Nevada State College students get behind naming of Mt. Scorpion
Students at Nevada Stage College are rallying to get the mountain range behind the school officially named Mt. Scorpion.
But even if that isn’t its official name yet, it is the name recognized by everyone from students to members of the Board of Regents.
“Everyone calls it that,” said Deuvall Dorsey, the student body president of Nevada State College. “We are just starting the conversation to change it (officially). It has to been done federally.”
Before Nevada State College was even a reality — or a dream, for that matter — it was a stretch of vacant land at the foot of the McCullough Range.
Nevada State College, 1125 Nevada State Drive, was built in 2002, opening its doors to fewer than 200 students for the fall semester.
In April 2012, the Scorpion was introduced as the college’s official mascot during the Henderson Heritage Parade & Festival.
The insignia spread from there, with uses such as serving as the name of the school’s student newspaper, The Scorpion’s Tale.
Andy Kuniyuki, dean for the school of liberal arts and sciences, said Mt. Scorpion was used in a presentation to the Board of Regents during the spring of 2012 when the school named the new president, an avid hiker who used the trail often.
“After it was named, our school president (Bart Patterson) hiked to the top of the mountain,” said Kuniyuki. “We were willing to follow him to the top, literally and symbolically.”
From there, Mt. Scorpion hadn’t just become part of student vernacular. Dorsey said it started to be part of school tradition.
Twice a year, students plan a hike together to the top of Mt. Scorpion.
“It keeps growing,” Dorsey said.
At the top of the mountain, hikers can add their names to the manifest of all who have come to the top.
Further spreading the word, Dorsey introduced its name to the public.
“During the groundbreaking ceremony, (Dorsey) gave a speech from the top of the mountain and videocast it down to where we were,” Kuniyuki said. “In it, he addressed the mountain as Mt. Scorpion.”
Dorsey said the awareness should help the students’ pleas to have the name federally recognized.
“We plan to request the federal government to officially name that peak Mt. Scorpion,” he said.
Dorsey said students are beginning to draft letters to state elected officials to further express their intentions.
Contact Henderson/Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 702-387-5201.
Naming Las Vegas
The history behind the naming of various streets, parks, schools, public facilities and other landmarks in the Las Vegas Valley will continue to be explored in a series of feature stories appearing in View editions published on the first Tuesday of every month.
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