Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted By Brooks Armstrong

            Everybody that attends Oregon State University or works at Oregon State made a choice to come here for many reasons whether it be academics, athletics, to better one self, or just because they like orange and black. But everybody that is involved at Oregon State will hear or be apart of Oregon State’s Be Orange campaign. Many people that are apart of Oregon State University do not really know what is means to be Orange or even about the Be Orange saying that the administration has decided that is important to Oregon State and everybody around it. We can all use the administrations definition of what it means to Be Orange but we all have our own definition or meaning of Being Orange really is through our experience and hard work at Oregon State.

Oregon State administrations have put together a strategic plan that describes what the school stands for or what it means to be Orange. They have five key core values that they believe describes their strategic plan and the university. They are accountability, diversity, integrity, respect, and social responsibility. All these values have there own specific role in the university and how the people in charge make decisions that effect the university and the community surrounding the university.  Before taking this class, I never really knew about this strategic plan and what the university stands for and believes in. These are all great values and good for what it means to Be Orange but for me it more than just these values and some of these values can be replaced with others that might help out the university.  I do not think all my values are the final right ones but through my experience and it helps define what I think it means to Be Orange.

The first big value for me would be pride. Not just pride for Oregon State University but also pride in ourselves and everything we do while we are at OSU and after we graduate form OSU. We should have pride in our athletic programs and all the academics our university is involved in when we attending Oregon State and we become alumni.  If we take pride in everything we do while at OSU and after we graduate it will create a great respect from other people around the world for Oregon State and people that come from OSU. Also if we take pride in ourselves and what we do it will end up being the best work we can do and make ourselves and the university look good. Another value that I hold to be good for the university and just in everyday life is responsibility. We have a responsibility to ourselves and the responsibility to Oregon State University.  We use responsibility in every choice and every action we make every day. I think because we attended Oregon State University we have a responsibility to take what we learned and experienced at OSU to the rest of the world and make the world a better place and make OSU proud and a better place. Oregon State also has a responsibility to use as students to make sure we are getting the best education and everything we need to get ready for life beyond Oregon State. I believe these two values are missing from the strategic plan and would help with the Be Orange slogan. Also all the other values that Oregon State’s administration has already recognized as key core values are great in my opinion and help mold everyone of use into something better that will help the community surrounding OSU and communities we effect later on in life.

Other than these values Be Orange means a lot more to me. It means all the hard work and dedication we students have put into our education and Oregon State University. Students put countless of hours of hard work and dedication into their education to better themselves. I also believe that it means something different for everybody but it means something positive in each on of our lives and reflects what Oregon State is about. Being Orange is not something hard either it really is just finding something you love and are good at or doing the best you can do to better yourself and the community with what you have learned at Oregon State. If we use this Be Orange statement the rest of our lives it will help make great decisions and help us better ourselves and the communities we are involved in.