safe from unwarranted searches as stated in the Fourth Amendment.

At DSU, policies have been put into place to ensure safety and the right to do as one pleases in regards to using the internet. DSU Policy 462 Section 4.5 states that the college strives to provide “academic freedom and privacy” for those who use the internet on campus. The policy also states that because no computer system is completely private, there is “no guarantee” for internet user data to be completely protected.

When speaking of DSU’s IT department, Chief Information Officer Gary Koeven said, “Our focus is on working to protect DSU’s IT infrastructure and to safeguard private student, employee and institutional data, not on monitoring or censoring employee’s or student’s internet searches and activities.” 

As part of the IT department’s attempt to keep DSU students and employees safe and free, the school requires its internet users to login using a username and password, said Information Security Officer Andrew Goble.

“This is consistent with standard practices for other universities and Internet Service Providers across the U.S.,” Goble said.

So, does DSU monitor its employees and students while they search the internet?

The answer to that question is mostly no. 

“DSU doesn’t actively engage in [the] monitoring of what students or faculty are searching for or viewing on the internet,” Goble said. “[It] only uses what information it does to monitor or collect internally as permitted by university policy, and only releases that information to third-parties in response to a lawful court order or subpoena.” 

Sub-section 4.5.1 states, “The college reserves the right to access any college-owned information stored on college-owned computers and IT resources at any time.”

Along with sub-section 4.5.1, the remaining five sub-sections indicate that the school will cooperate with any state and federal laws requiring internet information from the school. For example, if a court order is in need of any e-mail messages or documents from students or employees, the school will turn over that information, “regardless of any expectation of privacy.”

Because some people make illegal choices like identity theft or extortion on the internet, consequences do come with different levels of severity. One could simply lose their right to internet access or if the situation escalates to a certain level of seriousness, the police or administration can step in. 

Don Reid, director of campus police and security, said, “If it were the case of child pornography, as was recently the case at one our on-campus student housing facilities, it would be the result of an FBI sting.”

Anthony Reininger, a sophomore CIT major from West Jordan, said the internet is an open range with a great ability to inform people. Due to the internet being so vast, he said in some situations certain information could be “possibly used against you” in some shape or form. For example, Reininger said any illegal or suspicious information posted on one’s social media in their past could be used against them if an individual were to ever get in trouble with the law at a future time.

Morgan Wood, a senior communication major from St. George, said he would prefer to have the ability to monitor himself instead of having someone look over his shoulder. To him, the Constitution is something that needs to be upheld, and the way to do that is to allow people the right to individual privacy on the internet. 

Because of the parameters set by DSU, Wood said he believes the school is showing trust in its students and faculty with their choices to roam the internet. 

There should be a line drawn when it comes to monitoring individuals and Wood said that “decision will be made for us.”