Articles in February 2015

The Jeffrey R. Holland  Centennial Commons and Gardner Center were teeming with knowledge Friday as students from all over Utah congregated for the ninth annual Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research. 

UCUR gives students the opportunity to present their undergraduate research to peers, faculty and field specialists. 

The Gardner Center was ...

Originally developed by two Harvard students, a newer vitamin created to help students mentally is starting to become more popular among the college students.

NeuroFuse is composed of 13 ingredients that claim to increase dopamine levels in the brain, and some of these vitamins claim to even help with memory ...

Before, during and after the season, Dixie State athletics teams put in countless hours of work to prepare for their time in the limelight. 

Throughout the season, student-athletes are often seen throwing down alley-oops or reeling in one-handed catches. Something that isn’t usually seen is the effort and dedication ...

Direct messages on social networks have become the call sign of the creep.

The direct message, or DM, featured on networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, allows users to send messages without having to post them publicly like a regular comment or reply to a post. This means as long ...

A disc jockey battle will be bringing local talent, music lovers and fans to Dixie State University as part of Dixie Fest 2K15.

The Dixie State University Student Association usually brings two artists to DSU as part of the annual Dixie Fest, but this year it will be trying something ...

I sat in a chair in a laundry room in some guy’s house in southern California and got my first tattoo six years ago.

Obviously this is not ideal, nor is it exactly legal as far as health issues are concerned. However, at this time in recent history, most ...

Sorry mom and dad, but soap in my mouth didn’t work; I’m still a cusser, and much of that is because swear words don’t harm anyone.

Spoken too often, dirty words lose their impact, like effective pickup lines on Tinder. Place one — or two, or five — of ...

For years at Dixie State University, there was no place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students to meet with like-minded people until the Gay-Straight Alliance was established on campus.

Beginning as the Pride Club in 2006, the GSA celebrates diversity in individuals, especially concerning gender identity and sexuality ...

The Wild West, times of war and a totalitarian government are what may come to mind when one thinks of execution by firing squad.

It’s a little closer to home, though. The Utah House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would revive the firing squad as an option ...

Dixie Forum speakers are distributors of knowledge and creativity, and last week, an award-winning, 87-year-old sculptor shared her story of the process behind her bronze works of art.

St. George artist L’Deane Trueblood spoke at Dixie State Universi ty on Feb. 24 about how a bronze sculpture is made ...

Reporter Mykell Swapp asked students for their definitions of online infidelity. 

I love to see people disagree. Disagreement starts a discussion, and that is the only way we begin to understand the perspectives of those around us. This is why I am thrilled to see the participation of students and staff on campus with the newspaper. 

I put many hours into ...

Boasting establishments like the Backyard Grill, Rebelano's and Wok... Your Way, the Red Rock Café is the lunch stop of many students at Dixie State University.

The Red Rock's newest addition is Subway, which as an outside franchise, is the first of its kind in the café. 

Student ...

There has been a major misunderstanding as to the point of my letter to the editor two weeks ago. It seems that some people have thought that I was saying the Black Student Union was demeaning DSU's image. I assure you this is not the case. I was referring ...

I am writing this letter, because I mean, what’s with all the drug-themed articles in last week’s paper? I mean, there’s an article about vaping and an article about marijuana in the same opinion section. The very same section!  I almost feel like the Dixie Sun News ...

The Dixie State baseball and softball teams are both boasting impressive winning-streaks after a busy week. 

Baseball 

 After a very slow start to the 2015 season, the DSU baseball team finally found its stride with a win against No. 4 Colorado Mesa University this weekend. 

Head coach Chris Pfatenhauer said ...

The Dixie State University student senate has been passing a record number of bills in the 2014-15 school year in an attempt to increase its influence on campus and reach out to more students.

The senate’s job is to help fund projects, equipment and activities for all of the ...

Approximately 5,700 miles away is Nagoya, Japan, and our student government leaders will be traveling there in March. 

