Good old Dixie State University announced its new “Trailblazer” mascot, “Brooks the Bison,” on Tuesday, leaving everyone confused.
As I visited the Dixie State website this morning, I was first bombarded with the words “Saint George, Utah” and then a video of some bison grazing in a pasture with landscape creepily similar to here. Hi, am I lost? Who’s going to break it to them that bison have no ties to this area? The closest thing we have to bison around here is our local Buffalo Wild Wings or the occasional overset, hairy-backed, bearded man. This “rebranding” sounds like something the administration came up with the night before the big reveal, the same way all the students at Dixie procrastinate their semester-long projects.
DSU chief marketing and communications officer Jordon Sharp said, “We didn’t invent this identity. This identity emerged from who we are.” Seriously? You’re not fooling me Jordan, I know that’s just code for “we don’t have a valid reason for our bullshit.”
A poll on FOX13 asked if readers liked or disliked the new mascot, and last time I checked, 62 percent of people disliked it. So much for the community vote DSU spent student’s money promoting. $50,000 was spent on these rebranding efforts, and unfortunately, again, we completely missed the mark. Maybe I’m alone here, but wouldn’t our student fees be better spent on something that would benefit the students? Biff doesn’t think so. He’d rather spend time unjustly firing our favorite professors, erecting phallic clock towers, and picking mascots that will “make for an unmatched athletic symbol.”
The Dez and Mikey Show on 92.1 made a joke on April Fools Day saying the new mascot was going to be the Dixie Desert Tortoises, and honestly, that might have been better. I mean, at least it’s relevant. The other options in consideration were the Raptors and the Sun Warriors. Wow. Something that actually makes sense? We can’t have that here. Personally, my vote was for the Sun Warriors, based on the sole reason that the mascot would be represented by a sexy shirtless man instead of a hairy mammal, but no one likes my ideas anyway.
Dixie State has been trying for years to eradicate their “party” reputation, but I’ve already seen “blazer” jokes floating around Facebook with students saying clever things like, “420 blaze it.” And “I’m surprised Bong-hit Bison didn’t win.” Well, they tried, right? Granted, anything is better than the “red storm,” which sounded like we were a bunch of menstruating women wandering around campus looking for a tampon … but can’t we just leave the mascot alone? The mascot isn’t even the problem.
It’s unbelievable to me that $50,000 was spent to rebrand, and yet we still didn’t eliminate the word “Dixie.” The closed-minded viewpoint that this word isn’t offensive is something we’re forgetting to bring up. Last fall, I had the opportunity to work at Walt Disney World through the Disney College Program, and unfortunately, under my name my name tag read “Dixie State University.” I can’t tell you how many questions I was asked by guests with disgusted expressions. “Is that in the South?” “They really named a school that?” I’m surprised I wasn’t shot dead in the happiest place on earth. Sure, Utah natives understand what you mean when you say “Dixie,” but heaven help anyone who tries to apply for out-of-state jobs. I’m sorry guys, but no one can redefine a word with negative connotations for their own convenience.
“What trail are you going to blaze?” is posted on signs around campus, and I can tell you I’m blazing a trail as far away from this school as possible. I’m blazing a trail to a school that has the needs of the students as a first priority. Well, after I get my free t-shirt.
RELATED ARTICLES
Dixie State University begins re-branding efforts
Watch me salvage the DSU rebranding survey
DSU rebranding and the false sense of achievement
That’s it, I’m nominating you for the Pulitzer.
I wouldn’t say Bison have strong ties to Southern Utah, but there recently was a herd of Bison found near the Henry Mountains that are genetically pure. That’s more of a connection than Apollo. Similiar to the idea of having the mascot Apollo because it correlates with the sun, the bison was chosen because is correlates with the Trailblazer name. What is a Sun Warrior anyway? Oh I get it! It’s sunny in St. George. I think a more unique thing to the area is the red sandstone. Maybe we should have made a creative mascot name out of that. You know, like when the wind makes a dirt cyclone out of the red sand and makes some sort of red storm… Oh wait, taking something unique about St. George, like how it’s sunny or the red sandstone, and trying to make a creative name out of it has already proven to be stupid.
Also, Biff had nothing to do with the clock tower, and all clock towers are phallic. All towers are, really.
First off, long ago in a previos post I demonstrated the clear mythological connection of St George as a Solar icon. But from a marketing standpoint I supported the Trailblazer mascot. Regardless of any connection locally, using a bison is just fine and an improvement. The name “Dixie” outside of Utah as I have said before, will remain a liability for resume purpose, but only in certain geographic locations and then at that juncture it becomes a relative factor to the particular HR Director. My suggestion is Dixie St. researches this particular point. It is not hard to do a national study. This will put to rest any doubts either way. The students deserve it. Perhaps the conclusion will vindicate the name as a non-issue. I like the new mascot. It is a step in the right direction. Money is not the issue in my opinion. Good luck … nice article, but I think you are overreacting to something that is brand new. Change is never easy. GO Blazers Go!!! Sounds good to me. 🙂
Another lame article to generate interest for a paper staffed by malcontents. “leaving everyone confused” or just this writer. How many Thunderbirds are located in Cedar, Trojans in Southern California, Titans in Tennessee, etc. Since DSU is a regional university, does the mascot have to be in St. George, or could it be somewhere in Southern Utah. Is there a mileage limit on mascots. One of the largest and pure buffalo herds in the US is located a couple of hundred of miles away in the Henry Mountains or about the same distance as the Ute reservation is from the University of Utah. Still confused, or maybe just wanted to take a swipe at the name Dixie. Perhaps it is the people you run with since you know the vulgar definition of red storm. Of course, if we want to go there, we can find a vulgar definition for any name out there. Maybe you should upgrade your friends as well as your journalism.