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Dixie State University's Student News Source

October 22nd, 2015, 72°F

January (/news/articles/2015/01/) 17th (/news/articles/2015/01/17/), 2015 (/news/articles/2015/)

Board Dixie seeks club status as itgrows more popularby David Gardner (/news/articles/by/David.Gardner/)

On a quiet street the headlights of cars appear as members of Board Dixie converge on a small parking lot inWashington.

Despite the low temperatures, nearly 30 people have arrived to ride longboards together. This is BoardDixie, a club that meets most Thursdays at 9 p.m. Each week a meet up location is announced via Instagramand Facebook. People hang out while cars continue to arrive long after the official meet­up time. Usually afew vehicles are driven to an end point so no one has to walk back at the end of a ride.

Lyndsey Daniels, a junior nursing major from Sandy, helped start the group with her friend Rosalee Hafen,a sophomore psychology major from St. George.

2:11

“My vision for Board Dixie was to make friends, learn something new, and to have a change of scene fromschool and work,” Daniels said.

Anyone is welcome to attend. Former DSU student Levi Hughes joined the group when he saw them in aHarmon’s parking lot. He feels like it gives people something to do on Thursday nights.

To be a member, actually riding a longboard is optional, and according to the group’s Facebook page,lessons are taught. Some attendees chose to ride scooters, and Daniels said some members even walk theroute.

Because of its size, Board Dixie attracts attention. The group has been stopped by the police during ridesbefore, but so far they have had positive interactions. Zach Stoddard, Dixie State University Police Academyalumni and local business owner, said skateboarding is definitely not a crime. Hafen agreed with Stoddard’ssentiment.

“We’re not doing anything wrong,” Hafen said. “[Police] just say be safe [and] wear reflectors.”

Thursday’s 2­mile ride through the streets ended in another small parking lot. Some boarders practicedsliding, forcing their wheels to break free and drift sideways along the asphalt. At one point, a game ofsharks and minnows happened.

It was the first group ride for Ryan Jones, a junior business administration major from Enterprise, who feltan instant connection with the group.

“It’s pretty cool,” Jones said. “I had a great first experience ... there were good vibes coming off [the group]because you have a good connection.”

Though currently a group not affiliated with DSU, Board Dixie is seeking club status and hopes to beofficially recognized in the next several weeks.

“We’re anticipating to be more involved on campus with Homecoming Week, Club Rush and the parade,”Daniels said. “Also the funding would be very beneficial so we could do excursions as a club. Honestly thepeople that come deserve it, to be official and part of the real deal.”

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Dixie State University's Student News Source

October 22nd, 2015, 72°F

February (/news/articles/2015/02/) 5th (/news/articles/2015/02/05/), 2015 (/news/articles/2015/)

St. George majority makes somestudents feel unwelcomeby David Gardner (/news/articles/by/David.Gardner/)

Graphic by J.C. Collier

According to city­data.com, St. George really is largely white, Mormon, and, if not conservative, at least votesRepublican.

Students who do not align with these demographics often feel unwelcome by the St. George community. This wasexpressed many times by students interviewed while writing this article. I unfortunately can’t do justice to the all theseconversations in a 500­word article, but it is a real problem.

For example, Nicolette Parrish, a senior integrated studies major from Kayenta, Arizona, struggled with finding a job.

“I looked and looked but couldn’t find anything,” Parrish said. “Until finally I started saying, ‘I have a grandma that liveshere. She’s married to this person.’ That’s when I started getting job offers and interviews.”

Brett Stanfield, a senior English major from Columbus, Nebraska, said he notices a contradiction in the communitymorals.

“You have the high, moral, ‘christian’ values, if you will,” Stanfield said. “So much to the point that in my fiction writingclass we’re totally censored in what we can say [...] no foul language, no pornographic material, nothing related to drugsor violence or crime or anything like that. But then I was looking at the Mr. Dixie poster and you have these reallysexualized exaggerations of masculinity where all these guys are shirtless like they’re from ‘Magic Mike’ or something.”

Some students told me about being stopped often by the police. Others shared examples of cultural insensitivity andcliquishness. Some feel uncomfortable anytime they are away from others who share their beliefs.

So people definitely feel excluded. Whose fault is it? It’s easy to assign the blame to the majority population, but I thinkblame belongs to everyone and the solutions are everyone’s responsibility.

I always cringe when Mormons use Mormon jargon like everyone knows what they are talking about, but we shouldn’thate on that person anymore than the sports lover who uses sports jargon like everyone loves football.

(https://vw­dixiesunnews.storage.googleapis.com/cache/65/4c/654cf87511be484599e2b941beae23fe.jpg)

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We all stereotype, assume and overgeneralize. We all speak thoughtlessly and exclude others.

