There is simply no way around it. Dixie State University is finding itself in the news again. And despite its attempts to whitewash why through its innocuous press releases of all the “good” that is going on at the school, all the bad it has done and not atoned for is the “tell tale” of the heart. The simple fact is that DSU has earned its place in the annals of critical speculation. It may even be on track to lose its accreditation if it does not straighten up and fly right.
As The Independent’s managing editor and my colleague Darren Edwards so reasonably surmised in a recent opinion piece, this is not, nor should it be, a reflection on the faculty, staff, and students who had nothing to with the pattern of ethical malfeasance, much of which rises to the criminal level. It is always a sad situation when good, decent, hardworking people suffer from the actions of leadership run amok.
That said, however, make no mistake: The leadership at the school is out of control, and the problem extends off campus to the board of trustees and the local government in St. George as well.
But if all that is necessary for bad to prevail is for good people to do nothing, it could be that DSU’s arrogance has finally pushed too far, and the good are shoring up arm in arm to put a stop to this nonsense.
The American Federation of Teachers has become pretty outspoken on their Facebook page and website about two cases in particular: Varlo Davenport’s illegal firing by DSU and malicious prosecution by the City of St. George and the illegally coerced resignation of Dr. Joel Lewis by President Biff Williams and then Faculty Senate Chair Erin O’Brien.
Moreover, someone has acted independently and started the website Dixie Leaks. The site’s professed mission is to “shake the red dirt out.” It could be assumed here that the “red dirt” is the maligned mindset of the board of trustees, a mindset that this school should remain a parochial school, one that only allows individuals who maintain an attitude that resembles that of the Mormon Church. And that would not necessarily be a bad thing save the fact that DSU is a public institution and receives federal funding. Church and state, anyone?
Something that both the AFT and Dixie Leaks have taken to task is the statement released by DSU just hours after Davenport was determined innocent. While the author of this repugnant work remains yet anonymous, DSU has not backed away from declaring it the official statement of the school. Which is to say that, in spite of the previously mentioned honorable students and employees of the school, the official stance of the school is one that absolute lacks contriteness, humility, or decency. This statement has opened DSU up to more potential litigation thanks to the litany of defamatory and false allegations it contains. Interesting that an official DSU statement was made anonymously, almost as if meant to allow some plausible deniability.
The college enjoys the benefit of sovereign immunity in its lawsuits via an 11th Amendment ruling some years ago. The idea being that the school as a whole cannot be held responsible for the actions of a single actor, employed or otherwise. It is required to indemnify the actions of its employees, but the institution is immune.
This “official” statement by DSU implies that it is in fact the entire institution behaving in an unethical and possibly illegal manner, not a single actor. A good attorney might very well see to it that DSU’s immunity gets revoked as it should.
And while the administration declares that all of this is going to blow over, it would seem that the AFT and the general public have something else in mind.
All of this of course is deductive speculation derived from actual correspondence and facts, and while not without merit, it should also be noted that DSU is not the only school in this country coming under fire for placing people’s civil liberties second to private agendas.
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, who DSU settled with in 2015 in a clear-cut First Amendment breach, works nationwide not only to bring cases of civil liberty violations to justice but to educate academia and the general public on matters regarding our dilapidated American academic community.
Is this really what you want your college to be known for?
A community where administrators outnumber professors. A community where campuses hire part-time adjunct professors with no guarantee of teaching upper-division courses. A community where textbooks are a flagrant racket. A community where tuition costs rise concurrent with the lax parameters of student loans while completion rates fall and high-interest loans come mercilessly due.
And while it is more than reasonable to state that DSU is not alone in its dismal failure to protect the rights of all, it is not like they are being unjustly singled out. They are simply taking the lead in the absurd level to which an institution can push these violations.
But the problem is pandemic in the country, and it is worth discussing here in the future.
For the moment, let me leave a thought.
If the university or college setting is to do one thing and do it with abandon, it is to champion what is best about this country. The guaranteed right to free speech and due process should be unimpeachable, if not by law then by the most obvious of reasons, the golden rule. At the academic level, where the future of much of our country lies — where our future thinkers, business owners, physicians, lawmakers, and law interpreters will hone their skills — do we really want to trust places like DSU where individuals attend or work at their own peril? Where if they find themselves somehow on the outs with someone, an anonymous whistleblower site and a quorum of self-appointed and singular “judge, jury, and executioners” exercise justice? Where the insanity of it carries on to sovereign immunity for the institution, and where even the governments of the city and state are culpable in the wrongdoing?
Because that is exactly what happened here at DSU. The board of trustees, perhaps members of the board of regents, and the city governments capitulated in allowing the upper administration of that school to carry out personal and baseless hostile agendas. When the school’s new attorney, Doajo Hicks, said that the school had the backing of these entities, he was not exaggerating one bit. But this, to his discredit, was not in the slightest bit a good thing. It is something that should strike both fear and anger in the hearts of the citizens here. On a broader note, what is such an institution doing but conditioning future members of American society to believe that laws do not apply to its leaders?
Again, this being a nationwide pandemic, how about a pointed question to this community? Is this really what you want your college to be known for? Think about it.
We’re going to talk more about these things in the coming months, count on it.
See you out there.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this piece misspelled Doajo Hicks’ name.
Articles related to “DSU has earned its critical speculation but it’s not alone”
Dixie State University disappoints record number of freshmen
In defense of Dixie State University faculty, staff, and students
