Month: February 2022

St. George is a hotspot for college students, tourists and residents. Dixie State University draws its students in with the beautiful red rocks and outdoor activities. 

There are many places around St. George that college students frequent; outdoor and indoor. I asked DSU students their favorite places to hang out. If you are looking for a fun place to hang out, here are options for you.

Dixie Rock

Dixie rock is a staple for St. George. It is a hotspot for tourists and residents. There are tons of trails surrounding it that are fun to explore and discover new areas. The rock overlooks the city of St. George with gorgeous views. At night, you can see the city lights and might even catch a shooting star. 

“In the fall semester, me and my friends like to go up to the Dixie rock in the early mornings with our Dutch Bros and watch the sunrise,” said Zoe Hansen, a freshmen media studies major from Idaho Falls, Idaho. “We also like to do homework up there as well.”

She said it helps relieve the stress of being a student by going up at night, looking over the city lights and listening to music. 

Hot tubs

Hot tubbing is a great way to meet new people and make friends. Almost all of the off-campus housing units have a pool and hot tub at the disposal of its residents. It’s a great way to relieve stress and put yourself out there.

“Hot tubs are fun to hang out at because it’s a good way to meet new people especially in your apartment building or just around campus,” said Nataly Dockstader, a freshman general education major from Tooele. “That’s how I have met a lot of my friends down here at college.”  

Cafe FeelLove

Cafe FeelLove is a small coffee shop in Ancestor Square known for their specialty coffees and trendy foods. It’s a great place to get a cup of coffee and have a study session or hang out with friends. 

“My favorite place to hang out is Cafe FeelLove because I can go and get some good coffee, have a fun place to hang out and chat with friends or study,” said Tyree Hale, a freshman general education major from Riverton. 

Cafe FeelLove has a wide variety on their menus that aren’t too expensive for students. If you’re not into coffee, they also have a wide variety of teas and infused waters and lemonades. They offer a large menu of breakfast and lunch foods with a small boutique in the store. 

Dixie Bowl

There’s a great center for bowling and other games at Dixie Bowl. They have pool tables and a grill if you’re looking to eat while you play. 

“I like hanging out at Dixie Bowl because they have good prices and I enjoy the environment,” said Alexander Andersen, a senior communication studies major from Los Angeles, California. 

Bowling is a cheaper option for students and it’s a great environment to spend time with your friends. 

There are plenty of fun places to hang out and meet new people. Any of these hang out spots are great places to study, meet people and hang out with friends. It can be hard getting out into town as a college student, but finding these places are a great way to get away from the stress of being college students. 

Dixie State University’s production of “Everybody” invites audiences to become comfortable with their fear surrounding death.

This production of “Everybody” is a modern adaptation of a 15th century play called “Everyman.” Directed by Matthew Koenig, assistant professor of theatre arts, the play follows the character Everybody who has just been told by Death that his time on Earth is up. Afraid to make the journey alone, Everybody seeks out “his companions” including Kinship, Friendship and Stuff in hopes that one of them will “accompany him to his appointment with Death.” Although all of the characters aren’t actually people, they are more like concepts, Everybody, Death, Kinship, Friendship, Stuff, etc. are all played by individual actors.

Koenig said the theme of the play is the idea that everyone has to come to terms with death and what you’ll leave behind when you go. “Everybody” is unique from traditional plays because most of the actors draw their characters out of a lottery for every show, so they don’t know who they will be playing each night. The lottery style of assigning roles is meant to symbolize the randomness of death.

Kailey Robinson, a freshman integrated studies major from Yucaipa, California, has embodied several characters including Stuff and Strength. Her favorite aspect about playing Stuff is she gets to pull back the layers of Stuff’s character. Strength is a joy for Robinson to play because the character is fun to portray on stage.

“Performing is always enjoyable, but something about this specific character lets me play around and have a great time,” Robinson said.

All of the actors portray the character of Somebody at one point or another throughout the show, including Brookelyne Peterson, a junior theatre major from St. George. Peterson said she was drawn to the play because the characters aren’t really people, but essences of feelings like friendship or love.

“In this show, characters aren’t specific to a certain type. These characters can be played by anyone at any time,” Peterson said.

Koenig said he enjoyed letting the actors explore their characters first without giving them much direction. As a director, Koenig said it can be tempting to control all aspects of a play’s performance, but allowing the actors to struggle and figure things out was the best choice he could make.

“I learned that creativity has to come intuitively,” Koenig said.

Robinson’s favorite memory from this production happened during tech week when the cast and crew were growing tired and “quite frankly a little delusional.” Koenig had been eating an apple while giving notes to the actors when he took the half eaten apple and placed it into his jacket pocket.

“Now we all give him sass for eating apples and poke fun at him enjoying linty apples,” Robinson said.

If you’re interested in seeing “Everybody,” the play runs from Feb. 24-Feb. 26 and March 1-5 and starts at 7:30 p.m. in the Dolores Doré Eccles Fine Arts Center Mainstage Theatre. Students, faculty and staff along with community members can come and see the play for free. To increase accessibility and ensure that anyone can watch the play, there will be American Sign Language interpretations of the production on March 3-4.

