Authentic Orange

Submitted by Nikki Rieken

The idea of  authenticity and “Be Orange” is to be true to yourself, don’t give into peer pressure, and find others who share your passion for life. Not only are we “condemned to be free” in Sartre’s point of view but college is the time to utilize that freedom. Likewise, learning what you stand for and what makes you happy in life is the simple view of the Kierkegaard’s three stages of existence. The concept of authenticity is being genuine and true to oneself in both a philosophical standpoint and a way of approaching obstacles in life. Being authentic is simply being who you really are, which can be extremely difficult when it comes to trying not to conform to influential individuals in ones life. College is normally a time to find yourself, what you stand for, and what you believe in. It’s also a time to find individuals that share your same passion and make lasting friendships.

Step One: Be true to yourself; College is a time to learn what you believe in, what you stand up for, and experiencing Kierkegaard’s three stages of existence. Not only do you learn the components of authenticity, transcendence, and freedom, also known as bad faith and what it is composed of, through these stages but you also learn what the meaning of life means to you. There is no one meaning of life, it’s different for every individual and the lesson you take away from experiencing each phase is also different for everyone. Understanding your point of view on what your desires are, good vs. bad, and the concept of the leap of faith are all important stages to go through to learn who you are. Through each phase you learn, grow, and alter your behavior to build off of each layer obtaining experience that will help you find what life means to you and who you believe to be. I find myself in the ethical sphere; making decisions in regards to good and bad on a daily basis just like every college student out there. Especially since college is the first time many people leave home and have to learn how to make their own choices. I was a person that was very influenced by peers, parents, and family members when I was growing up and was never assertive when it came to what I wanted or believed in. Now, after deciding to pick up my life and transfer to Oregon State University I’ve learned to chase after what I want and stand up for what I believe in even if it’s not what my close friends, parents, or majority of individuals stand for.

Step Two: Don’t give in to peer pressure; The largest obstacle I face at OSU is constant peer pressure. But, having the mentality to step back and think about decisions I make prior to making them has allowed myself to avoid making a decision based off of social norms or peer pressure. It’s easy to decide to skip a class or homework to go out with friends, especially when they don’t have any responsibilities to attend to or are avoiding their work too. If I were to avoid my responsibilities I wouldn’t be abiding by my authentic self and in turn would be conforming to Nietzsche concept of “The Herd”. Being manipulated by the majority rule of the group would cause myself to not only be inauthentic but also conform to the idea of mindless and thoughtlessly following the group. Peer pressure is a very real concept that causes many individuals to be inauthentic to themselves because they don’t want to go against the grain of the group.

Step Three: Find people who share your passion for life; Everyone has the right to their opinion and humanism is the individual focused philosophy that allows one to pursue their identity and transcendence. Building relationships with individuals who have your same point of view, ideas, and thoughts represent the utilization of one’s freedom. Likewise, this is a representation of ones transcendence and not putting on a metaphorical ‘mask’ to fit into the crowd. When you be true to yourself and don’t give into peer pressure, the third step of finding others like yourself will ensue on it’s own. Living a life with a perspective of reaching optimal authenticity, with others who wish to do the same, is a simple but amazing way to do it. You’ll gain a support system like no other with individuals who wish to accomplish everything you do in life.

Submitted by Angus Owan Jr.

One of the most complementary sayings that goes with almost every new encounters is, “Don’t worry, just be yourself”. Whether it be meeting a new friend, moving to someplace new, or shaking the president’s hand (maybe not the last one). However, within one moment of our lives we all have gone through encounters that make us nervous, terrified, and uncomfortable. The term authentic coincides with another common saying such as, “be yourself”. On literal terms authentic means not fake, verified, real, etc. So basically if a random person yells to you to “Be Orange,” in authentic terms they are implying that you should be who you truly are. Every time you do something, question yourself if this is truly what you would do. It could be what you wear, how you speak, or how you act. Anything related to yourself, question if (insert your name here) would do this. One of the most significant aspects I’ve learned about being here at Oregon State is that we are allowed to be authentic. We are allowed to be our own individual. We are allowed to truly express ourselves without any judgment or bias directed towards anyone.

