Proposed red hawk soars to top in vote for a Dixie mascot

ST. GEORGE — Six years after dumping Rodney Rebel as its official mascot, Dixie State College is finally on the verge of embracing someone — or something — new.

College officials announced on Thursday that the public process of voting for a new mascot is over.

"We think we have a pretty good idea of what people want," said Chris Taylor, DSC's public relations director. "We tried to involve as many people as possible in this."

Nearly 1,300 people either logged on to DSC's mascot Web site or cast their votes in person. Of the six mascot finalists, the red hawk mascot concept emerged as the top vote getter with each of the college's constituencies, including students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members.

Artist renderings of the six mascot choices were posted online to help voters get an idea of what each mascot might look like.

"Most significant is that each group rated the red hawk No. 1 — students did so at greater than a two-to-one ratio," said DSC vice president of student services Phil Alletto, who has chaired the mascot selection process. "There will be some who will be disappointed with the final outcome, but we listened to everyone, and we feel like the process is working. A pretty clear trend has developed up to this point."

Rodney Rebel's longtime stint as the college mascot ended in 1999 after a lengthy public debate over the negative aspects of using the image of a Confederate soldier. Some people complained that Rodney Rebel's gray uniform linked the college to slavery. Others said Rodney Rebel was simply a reminder that southern Utah was named "Dixie" by its Mormon pioneers who struggled to grow cotton in the desert. Eventually, Rodney Rebel was relegated to a storage shed and alumni memories.

"We had a lot of fun with Rodney Rebel, but he wasn't an option anymore," said Jerris Heaton, a 24-year-old junior and member of the student body government. "The great majority of students know that a new mascot doesn't affect the fact that we're still the Dixie Rebels."

Although Dexter Irvin, DSC's athletic director, said he didn't vote for the red hawk, he's more than happy to get the new mascot suited up and ready for duty on the athletic field.

"We're to the point where we just need an athletic symbol of some sort," said Irvin, who has tried for years to jump-start the process of selecting a new mascot. "It's important that everybody know that we are still the Rebels. We want to stay the Rebels, whatever mascot they give us."