Dixie State University student leaders will be heading to Nagoya. The student leaders at Meijo University want to learn more about setting up a student government on their campus. They are ...

Spring enrollment is up, but Dixie State University officials are on the edge of their seats for fall.

According to the “Spring 2015 Third Week Headcount Enrollment Report” from the Utah System of Higher Education, there is no consistent growth between institutions throughout the state, but total headcount at DSU ...

On a worldwide basis, the power of learning and educating youth is a power indeed – the youth of today will be tomorrow’s rulers.

The importance of education is important everywhere, but in a country like Afghanistan, where females were allowed to go to school again within the last few ...

The Dixie women’s golf team is making a striking start of 2015.

The women’s golf team has nine women on the team. It practices five days a week all over St. George and Washington. It is required to have at least 20 hours of practice as well as ...

The healthy living challenge is done but my commitment to living healthy is far from over.

In the past five weeks, I torched my old habits and dedicated myself to eating right and exercising regularly. 

They say it takes 21 days to break a habit, and even though I looked ...

Saying no to the after-party and getting some sleep have had their perks over the past five weeks.

Reflecting on the healthy student challenge, making my health a priority did have drawbacks, but in the end, new habits have become valuable.  

It was difficult to do a complete overhaul in ...

The first-year college experience is supposed to be one of the best years of a person’s life, but freshmen across the country are saying that isn’t so.

The Higher Education Research Institution released a study titled “The American Freshman” that surveyed roughly 150,000 first-time, full-time students in ...

Dixie State University added numerous recruits to its athletic programs in the recent weeks, highlighted by National Signing Day on Feb. 4. 

Signing day is mainly focused on football prospects from around the country, but student-athletes from other fall sports often sign their letter of intent on the day as ...

All the hours I spent watching the show “Cheaters” taught me that tapping a phone can confirm any suspicion, but nowadays online infidelity is more common and harder to spot than ever. 

According to a Fusion.com poll, 82 percent of 1,000 participants between the ages of 18 to ...

According to a study done at the University of Georgia, college students only get six hours of sleep; they should be getting nine or more.  

The lack of sleep starts a chain reaction for many other problems such as stress and anxiety. With the pressure of all the school work ...

Imagine Dragons is the type of band that makes you switch your Spotify activity settings to “private.”

Las Vegas’ own Imagine Dragons crossed from the alternative charts to top-40 with their 2012 debut, “Night Visions.” However, the group’s Nickelback-esque ability to bring guitar music to the top of the ...

As Jerry Maguire once said, “Help me help you.”

In light of recent events involving a professor who was under investigation, the Dixie Sun News staff faced a lack of support from the student body when trying to report on a student-organized event closely related to the matter.

Students protested ...

The Student Fees Allocation Committee has proposed a 7.5 percent increase in student fees for the 2015-16 school year.

The proposed new fee increase was presented in a Truth in Tuition meeting Feb. 17 alongside an additional tuition increase of 3-5 percent. While the tuition hike is within the ...

The Dixie State University basketball teams put themselves in great position for post-season play last week with three wins from the men and one from the women,

 Men’s Basketball 

 DSU mens’ basketball had a good weekend; so good in fact, it is now sitting atop the Pacific West Conference ...

Women’s tennis took the advantage this weekend on a three-match trip to Arizona.

First, the team aced a four-match stretch against Mesa Community College, winning 9-0.

All three doubles matches went flawless including 8-0 sweep from doubles team senior Stormy Dvorak and sophomore Zenja Draca.

There were also six ...

I was in attendance in an advisory capacity at the recent BSU social mentioned by Rachel Gee in her letter to the editor. I also had my two young children with me. For the time I was in attendance, the music being played was edited. I took special note of ...

As a Black faculty member on this campus, I feel it my responsibility to address the issue of linguistic racism.  When words are used like “scum,” “trashy,” “low-class” and “under-educated” in association with individuals who are not given the same access to power and resources that others are, it perpetuates ...