When a phrase like, “Be Orange” is brought around to my concern I see it as being who you truly are, be authentic. Corvallis is a community where everyone matters whilst being welcoming to anyone and everyone’s individualism. However, there are obstacles in obtaining authenticity as many philosophers have different terms for this obstacle. Nietzsche calls it, “The Herd” which is basically the same as following what everyone is doing (Lecture 5/5/15). This can become an obstacle in being authentic due to the fact that “The Herd,” could be doing something completely opposite to what you would do. Yet, you will find yourself doing these things because you’re so caught up with “The Herd”. For example, you could be at a party finding yourself drinking and trying to blend in with everyone. However, in all actuality you could possibly hate beer and alcohol in general. Peer pressure adds to this obstacle as it makes us decide whether or not to be authentic. Another example of this obstacle is when Dan came in dressed in a suit (Lecture 5/28/15). I questioned myself as to why he would dress that way. He usually comes in with shorts and a shirt but on that day he came to prove a point. As he took off the suit he revealed that he had his normal clothes underneath them. He used the suit as a symbol to show how everyone (“The Herd”) expects people to come to work. Yet, Dan defies this obstacle everyday by dressing how he wants to because he is his own person, his own individual.

Being authentic is easy to say yet hard to do. Sometimes we become inauthentic in order to please other people. Perfect examples of this are college students. Some college students simply go to college to please others such as their friends or family. Rather than pursuing the future the student wants they could be doing a certain major just to satisfy their parents or others. Gregor in The Metamorphosis is an example of this (Kafka, The Metamorphosis, pg. 1). Gregor doesn’t enjoy his job at all yet he continues it everyday to support his family. In the case of Gregor, he is being inauthentic to himself. He is his own individual just like everyone else and should make his own decisions. Being inauthentic is also known as having bad faith (Lecture 5/26/15). The term “Bad Faith,” means that we deny our own transcendence and do actions just to blend in and feel accepted. Having bad faith in one-self is an obstacle that troubles basically everyone in their daily lives. It could be as complicated as playing a role in one’s job or as simple as procrastination. Overcoming these obstacles is key to becoming authentic here at Oregon State University.

How do we overcome these obstacles you ask? Be yourself. It’s as simple as that. Take risks or “leaps of faith” in order to reach your own state of authenticity (Lecture 4/23/15). No body has the answers except yourself. Do things you want to do and don’t let anyone influence your decisions. College is the perfect place to find out who you are because we have to come to the realization that we are adults now. If you want to party and have fun then so be it. If you want to study hard and get awesome grades than strive for it. You want to do both? Why not. As long as you make that decision with the confidence that you really want to pursue that path then you are being yourself, being authentic, being your own individual. Many paths open up once we become an adult yet no one is going to make the decision for us. You don’t need to follow the herd to be cool or accepted. “Being Orange” is all about being real to yourself here at OSU. Be your own individual. Existentialism is about finding who we truly are and who we want to be. So take this knowledge on being authentic and be YOU! (P.S. GO BEAVERS!)

Submitted By:

Scott Lantz

Is it possible to truly live authentic to yourself? To be a functional citizen of society I believe that it is impossible to truly be authentic. This is because you cannot always do what you please, either because it is against the law or it is a social taboo, but I will save that for a different day. That being said, the question posted was what I thought it meant to authentically “Be Orange.” To do this to the best of ones ability, one must take in many different points of view. I believe that it is absurd to think that one can label 30,000 different individual people into the same category and tell them, “If you do not believe in these specific guidelines, you are not authentically ‘being orange’ and therefore you do not fit in.” To be authentic, or to be authentically “orange” could mean something to me, which would not be seen as authentic to someone else. Someone who has lived in Oregon their whole life and grew up around Oregon State University, would believe in a different meaning in how they would define authentically “Being Orange” than an international student who came to Oregon State solely for the education and knew nothing about the past, traditions, or social norms of the university. Would someone in this position, who does not know anything about Oregon State, be authentically orange?

This is why I believe that nobody can define what being authentically orange means except for what it means to yourself. I would define authenticity as a journey on becoming who you are. This means that if you live your whole life being unauthentic to yourself, you will never truly become oneself and Sartre would say that you are living in Bad Faith, by denying ones transcendence and denying facticity (Lecture 6/2/2015). An obstacle that makes it difficult to become an individual in not only my community but also the world is giving into social norms. This is something that happens very often and in most cases, nothing can be done about it. Say I want to be authentic to myself and not wear any clothes to class one day; because of the social norm (and the law) I will get punished for doing something that I feel is authentic to myself. This is one example of how social norms are an obstacle for one to become an individual. As humans, we are drawn into being with others and being like others, this is why we have social norms, so we fit in. This is what Nietzsche would call ‘The Heard’ (Lecture 4/28). If someone steps out of the heard, or steps out of the norm they would be seen as someone who has gone mad. Nietzsche said in The Gay Science, “To be oneself, to assess oneself according to one’s own weights and measures – that was contrary to the taste of time. The inclination to do so would be perceived as madness for being alone was bound up with every misery and every fear (Nietzsche, The Gay Science, pg. 131).” What he is saying here is that if you do something that people in your time are not used to they will see that as strange or that you are ‘mad’ when, in truth, you just want to be authentic to yourself and leave the heard.