Gabby Williams, a senior music major from Las Vegas, had a few ideas to improve the St. George culture.

“Just really, really think before you say something, be more sensitive, realize that there is that one minority in class andjust watch your stereotypes,” Williams said. “Rather than look at us as ‘diverse’, we’re all human, just come hang out withsome cool humans. And while you’re at it we’ll tell where we are from and what we know and our culture. We’re prettymuch all the same, just different cultures.”

I support Williams’ ideas. We’re all just humans. So let’s all just watch our stereotypes, and realize people are differentfrom us, and that’s OK.

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Dixie State University's Student News Source

October 22nd, 2015, 72°F

January (/news/articles/2015/01/) 23rd (/news/articles/2015/01/23/), 2015 (/news/articles/2015/)

Legacy filmmaker speaks at DixieForumby David Gardner (/news/articles/by/David.Gardner/)

Sandra Schulberg giving tips to a Communications class Thursday, Jan. 22, on how to create an alternate filmeconomy. Schulberg is a producer and Holocaust scholar that visited the university to hold

Independent filmmaker Sandra Schulberg held the Utah premiere of “Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today,” a film her fatherhelped produce and she helped restore, at Dixie State University last week.

Schulberg, who spoke at last week’s Dixie Forum, stated her hope for those who view the film was greater politicalawareness and involvement, especially to encourage the United States to join the International Criminal Court, whichprosecutes individuals for crimes against humanity, and ultimately for world peace.

“[I hope to] find a way to end all armed conflicts,” Schulberg said. “I’d like to think we could all agree on that.”

“Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today” was produced soon after World War II by Schulberg’s father Stuart. The film showsthe trials of those involved with atrocities during the war, especially the genocide of millions of Jews in Europe. Althoughcreated to help people understand the importance and the process of holding war criminals accountable to the rule of law,the film was never shown in the United States because some felt it would weaken their alliance with Western Germany.

Over 65 years later, a team of film professionals including Schulberg have restored the film to its original quality.According to the film’s website, nurembergfilm.org, “Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today” is being screened across theworld and is also available at DSU’s library.

Associate English professor Stephen Armstrong helped make Schulberg’s visit possible. Armstrong had been studyingdepictions of the Holocaust in film for several years when he learned of the Schulberg film.

“[I] thought that bringing her out here to screen her documentary would fit into one of DSU objectives, which is tosponsor independent documentary production,” Armstrong said.

In addition to filmography, Armstrong said that Schulberg’s message was an important one.

“Having underrepresented stories of injustice, violence, but also justice and social progress ... told at a regional small

(https://vw­dixiesunnews.storage.googleapis.com/cache/27/80/2780b7750e03f554f63e31a9eb54399d.jpg)

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“Having underrepresented stories of injustice, violence, but also justice and social progress ... told at a regional smalluniversity are incredibly important,” Armstrong said. “It’s the fulfillment of the university’s objectives in the highestsense.”

Armstrong said students specifically benefit from visitors like Schulberg.

“When [students] hear the stories of the Holocaust, their exposure to them broadens understanding and increasesempathy,” he said.

Schulberg encouraged students to learn about the field of international law, which owes much of its foundation to theNuremberg trials.

“This is a field where you really get to really act on your ideals, and there are very few jobs in the world where you cancombine paid employment with idealism,” Schulberg said.

Schulberg said the field could be approached from many backgrounds, such as sociology or economics.

“It’s not inaccessible,” said Schulberg. “They want intelligent, passionate young people to come into the field. You’reneeded [and] you can make a difference.”

Keiran Presland, a junior English major from Brighton, England, noticed Schulberg’s passion.

“She made it clear that we have a long way to go in terms of peace and that it is up to our generation to continue thework,” Presland said.

Missy Jessop, a senior English major from Salt Lake City, said watching “Nuremberg” brought a lot of emotions.

“After watching ‘Nuremberg’ I couldn’t help but feel sad and a little hopeless,” Jessop said. “It’s awful that we live in aworld where people deliberately hurt each other. It has made me feel like it’s important for me to seek out the good inhumanity.”

For more info: www.nurembergfilm.org (http://www.nurembergfilm.org/)Facebook page: Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nuremberg­Its­Lesson­for­Today/135171179867866)

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Dixie State University's Student News Source

October 22nd, 2015, 72°F

February (/news/articles/2015/02/) 5th (/news/articles/2015/02/05/), 2015 (/news/articles/2015/)

Strategic planning discussed at openforum, more input neededby David Gardner (/news/articles/by/David.Gardner/)

Graphic by Preston Hunt.

Dixie State University is in the middle of charting a course for the next five years, and it’s not too late to take part.