Every year, movie lovers everywhere celebrate the Academy Awards, or more commonly known as the Oscars.

Recently the nominations for this year’s Oscars were released. Popular movies like “Dune,” “West Side Story,” “Don’t Look Up” and more popped up in multiple categories. Let’s look at the nominations from a couple of categories.

Best Directing

“Belfast,” directed by Kenneth Branagh, is a story about family. In the film, Branagh showcases a young boy and his family struggling during the turbulent times of the late ’60s in Belfast. Throughout the film, we’re taken on a family’s journey through heartbreak, sadness, joy, gratitude and love.

“Drive My Car,” directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, shows the story of an unlikely relationship in Japan. An aging actor/director is offered to direct a prestigious film in Hiroshima after the death of his wife. Along the way he comes to face with the unknown and a 20-year-old girl who becomes his chauffeur.

“Licorice Pizza,” directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, tells the story of a tumultuous first love in the San Fernando Valley during 1973. During his high school picture day, Gary Valentine, a 15-year-old shoots his shot with 25-year-old Alana Kane and from that point on we are introduced to their crazy love affair.

“The Power of the Dog,” directed by Jane Campion, explores the story of chilling rancher Phil Burbank and the fear and awe he strikes in people’s hearts. After his brother comes home with a new wife and her son, Phil begins to harass and torment them endlessly until love begins to find its way.

“West Side Story,” directed by Steven Spielberg, is the story about a forbidden love that takes place between two rival street gangs from different ethnic backgrounds. During the film, we see the characters’ different viewpoints and how they have to overcome their differences.

Best Picture

“Belfast” was nominated for its second award of best picture.

“Coda,” directed by Sian Heder, shows Ruby, a child of deaf adults, and her life as the only hearing person in her whole deaf family. When faced with a rash decision that could be life changing, Ruby finds herself torn on whether to help her family or pursue her love of music.

“Don’t Look Up,” directed by Adam McKay, tells the story of two astronomers who go on a media tour in order to inform the public of an oncoming “planet-killer” asteroid. This comes due to the president and the rest of the White House having a highly relaxed attitude towards the whole situation.

“Drive My Car” was nominated for its second award of best picture.

“Dune,” directed by Denis Villeneuve, examines the story of Paul Atreides and the downfall of his people on the planet Arrakis. The planet holds Spice which is the most precious substance in the universe. But those who have tried to control its production have trouble maintaining their position.

“King Richard,” directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, takes a look at tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams and their upbringing by their father, Richard Williams. It also examines their relationship they have with him as their coach.

“Licorice Pizza” was nominated for its second award of best picture.

“Nightmare Alley,” directed by Guillermo del Toro, tells the story of an ambitious conman and his hookup with a psychiatrist who appears to be much more dangerous than he is. Throughout the film, we go on Stanton Carlisle’s personal journey to finding out who he truly is.

“The Power of the Dog” was nominated for its second award of best picture.

“West Side Story” was nominated for its second award of best picture.

There were also plenty of actors and actresses who received nominations. Familiar names like Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Andrew Garfield popped up for best actor while Kristen Stewart, Nicole Kidman and Jessica Chastain were recognized for best actress amongst others.

The 94th Academy Awards will take place on March 27 at 6 p.m. on ABC.

Dixie State University’s Women’s Resource Center has never had any full-time staff members until now.

DSU hired Dru Bottoms to be the new director of the WRC, a center designed to help women, non-traditional students and families.

The WRC provides many services for students on campus from mothers’ rooms, to support groups and private scholarship partners.

The WRC can also help with internships. Bottoms said the WRC partners with businesses in the community who want to help students get internships through a mentoring program. The WRC is working to expand their mentoring program for the fall 2022 semester.

The WRC also provides financial aid opportunities for students in need. This opportunity is called the laptop grant, and the money for the grant is privately donated to the WRC. Applications for the laptop grant will open at the end of April. Last year the WRC was able to give out eight laptops, but the amount of laptops given depends on how many donations the WRC receives.

Bottoms said DSU partners with the American Association of University Women, a non-profit organization that gives scholarship money only to DSU students. DSU female students can apply for this scholarship before March 2, 2022. Last year the AAUW gave $40,000 in scholarships to DSU students.

Bottom said the people who choose the scholarships base their acceptance rate on a students ability to complete a program or how much a particular student needs a scholarship.

The WRC also works with Utah Philanthropic Educational Organization. With the help of local women, the organization helps students find scholarships through UPEO. By doing this, UPEO gives scholarship opportunities to students who may have a lower a GPA or may not qualify for other scholarships. The deadline to apply for these scholarships is March 2, 2022.

Bottoms said these two organizations are great because it provides students the necessary resources they need to become successful after graduation.

“That is a huge part of what we do here, [at the WRC] finding the resources to get women through school, to get them partnerships and mentorships,” Bottoms said.

Starting in the fall 2022 semester the WRC will start an on-campus support group. DSU’s Booth Wellness Center also has support groups for anyone to attend.

Bottoms wants DSU students to know that just because they are the women’s resource center doesn’t mean they can’t help families and non-traditional students find the resources they need.