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Show of a to s con he houk ire dr H t i 1 1 s VOLUME XL, NO. 27 r i: i ir HtiU- H i ' - t WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2011 -- ; i U.' ST. GEORGE, UTAH Mormon president to speak Students debate at historic commencement merit of religious leader by mark green Editor-in-Chi- inter Dixie State safc iealfi 'sation Its than Colleges centenn- ial commencement will ure Thomas S. feat- Monson, president of the Church of Latter-da- y Jesus Christ of and as a result school Saints, have had to limit seatievent. Commencement Committee officials ng at the 111 George Whitehead, vice president of advancement and cultural arts, said this year the roughly 1 ,600 graduates will only be given two tickets to the main commencement exercise because of the higher than usual expected turnout Tickets are free and can be picked up at the Cox Auditorium ticket office after April 4. Extra tickets for graduates or tickets for the general public will not be available. He said this is partly due to die large number of graduates, the centennial year, and die speech from Monson. He said many members of die community have called and inquired about coming to see Monson speak. We have people calling that want to come, and diey dont Chairman associate es id ecallee its mi unite mem- my I star fldeo (Norn iught nes. plein last pei Who :h? iese ar- even have anyone graduating, They are gute- Whitehead said. any looking for ways to come to this just because they want to nng hear the speaker. Whitehead said here will be lam friend but gin the in but 5, a you iryou el Cttllff aliti seats in the CoxAuditonum, where die commencement will be simultaneously broadcast on a large screen. He said the seats in the Cox Auditorium are open to anyone who wishes to attend. Kory King, a senior business major from Washington, said the convocation will also be streaming online at an additional 1,200 e- - Community ireyff & d )d - cane' re. web :all( Thursday: Annual autohigh school troubleshooting contest will be held in the auto area outside the auto tech building from 9 a.m. to noon. Prizes and scholarships "ill be g ibot- - awarded. Friday: The Great Race tradition continues at 6 P m. with teams of students, faculty and members. com-nuni- jpt light. He said Monson really fit the bill because of the historical aspect and because he has a background witii higher education. Monson served for many years as a member of the Utah State Board of Regents, and he is currently a trustee for Brigham Young University and die LDS Church Board of Education. Whitehead said die commencement committee always has a hst of potential speakers, ty tiie biggest tradition on the Dixie State College campus, is kicking tiie campus to a new level. The Celebration of D Century kicked off on Monday witii a party on the Diagonal. The Pageant took place Tuesday night. More events are to come throughout tiie week, with more fun, more food and more Dixie Spirit. Wednesday )nld1' j P' iuld ed Saturday: Students and the community are to attend an addiction recovery event A ight In Recovery at the in-'it- ed D'ffe ease 3 at is ate to ito 7-- Contact us: ixie State College innings Bldg. Asa 225 S - I p an 700 E George, UT S4770 one: (435) 8 652-781- d. a" pin' BY EPHRAIM MOORE Staff Writer 9 Students, faculty and staff discuss tiie pros, cons and possible implications of having a religious leader as the keynote speaker at a state college's commencement. Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints, will tiie commencement give speech at this years graduation. Travis Christensen, a freshman general education major from La Verkin, said he didn't see a problem witii a religious leader speaking at a state college, although he could understand possible controversy. I think he should keep it limited to tiie topic at hand and not let it stray into tiie religion part, Christensen said. If it's not anything to deal with Monson's religion, then he should bring that into what he talks about. Sarah Bates, a sophomore radiology major from Orderville, said she thinks Monson shouldn't talk about religion, but he should be more motivational. I don't see a problem witii it unless he goes up preaching about religious stuff, Bates said. This is the stale of Utah; so Utah is known for Mormon stuff; but I think as a religious speaker he shouldn't talk about religion but be more motivational. i l Thomas S. Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints, will speak at this years commencement. Dixie State College officials say his visit honors the history of DSC. but he said Monson was a speaker they thought would reflect DSCS history, so they began taking steps to contact Monson. President Nadauld, that was his assignment, and he did a wonderfi.il job of getting into communication early witii Monson, Whitehead said. Steve Johnson, DSC pubhc relations director, said the process of recruiting Monson began about a year ago. Johnson said: hi an President Nadauld sent two fonnal letters to President Monson last April and September asking him to consider being our Centennial Com mencement speaker. Last November, President Monsons office wrote back accepting our invitation. Whitehead said the only problems they have faced in planning the commencement have been finding room for everyone who wishes to attend. We love to have people come to our campus and be involved and so on, he said. All that Ive seen have been good problems for us. It just shows our growth and where Jonny Baebler, a junior communication major from Salt Lake City, said having a religious leader speak could leave the impression that tiie school is directly supporting tiie LDS religion, but he said if people don't like a certain religion they were going. More infonnation about the commencement exercises can be found at Dixie.educom-mencemen- t. 3 p.m.: The new "D" will be painted in front of tiie Bums Arena. The comer of 800 East and 400 South will be tiie new home of tiie D on campus, Student Activities Director Donna Stafford said. The "D" D-We- (435) 656-401- 9 SPORTS PAGE 5 Golf student looks to dad for influence will tend to have a bias against it. Baebler said, I don't really partake in religion that much, but I think if anyone wants to go then they have the choice to go Seth Culler, a senior integrated studies major from Overton, said it's a good thing Monson is speaking. He's a great speaker, and he seems very knowledgeable, Culler said. I think he's going to be a benefit to tiie gradu- ates." Culler said he doesn't think Monson is going to proselyte but will instead give advice about how to continue with education, how to cope with challenges, and how to be successful in tiie real world. I think he's going to be a really good speaker, Culler said. I'm really excited to listen to him and see what he has to say. Karl Hutchings Jr., director of cooperative internship education, has two opinions about tiie LDS president speaking at a state institution. We live in the state of Utah, and regardless of what anyone says, tiie LDS church runs this state, Hutchings said. The LDS church used to own this school, so being DSC's 100 year commencement, I can see someones thinking that says 'this is where it started, let's bring it in.' Hutchings said he feels school officials are turning DSC into a southern Utah BYU, which is something he doesn't approve of. He said there is a reason separation of see MONSON page 3 spirit ek is moving from its original location due to tiie construction. 7 p.m.: A new event will be a Party introduced to DSC witii DSCs own president Stephen Nadauld. The party will be held at tiie new pavilion and will consist of 60s and '70s music, hot dogs, volleyball and an outdoor movie screening, said vice president of student hfe Stefanie Higginson, who is a senior communication major from Ogden. The alumni groups will be presenting tiie DSC World Record at tiie same time as tiie paity- Last years record was tiie largest massage chain, and between 700 and 750 people participated. The record they are hoping to break this year is tiie most people participating in arm wrestling. This event will 1 i u X i t f -- - - rha i Kevin Gibson, a freshman m. - major from Santa Clara, body slams Kendall kick-of- f major from St. George, during the Humphry, a freshman historic our various has celebrate activities Dixie to State College party. The first 500 people at the since tiie '70s, is happening all tiie lower half of be located at pre-me- pre-me- d d tiie Encampment Mall. The current record is 206 people arm wrestling, and DSC can definitely break that, said aim wrestling will get a free and Iceberg shakes, Dunkley said. alumni helper Becky Dunkley, a senior integrated studies major from Santa Clara. Friday 6 p.m.: The Great Race, a tradition that has been around Art show to have faculty, student art over campus. In the '70s, the race went all over St. George and consisted of a motorcycle race, a horseback nde up Drive (which was just Lore-mast- "ith addiction. isn 1 Center from 9 in order to help cope speaking 1 Great Race, dances continue BY ASHLEY PUTNAM Staff Writer motive seat sol Campus Events voddov.com. He said he and several otiier students have been collaborating witii Vod-do- v to stream the event as part of tiieir work for an internet marketing class. The convocation will also be shown on the Community Education Channel. Whitehead said the commencement will last about an hour, and then there will be six separate convocations, which are divided by a students major, and this is where students will receive tiieir diplomas and have die opportunities for photographs and all of die pomp and circumstance of graduation. The convocations do not require tickets, so graduates will be able to bring whomever they want. Whitehead said Monson was chosen partly because 100 years ago Mormons founded Dixie Academy, which would grow to become Dixie College. As we celebrate this it only seems natural, the bridge between our first year and our 100th year, to involve the LDS church, he said. And where we had die opportunity to have the president of the LDS church be a commencement speaker, thats a definite high- page 3 see f? 3 Li i j Uthlir for frtedia u er |