Removal of “Rebels” Statue at Dixie State University, St. George, Utah
Not all schools that have removed Confederate monuments have done so as a response to the violent riots in Charlottesville in August 2017. The emergence and removal of these monuments have been controversial for decades, and many schools have taken action long before the controversy heightened. Dixie State University in St. George, Utah, is an example of such.
January 2015 marks the time that Dixie State University chose to no longer be home to what was known as “The Rebels” statue, which depicts two Confederate soldiers helping each other, one with the Confederate flag in his hand. The University publicly acknowledged the controversy surrounding this statue for years in 2012 when it placed the statue in storage after it had become a hot spot for anti-racism rallies. Months later, however, it made its way back out, after Dixie State College successfully changed its name to Dixie State University. (source)
The artist, Jerry Anderson, was given the statue back after it had stood on campus since 1987. The university agreed to display different art by Anderson. Then-President Richard Williams stated, "We are very appreciative of Mr. Anderson's generous artistic contributions, not only to Dixie State University, but to the entire region." (source)
A university spokesperson, Steven Johnson, said that the removal of the statue meant that the school can “officially put the Confederate identity behind us… Now the university can move forward.” (source)
Student responses to the removal of this statue varied greatly. One student reported that she was glad to see the statue removed, and that “…it's the good direction that Dixie needs to go in… It just offended a lot of people." Students in agreement with such statements reported feelings of things changing on campus for the better. Others in the Dixie community, however, were less than pleased with this change. Reasoning behind support for the statue is rooted in the notion that the statue did not represent the Confederacy specifically, rather it symbolized brotherhood and helping the less fortunate. (source)
The following video from the Spectrum shows the removal of the statue in January 2015, and initial student responses.
While not many pieces are found in Dixie State University’s newspaper, Dixie Sun News, pertaining to the initial removal of the statue, there is an article written by student Spencer Ricks about how this removal of the statue is not enough in the university’s move towards progression. Ricks calls for a name change in order for the university to fully “reach potential.” He states that the unofficial nickname of the Confederacy, “Dixie,” should be just that – unofficial. The controversy behind the name being tied to the Confederacy had been ongoing among the student body for years and is something that Ricks notes by referencing the student body president of 2013 who called for the removal of the name “Dixie” after researching what it really meant. Ricks concludes his argument, “It’s time for our university to let go, evolve, and pick a new name that is reflective of its aspirations for growth and its values of inclusiveness and open-mindedness.”
