The year was 1969; the first man landed on the moon and “Abbey Road” by The Beatles dominated pop culture. But in small town St. George, Ferron C. Losee was president of the then Dixie Jr. College and because of his subsequent actions, The Augean Stable was born.
Published by Sigma Delta Delta, Augean Stables—also known as The Bull—passionately voiced student concerns and campus issues. The Greek myth of the Augean Stables is often described as an unpleasant or corrupted task that has long needed attention.
The seven-person organization, operating under Greek mythology-inspired aliases—Procrustes, Madosa, Aphrodite, Minerva, Psyche, Bacchus and Mercury—became a symbol of rebellion and student activism. But how did this defiant publication come to be? It all started with faculty injustice that escalated into a federal court case.
This information was presented at the Heritage Cove Lecture Series put together by Trevor Cox, visiting assistant librarian for heritage, culture and regional history at Utah Tech University. This lecture series on Feb. 18 featured guest speaker Loren R. Webb, who wrote “Anatomy of a crisis and the birth of the Augean Stable at Dixie College,” which can be found at the Utah Tech library.
Webb spent his time interviewing, collecting and piecing together information about The Stable. He presented his information at the Heritage Cove series, which focuses on the history of St. George and is free to the public.
Faculty controversy
Melvin T. Smith, an associate professor of history, and Carl Jensen, a chemistry professor, were denied a contract renewal in 1969 when they were both more than eligible. School officials said their reason for not rehiring Smith was “misconduct of serious nature,” as said in The Augean Stable, Vol. 3 No. 3, which can be found at Special Collections in the Utah Tech library. This led to Smith going to court with Losee over this issue.
In 1968, Smith’s department head recommended that Smith be granted a tenor citing. “His outstanding teaching performance and dedication to professionalism, and excellent dedication to the college and service to the community,” Webb said.
This was part of the birth of The Augean Stable. Vol. 1 No. 8 of The Bull said, “Pres. Losee is an outright liar, and now everyone knows it for sure.”
The court case ruling said statements about Smith from Losee and Andrew H. Barnum, who was then academic affairs dean, were “willful and malicious,” according The Stable Vol. 3 No. 3. Losee and Barnum were ordered to pay $2,500 each in addition to the $44,000 levied against all 12 defendants involved in the case.
The Augean Stable, designed to be directed toward faculty, was slowly making a shift toward who they were directly talking to. Miscommunication from faculty to students raised major concerns on campus as said in Vol. 3 No. 3.
Student Union controversy
In an interview with Webb, Allan Laidlaw, who was dean of students and later taught psychology at Dixie College, said, “Another reason for the paper’s birth of student discontent is over the planned construction of the Student Union building on campus.”
Losee wanted this union building to be his “private restaurant” or “penthouse,” The Augean Stable said. Webb said the student body was not informed of how the building would be utilized once built. Reports said Losee loved power and loved to manipulate. The Stable wouldn’t have come to fruition unless someone or something made the student body so visibly upset.
In Vol. 1 No. 1, writer Procrustes said, “Unless we do this, the same thing will happen year after year, until some frustrated student blows this campus off the map.”
“These two events became the most important reasons for the advent of the new underground newspaper,” Webb said speaking about faculty controversy and the union building.
The voices of the Augean Stable
This paper had columns, art, cartoons, editor feedback and editorials allowing students to freely speak about the issues arising at Dixie College. Poems, alterations of popular songs, like Don’t Sleep on the Subway by Petula Clark, and crossword puzzles often added fun commentary and sarcasm to the school.
One section called the “weekly spy report,” spied on faculty and told the readers what was truly happening. In the weekly spy report of Vol. 1 No. 4 published on Feb. 1, 1971, it said: “Faculty Evaluation: No evidence was found that there is a uniform system of evaluation of faculty members. The lack of a uniform system or any understanding of criteria for evaluation is detrimental to staff morale. Decision making: There was no procedure in evidence for involving faculty members in decision making.”
Over time, student journalists risked disciplinary action to continue their work, leveraging their words as a catalyst for change.
These 15 issues spanning from 1969-1975, obtained by Webb and donated to the Utah Tech Special Collections and Archives, tell the story of what these mysterious journalists were feeling on campus.
As the years went on, students feared security and faculty while trying to publish the papers, but they persisted through the years. With each new semester, came new bold statements against Dixie, demanding a reason for change.
The Stable ended in 1975 and has not made a return to campus.
Discontent with Dixie Sun
It wasn’t just the presidency that was under fire. The Dixie Sun, known today as Sun News Daily, was under scrutiny for being too biased to the presidency and faculty of the school. A student sent in this comment to The Stable in 1971 saying, “The Stable is quite refreshing after reading the often-nauseous Dixie Sun for months.”
“Students at Dixie became dissatisfied with the Dixie Sun, the college student newspaper because of a belief that it was under administrative control and because of the paper’s apparent inability to address issues important to the students,” Webb said in the lecture series.
The Dixie Sun was heavily influenced by advertising and upheld its image to please the advertisers paying for the paper.
This brought The Stable to go against what Dixie Sun was telling the student body. The authors and readers of The Stable often criticized Dixie Sun, calling out biased stories geared toward the administration of the school.
Legacy of rebellion
While the majority of the authors remain unknown, it was said in Vol. 4 No. 1 that the staff overtime consisted of:
- Two student body presidents
- Four administrators
- One Dixie Sun editor
- Three local businessmen
- Three yearbook staff members
- Nine journalism majors
- Two printers
- Five student executive communication members
- Eight Vietnam veterans
- One D-Queen
The P.O. box for The Stable also changed numerous locations due to fear of being caught. The address started in Washington city and moved to Bountiful, Ogden and Las Vegas, all being sent to Sigma Delta Delta.
Through satire, investigative journalism and fearless critique, The Augean Stable carved out a legacy of student resistance, proving that even in a small college town, voices raised in unison could spark conversation.
