'Dixie' no more: Utah Legislature votes to change Dixie State University's name to Utah Tech

[TexasTowelie]

Dixie State University is headed toward a name change, set to become Utah Tech next year after state lawmakers — some saying they were doing so reluctantly — finally passed legislation on Wednesday agreeing to the change.

There was some suspense ahead of a vote of the Utah Senate, the chamber that halted a proposal to change the name last year, but senators approved the measure 17-12, essentially ending what had been a two-year battle over the "Dixie" name and whether its past connections to the Confederacy and the Old South were holding the institution back.

Earlier in the day, the House of Representatives had approved the change by a vote of 56-14, with most members agreeing to House Bill 2001 after Rep. V. Lowry Snow, R-St. George, proposed an amendment was offered to make sure the school's main St. George campus would be called the Dixie Campus.

“How many students are you willing to sacrifice on the altar of the name Dixie?” asked Rep. Brad Last, R-Hurricane and an administrator at DSU, pleading with his fellow lawmakers to agree to the change.

Read more: https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2021/11/11/dixie-state-become-utah-tech-after-utah-legislature-gives-approval/6355780001/
(St. George The Spectrum)

[Demovictory9]

1. I would never have applied to a university with "dixie" in its name

[lapfog_1]

2. could always rename it to "Hitler U"

or "Stalin Institute of Technology"

it's just a name...

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Coverup

when your side gig is something else

[catbyte]

4. Wow, I didn't know that Utah was in the Confederacy until now.

You learn something new every day, lol.

BTW, I'm sure they had "agricultural aspirations" when the name was chosen back in 1911.

[mainer]

5. For out of staters, Dixie is a jarring name

I was just in St George (beautiful place, gateway to stunning national parks) and that name “Dixie” on the hillside gave off vibes of the Confederacy and racism. It tarred the reputation of a very good college. This will be good for the school.

[ShazzieB]

6. I was wondering why the school got that name in the first place.

So I googled. Turns out it's named for the region in the state of Utah where it's located: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_(Utah)

Why the region is called that is another whole story, and you can read about it at the above link if you're curious.

In any case, it's definitely a terrible name, and I'm glad the Utah state legislation has voted to change it. There are still plenty of things named Dixie in the southern states, but anywhere else it sounds odd and out of place, at the very least.