Connor Fankhauser, DSUSA executive administrative assistant, is more than just a cog in the machine that is student government; he is the grease that keeps it running smoothly.

Fankhauser, a senior communication major from West Jordan, joined DSUSA as a committee member in 2011 after being recruited by his roommate ...

The Dixie State University Athletics Hall of Fame got a little bit bigger this weekend; there were four inductees introduced last week.

Ralph Brinton (football), Barry Sims (football), Brandon Lyon (baseball), and the 2000 women’s soccer team were formally inducted into the DSU athletics Hall of Fame during a ...

For one staff member of the Dixie State University Athletic Department, Title IX’s impact on college campuses provided her a way to expand her educational and academic experiences.

Mo Eckroth, DSU associate athletic director and compliance coordinator, said she received one of the first women’s basketball scholarships given ...

Despite St. George’s predominantly conservative ideals, many students at Dixie State University have expressed their support for marijuana use as a civil liberty.

There may be more acceptance on campus than expected, but there is a minority of students who feel it is a morally corrupt habit.

“I tend ...

Utah could be the first state where people talk more nerdy than dirty.

According to recent study on Estately Blog, Utah came in No. 1 as the state with the most nerds per capita.

The stereotypical definition of a nerd is someone who is overly smart, partially gangly and whose ...

Dixie State University ranked at an average level in the 2014 Great Colleges Survey.

The survey was administered to 278 institutions, and 196 were four-year institutions. The survey was given at the beginning of 2014, it's used to see how different colleges rank nationally. It helps institutions know what ...

Growing up can be such a difficult thing when having to move out and decide what you want to do.

Dixie State University has an aptitude test that could possibly get you looking in the right direction. I think it is a good idea to take the test to help ...

Say goodbye to ashtrays, cigarette butts and lighters, and say hello to USB battery chargers and clouds of smoke that smell like fruit because the future of smoking has arrived.

Or rather, it arrived sometime in the mid-2000s and has steadily increased in popularity since then. I’m talking about ...

The Chinese New Year is coming to Dixie State University Wednesday, complete with live dancers, music, activities and traditional food.  

The festivities will be held on the campus Diagonal 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Live performances will feature classical Chinese music, a costumed lion dance and a fan ...

TEDx Talks — worldwide educational seminars — could be coming to Dixie State University in the near future thanks to the efforts of a certain DSU administrator.

Bill Christensen, executive vice president of academic services, is a big fan of TEDx Talks and said he hopes to help bring a TEDx event ...

Women’s softball fired up in Tucson, Arizona, by starting its season winning four of six games at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.

The Storm headed to Tucson Friday to play Midwestern State University winning 9-1 and Colorado State University winning 11-1.

Sheila Gelter, a senior elementary education major from St ...

Dixie State University led off the season slowly this weekend with four losses in a series against California State Polytechnic University, Pomona at Bruce Hurst Field.

The season started off on the right foot, as senior center fielder Donald Glover scored on an Austin Nelson hit to right field, and ...

Both Dixie State University basketball teams came away victorious on a thrilling Saturday night in Burns Arena.

Men’s Basketball

Dixie State men’s basketball leaned on the hot shooting of senior guard DeQuan Thompson to grab its fourth consecutive victory on Saturday against Notre Dame de Namur University.

Thompson ...

Multimedia editor Cody Eckman spoke to members of DSU's new Video Game Club.

In the incandescent glow of second-hand floor and table lamps strewn across the Gardner Center, students congregated to see performances by local musicians and help raise money for a non-profit corporation.

This is Lamp Fest: an assortment of lighting and good music for a good cause.

Ashley Graf, a senior ...

With an increase in students, there is a demand for new buildings on campus to keep up with student growth.

The first addition to Dixie State University will be an office addition near the north side of the Burns Arena. This project is already out to bid, which means construction ...

