Be Compassionate. Be Orange.
Posted December 15th, 2013 by balionik
BE COMPASSIONATE. BE ORANGE.
Final Reflection
Karen Balionis
PHL 205
How would you define “being orange”? To Oregon State University being orange includes five core values:
- Accountability
- Diversity
- Integrity
- Respect
- Social Responsibility
Each student enrolled through OSU and each staff member that works for OSU are held to these five values, but what do they really mean?
When we say we are accountable we’re saying we are held to our responsibilities and can be trusted with whatever we do. We will meet deadlines on time, we will meet all requirements and even exceed them, we will be entrusted with documents and information from companies.
Not only are we accountable, but also we are diverse. Oregon State really taught us what it meant to be diverse because of all the different cultures they bring to the university. Having a great exchange student program, you’ll see all sorts of students from China to Saudi Arabia in every class. Being diverse means looking past the gender, race, color, religion, and so on and being able to communicate with people based on their knowledge and willingness to learn. This isn’t a university where being from a different background makes you stand out. We are all people and we are all here for an education.
That brings us to integrity. Integrity is having strong moral principles and being honest. Integrity is going to class everyday and turning in our homework on time and putting in that extra effort. Being a Beaver, and being orange, means we’re hardworking and we do our own work. The projects and tests we take are our own work and not the student next to us.
Then we have respect, respect for our professors, students, staff, everyone and everything. We respect our campus, and our athletics. We are proud to be Beavers. You can see all the respect with everyone wearing orange or Oregon State gear. You can also see the respect we have by how clean our campus is and all the recycling and compost we do.
Not only is keeping our campus clean being respectful, it’s also part of our social responsibility. The people involved with Oregon State are all apart of a community and we all are apart of this responsibility. Also it’s our social responsibility to show everyone the five core values of Oregon State and let everyone know exactly what it means to be orange.
Those five core values (accountability, diversity, integrity, respect, and social responsibility) are how others define being orange, but I define it a little differently. Not only do I believe in those five values, but I also believe in compassion, self-care, and community.
When I say compassion, I mean compassion for others. Being orange means you’re always giving a helping hand. When someone is in trouble you don’t turn your head and ignore the problem, but you step up and help. If someone were to drop their books, you would help to pick them up off the ground. Even doing the smallest gestures such as holding the door open for others or giving someone directions, we’re Beavers and we are here to help one another.
Then there’s self-care we need to acknowledge to be orange. Some times students get so wrapped up in their college course work, social atmosphere or work schedules that they forget about the most important thing, their health. Now days it’s so easy to eat unhealthy, and to be inactive to where we forget about our self-care. We all need to take a little time for us and for our health, whether it’s going to the gym for half an hour every other day or taking a break from homework to just do nothing. There’s enough time every day that we don’t need to just stress about school, work or social activities.
Orange is a community, a community of students, staff and alumni. Being a community means we come together in tough times and support one another when we need it. We may not know all each other, but we can all help one another whether it’s in academics or social settings. We don’t just need a crisis to bring the community together, we just need to know we have support for the smallest of things.
Oregon State University defines being orange with their five core values, accountability, diversity, integrity, respect and social responsibility. I go a little further in defining orange. I say being orange also includes being compassionate to others, taking some time for self-care, and being apart of the community. How would you define being orange?
