The University of Montana Style Guide

D

Dahlberg Arena Located in the Adams Center.

dash See Appendix A.

data Plural of "datum," so use with a plural verb: The data are convincing.

Davidson Honors College Use "Honors College" or "the college" on second reference.

day care, day-care Use "day care" as a noun, "day-care" as an adjective: Young children need reliable day care. Good day-care facilities are necessary.

days of the week Capitalize, but don't abbreviate: The lecture will take place Monday, Feb. 5.

Dean See academic and other titles entry.

Dean's List Capitalization is an exception to AP Stylebook.

decision-maker, decision making, decision-making She didn't like the role of decision-maker. The executive left decision making to his personnel officer. After their decision-making marathon, the bargaining team members looked rumpled and exhausted.

degrees See academic degrees entry.

Dell Brown Room Located in Turner Hall.

Delta Gamma women's fraternity chartered at UM in 1911.

Dennison Theatre Located in the Fine Arts Building. Formerly the University Theatre. Renamed the George and Jane Dennison Theatre in May 2012. Dennison Theatre acceptable on first reference.

denote See connote, denote entry.

departments, offices, programs, schools Capitalize only the official names; lowercase names when you shorten or invert them: The University of Montana School of Journalism, UM's journalism school, the School of Law, the law school. For up-to-date listings, consult the white section of the current UM Campus Directory or call the office/department.

dialogue Use only as a noun, never as a verb.

different Use with "from," not "than," to mean "unlike": She's different from you.

dimensions Use figures, and spell out "inches," "feet" and "yards" for depth, height, length and width. Hyphenate dimensions when used as adjectives before nouns: Cousin Dixie is 6 feet 1 inch tall. The tunnel is 8 feet long. The 5-foot-7-inch center is the shortest player on the court.

directions and regions In general, lowercase "north," "east," "south," "west" and combinations or variations of those words (northwest, southeast, northern) when they refer to compass directions: I drove 20 miles south. Volcanic ash blanketed the western United States.

Capitalize them when they indicate regions: The Rocky Mountain West has had two years of drought. Many UM students are from the Northwest, Midwest and Northeast. The admissions officials visited Southern California.

Lowercase when referring to general regions: Two feet of snow fell in western Montana. Farmers grow a lot of grain in northcentral Montana. The snow storm stalled over southwest Montana. The student hails from western Washington. She now lives in eastern Colorado.

director of athletics title of the person who oversees the athletic department at UM. Capitalize when used before a name. "Director of Athletics Jim O'Day said the renovation will be completed by spring semester."

disabled, handicapped Use "people-first" language, such as "students with disabilities," rather than "disabled students" or "the disabled." Say "uses a wheelchair" instead of " confined to a wheelchair." Avoid "handicapped" altogether when referring to disability.

disc, disk Compact disc, but computer disk.

discreet, discrete "Discreet" means prudent: I wasn't discreet in discussing my political views at the party. "Discrete" means separate:The system is composed of four discrete parts.

disinterested, uninterested "Disinterested" means unbiased: The expert witness is a disinterested third party. "Uninterested" means without interest: I'm uninterested in pro football.

Division of Biological Sciences No longer has departments, but offers bachelor's degrees in biology, medical technology, microbiology and wildlife biology.

doctor, Dr. Reserve for medical doctors. See academic and other titles entry.

doctorate, doctoral degree See academic degrees entry.

dollars Use figures and the dollar sign when referring to a specific amount: Admission is $5. For amounts of more than $1 million, use the $ and numerals up to two decimal places: The grant is worth $2.25 million. Spell out otherwise: Just how many dollars are we talking about?

Don Anderson Hall Anderson Hall on second reference. Houses the School of Journalism. Completed in 2007. 

Dornblaser Field Not "Dornblaser Stadium." Located on South Higgins Avenue near South Avenue.

Drama/Dance Box Office now known as the Theatre & Dance Box Office.

due to, because of Due to introduces an adjective phrase and should modify nouns. It normally is used only after some form of the verb "to be" (is, are, was, were). Her success is due to talent and hard work. ("Due to" modifies success.) Because of introduces adverbial phrases and should modify verbs. He resigned because of ill health. ("Because of" modifies resigned.) Use "because" instead of "due to the fact."