Faculty, students and community members were invited to an open forum to see and discuss the current draft of DSU’sstrategic plan (http://www.dixie.edu/strategicplanning/) Feb. 3. Attendees heard presentations of the missionstatements and core values. At each table, attendees discussed and shared their thoughts on the plan to the entire group.Notes from each table were collected at the end of the meeting.

DSU is currently in the middle of an eight­step process (http://www.dixiesunnews.com/articles/2014/12/09/strategic­plan/) to create a strategic plan for its next five years.

Sandy Wilson, a health sciences professor and a member of the strategic planning committee, said the committee usedprevious input to form a draft.

“The earlier [meetings] were brainstorming,” Wilson said. “All of that information was collected ... and then we took thatinformation, picked out the things that seemed to come up the most, and then came up with a draft, which was presentedtoday.”

Wilson said the meeting went well.

“Probably because everyone didn’t agree, we had new ideas that were brought forward,” Wilson said. “I think it’simportant that people’s voices are heard. When you’re asked your opinion and listened to it makes for a bettercommunity.”

Christina Duncan, a sociology professor and member of the strategic planning committee, said the purpose of thecommittee is to represent others.

“We don’t want to do anything that is beyond our scope, which is just being advocates and representatives of the largerpopulation,” Duncan said. “Without everybody’s input we can’t do the job that we really need to do.”

(https://vw­dixiesunnews.storage.googleapis.com/cache/18/b0/18b0d2a1cdb698c2029ff41ce96be096.jpg)

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Not all attendees felt like their input was heard, such as Lyndsey Craig, a sophomore psychology major from Lexington,Kentucky.

“I felt like the meeting was one­sided,” Craig said. “I felt like generally the people who stood up and represented thegroups all had basically the same thing to say. I’m not sure what they are going to do with the information gathered, butto me it seemed almost pointless to have us do that.”

Craig said she was disappointed with the lack of announcements for the meetings.

“They didn’t tell anyone,” Craig said. “It’s kind of upsetting to me when we have posters of half­naked men or CasinoNight, but nothing about this. Nobody knows about strategic planning.”

Craig said DSU should help students participate in more research, as well as attend conferences. She also called for betterand higher­paid professors and that the school change its name from Dixie because of it’s negative connotations.

“I think, as a university, our No. 1 goal should be to have more academics,” Craig said.

At the meeting on Feb. 3, attendees were asked to volunteer for smaller committees that are being formed to furtherdevelop parts of the strategic plan. Duncan said this invitation is open to students.

“Now that we have these different little ‘task forces’ we would love to have student input,” Duncan said.

Duncan made several recommendations to those who would like to be involved in the strategic planning process.

“I hope people will come to the forums that are coming up in March,” Duncan said. “I hope if you absolutely can’t come tothe forums that you are taking advantage of the website. Go on and give comments and suggestions about the planningprocess. We do read every single comment in committee and go over each comment and add those to our notes.”

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Dixie State University's Student News Source

October 22nd, 2015, 72°F

January (/news/articles/2015/01/) 29th (/news/articles/2015/01/29/), 2015 (/news/articles/2015/)

TED talks spark discussion on campusby David Gardner (/news/articles/by/David.Gardner/)

Garden

Robots, albeit controlled by their watchful surgeon masters, will soon take over the world of surgery.

Not quite, but they will play a bigger part of surgeries in the future. I took the opportunity to visit the English department’sCollaborative Lounge where each Thursday the English Honors Society, Sigma Tau Delta, holds a regular viewing anddiscussion of a TED talk.

Though I wasn’t totally excited about this week’s topic, I think viewing and discussing TED talks is an effective way tobroaden knowledge and expose yourself to new ideas.

If you haven’t heard about TED talks, look one up. It’s kind of hard to define a TED talk; I got caught in a frustrating loop ofpages on TED’s website, which led me to write “TED is TED” in my notebook. TED talks are short (the website says 18minutes long) presentations by a speaker with an “idea worth spreading” at conventions sponsored by TED. Speakers rangefrom CEOs and former presidents to new researchers. The main criteria seems to be speaking about new ideas that sparkquestions.

Here at Dixie State University, this week’s TED discussion topic, “Surgery’s Past, Present, and Robotic Future” by CatherineMohr, was not something I would’ve chosen to watch. That was fine because I’ve taken enough classes by now to be able tolisten to 18 minutes of something I’m not really interested in. This is one of TED's merits. I can listen to it and think about it,and after 18 minutes I have some new information that might change my viewpoint, or I might never think about it again.

The students at the meeting had a lively discussion about people’s perceptions of surgeons and the human element ofsurgery. The future potential of having a robot perform an entire surgery, or even a doctor across the world remotelyoperating the surgical tools, was discussed. It was a little silly to hear people not involved with the medical science industry atall talking about how it might change in the future, but isn’t that how we learn?