As I walked through the room full of the students having a Black Student Union celebration, I was shocked to hear a song being blasted from the speakers that rapped the F-word 15 times within the 20 second time span that I passed through the room. A room, I might ...

Apps can be used to enrich the college experience, and I’m not talking about Candy Crush.

Sure, applications on your mobile device like Pandora or Trivia Crack can be great stress-relievers, but there are many other free apps available to help students with their professional lives. 

Professors should also ...

Students question the study abroad program’s ability to ascend cultural value and offer academic significance.

Nicole Weisbrich, a senior communication major from Inyokern, California, said her experience studying at a college in Bremen, Germany, did not directly help her in her major. However, she learned better ways to be ...

It has recently come to my attention that some of the general public doesn’t think girls should play aggressive contact sports.

I've previously written about how I didn't know I was strong until I was told I could be. On another side of that, I didn’t ...

According to city-data.com, St. George really is largely white, Mormon, and, if not conservative, at least votes Republican.

Students who do not align with these demographics often feel unwelcome by the St. George community. This was expressed many times by students interviewed while writing this article. I unfortunately can ...

The Dixie State University Physical Sciences Department has teamed up with the Outdoor Recreation and Adventure Center to offer experiential learning courses at Zion National Park for the first time this summer.

The “stay, do and learn” courses will be held at the Tanner Amphitheater near the entrance of Zion ...

The healthy living challenge is underway, and while I am missing my fast food and sweets, deliberately living healthily has dramatically improved the quality of my life in ways I couldn't have imagined. 

My daily routine since I started this challenge starts with me waking up at 6:30 ...

Sitting in the far back corner of the restaurant, I hunched in shame around my hamburger and fries, praying that no one I knew would see me.

I cheated. I had a weak moment and cheated on my healthy student challenge with fast food. I was into my third week ...

There are two types of people in this world: those who love Valentine’s Day and those who hate Valentine’s Day.

The people who like Valentine’s Day are usually the ones who have dates, but that shouldn’t be true. You should like Valentine’s Day even if ...

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’s strategic plan Feb. 3 ...

Reporter Mykell Swapp spoke to DSU students about their most awkward Valentine's Day experiences.

With Valentine's Day approaching, many college couples are tempted to show their affection through exorbitant gifts, but nothing says "I love/like/tolerate you" more than a personally designed mug from a do-it-yourself Pinterest project.  

Or for singles, these mugs could attract the eye of a potential beau or ...

Frosted tips and eight-track tapes might just make a comeback if Lupe Fiasco can.

Considered a poster boy for conscious hip-hop after the 2006 debut “Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor,” Fiasco’s place as a top-flight rapper plummeted after three subpar releases. However, “Tetsuo & Youth,” his fifth LP, features the ...

The Dixie State Wrestling Club continued its winning ways this weekend when it hosted the Southern Utah Brawl at the DSU Student Activity Center.

Although the DSU wrestling team is still considered a club, it competes in the NAWA classification, which is the only lower division that is collegiately sanctioned ...

Dixie State University basketball went on a four-game road trip last week.

The men’s team was trying to build on a four-game win streak while the women would try to end a six-game skid.

Men’s basketball  

The DSU men headed west to California, hoping to keep the Storm ...

The new women’s basketball coach has been named and is hoping to bring positive change this season by focusing on growing the team and strengthening team chemistry.

Jenny Thigpin, who started coaching the team as an interim coach at the beginning of the season, has now been officially made ...

The Pagan Ideology Club meets every Sunday afternoon, and no, its members don’t perform blood sacrifices or cast down evil when they gather.

The goal of the club is to open up awareness of different spiritual paths and increase basic knowledge of Paganism on Dixie State University’s campus ...

The Dixie State University theater program has graced the main stage of the Eccles Fine Arts Center with a great American classic that will stir your soul and leave you remembering every second of it.

“A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams is now in production and running until its ...