What does it mean to be authentically “Be orange?” To me, it means to work hard. Do the job you are doing and do it right and the best you can do it. You might not always get recognized for your work but you’ll know that it’s the best you can do. Oregon State was founded upon these ideals when it was established as a land grant school back in 1868 for blue-collar families that wanted their children to have a chance to get some higher education. We are all condemned to be free says Sartre (Lecture 5/25/2015). It is what we do with our freedom that makes us the individuals that we are and this is what makes us authentic orange. This is what being authentic is, choosing to use our freedom in the ways that we want them or just giving into other people and living an unauthentic life. Just as Gregor lost his authenticity when he transformed in the metamorphosis into an insect (Lecture 6/4/2015), Beavers could lose their authenticity by not choosing to use their freedom the way they want to and giving into social norms and the heard.

Submitted by Benjamin Seib

What does it mean to be authentic? Dictrionary.com defines authentic as, “not false or copied; genuine; real.” This is the ability to be true to one’s individual self. The internal and external ideas, thoughts and actions support the creation of a unique, self-built independent being. What does it mean to be “Orange”? As a respectful member of Beaver Nation, I define “Orange” as person who works to grow in knowledge, shares a kind smile, is welcoming to a community and uncontrollably loud at Beaver football games. With both words defined, how does one authentically “Be Orange”? It is through three key steps, that future Beaver’s can use when developing one’s authentic, orange self.

The first step is to embrace the idea of Freedom. Fyodor Dostoevsky stated, “Man is free, man is freedom.” (Satre, Existentialism Is Humanism) We, as beings, have the ability to think, process, imagine and reflect with zero limitations. We have the ability to, “create and choose”, based on our wanting. (Lec. 5/26/15) As a Beaver, our entire University thrives off the ability to explore and discover the unknown. This is only accessed through the acceptance of freedom and following the direction in which one is called to follow, both as an individual and a community. By doing this, past Beaver’s have made great development in the Engineering, Animal Science and Scientific fields. As future Beaver’s, one needs to understand that they control their path. Each individual has the power to choose their direction. It is through the discover of self-freedom, that one will be able to create and experience the ultimate unknown, ones individual future. (Lec. 5/26/15).

The second step to being “Orange” is finding a solid balance between “Choosing-self” and “Choosing for all humans.” This is the idea, when working with freedom, the choices made can both, positively or negatively, affect one’s own self and the community. To find the balance, one must develop of image of humanity. (Lec. 5/21/15) Whether one works alone or with a large number of people, we must look to see how an action may affect today’s humanity. As students of a college town, we are looked upon to aid others. Here at Oregon State University, support and respect is expected from each student. Choosing-self is extremely important, for the self is the foundation of authenticity. But new Beaver members must critically analyse their free decisions, for they may create a destructive outcome for others, especially when involving personal success. As stated above, Beaver’s share smiles while creating a welcoming community. Though this may feel like a lot of pressure, if one is meant to be a member of Beaver Nation, developing individual success and helping others along the way comes natural. It is an “authentic” trait of the University.

The third and final step to authentically “Be Orange”, is one must bring their “true-self” to the University. Each individual here at Oregon State is unique and contains ideas, thoughts and dreams that differ for others. No one person is the same. Thus, to be an authentic “Orange”, one must be an authentic “self.” Philosopher Soren Kierkegaard touches this topic through his description of a crowd. “A crowd either renders the single individual wholly unrepentant and irresponsible, or weakens his responsibility by making it a fraction of his decision.” (Kierkegaard, The Crowd is Untruth) As young-adults, this is extremely challenging and takes great understanding of one’s-self to create. Today’s society, which contains judgement, discrimination, and bullying, makes it hard to express individuality. As an Oregon State Beaver, we must attempt to be “That single individual” that stands out from the crowd. (Lec. 5/5/15) We must challenge the norms of society and express our “freedom” to be different. Beaver Nation thrives on the diversity of students. From nationality to unique fashion, without personal idiosyncrasy, there would be no “Orange”.

Overall, what it means to be authentically “Be Orange” is to be one’s true-genuine self. Through the process of understanding freedom, one learns they are the creators of choice. When faced with the idea of “Choosing-self vs. Choosing for all humans” one discovers that these choices within the life of existentialism can affect both the internal and external world.It is up to individuals to find a balance. And finally, although present day society tries to place us in a crowd, it is individual authenticity that gives Beaver Nation the ability to nurture diversity.