(https://vw­dixiesunnews.storage.googleapis.com/cache/9f/a8/9fa86e798543ddedce743e2d3863ccf7.jpg)

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Listening to a TED talk is as good as any instruction you can receive in 18 minutes. Fundamentally, it’s the same as listeningto a lecture in class.

Though speakers share grand ideas, I rarely notice a call to action. The biggest difference will probably be viewing an aspectof my life in a different light. TED talks are unlikely to change the world or even DSU's campus. I do think an individual wholistens to a TED Talk could change for the better, but, like any class, teacher, book, movie or song, different content andpresentation speaks to different people at different times. Personally the TED Talks that are motivational in nature motivateme the most. Surprise!

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Dixie State University's Student News Source

October 22nd, 2015, 72°F

January (/news/articles/2015/01/) 23rd (/news/articles/2015/01/23/), 2015 (/news/articles/2015/)

Utah students graduate unprepared,study saysby David Gardner (/news/articles/by/David.Gardner/)

Graphic by J.C. Collier

Many college students in Utah lack the verbal and written communication skills employers want, according to a recent survey.

Concerns about the coming crop of professionals arose in a recent convention of Utah educators and businesses. In a recent survey byDan Jones & Associates, 90 percent of employers felt recent graduates lack adequate oral and written communication skills, as reportedby the Deseret News (http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865617538/Utah­students­grossly­unprepared­for­workforce­study­says.html?pg=all).

Some of Dixie State University's students, such as Damian Miera, a sophomore general education major from Kearns, are confident intheir capabilities. Miera credits participating in student government and performance groups such as Raging Red for part of hiscommunication confidence.

“I think [the article is] an over­generalization, but I can see where the companies are coming from, " Miera said.

Robert Long, a junior elementary education major from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, said he sees both sides. Prior to attending DSU, Long spentthree years teaching special education in Hawaii.

“Honestly, after my two years here, I’ll probably be about ready,” Long said. “I’ve found my college classes haven’t totally prepared me,so I’ve had to do some on­the­job training.”

Jeremey Forsberg is an adjunct instructor of digital design and art director at TCS Advertising & Public Relations. Forsberg sees poorcommunication skills from new graduates during interviews at his workplace as well as students presenting projects verbally to theirclassmates or in writing.

“I think people need to be more aware of how they communicate,” Forsberg said. “If you're typing something that you’d type to yourfriend through a text message, that's not the same as when you apply for a job.”

Forsberg said he feels the convenience of technology sometimes leads to causal behavior.

(https://vw­dixiesunnews.storage.googleapis.com/cache/2f/88/2f886fc06c65bf7b9c153fd84bdd04df.jpg)

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“You have to make sure you’re speaking appropriately,” Forsberg said. “[If you] send some kind of introductory letter to a prospectiveemployer and they’re like, ‘Whoa … should I text back or just update their Facebook status?’ [Or] the way you’re spelling and the wayyou’re speaking is the equivalent of a fifth grader, that's not going to transition well to the job market.”

Forsberg advised students who want school to help prepare to look at the required English or communication classes as an opportunityto improve themselves rather than a burden.

“I think a lot of it is attitude and how we look at our classes,” Forsberg said. “They might not be the [most fun] classes ever, but if itsgoing to help us be better prepared or better for going out into the workforce, do it.”

Jocelynne Hayward, a senior medical laboratory science major from Castle Dale, said she knows staying in student housing hasimproved her communication.

“I’ve had to be able to communicate with my roommates and suitemates,” Hayward said.

Joy Cooney, English adviser for literary studies and technical and professional writing, said she feels if employers better understoodand valued the humanities, students would have the skills employers seek.

“The humanities — particularly literary studies — teach all of the in­demand skills listed in Jacobsen's Deseret News article(http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865617538/Utah­students­grossly­unprepared­for­workforce­study­says.html?pg=all): oraland written skills, critical thinking, analytical reasoning, social sensitivity and cultural awareness,” Cooney said.

Cooney draws fault away from students or teachers and toward culture.

“The problem is that we receive strong messages daily that the professional emphasis is on specialized skill and vocational or technicalskill, which are necessary, of course,” Cooney said. “But so too is the ability to complement these skills with good communication andcritical thinking.”

Steve Bringhurst, executive director of the career center, said DSU students are well prepared for the workplace in many ways butoverlook gaining experiences, especially internships.

“[If] you’re going to college to get a job, [...] the internship piece is pretty important,” Bringhurst said.

Bringhurst stressed that students seek help in their preparations.

“The experience piece is really big," Bringhurst said. “We can help you do that, your professors can help you do that. [...] we're alwaystrying to engage students to get connected to us so we can connect them to employers.”

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