Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by Bayla Sek

Being orange has many different meanings and interpretations from the Oregon State University community, however, wearing orange and black along with clothing that establish the new beaver logo is one feature that portrays what being orange means.  A lot of people come to OSU for many different reasons and motives, and that’s why being orange to me can differ to another person’s perspective. Everyone attending Oregon State obviously has the ultimate goal of graduating and receiving a college degree, which is one way to think of being orange. Being orange could also be interpreted as living in Oregon, more specifically Corvallis!

Being orange, in respects to being a student, could come off as being responsible, mature, and friendly. The university would want us all to represent them in the best light possible so all of those attributes would be necessary in order to create civil environment within the OSU community. Committing an action that OSU would forbid could also show what it means to not be orange. That’s when utilitarianism that we learned in class is considered for being orange because the university would want all of us to do actions that will benefit us all.

Being orange to me personally is so amazing for me and my family. I’m a first generation college student so the opportunity to receive an education at this level is incredible and I’m so grateful to be in the position I’m in. I think based on my background and everything that I’ve experienced, being orange to me is inspirational because it represents an opportunity that my parents never had the chance to pursue. Furthermore, during the first part of the term, we had our show and tell assignment with our lab groups and I didn’t know what to bring, so I just pulled out my student identification card. I explained that this I.D. card might not mean much to my group but it truly shows how far my family has come since moving to the United States decades ago. I do believe I inspired my group in regards to what an OSU student I.D. meant to someone like me, so I think from my peers perspective, being compassionate towards one another is another foundation of being orange. In addition, through some readings and lectures, I’ve learned a lot about self-compassion. I didn’t realize how much I neglected self-compassion and yet it has been proven to reduce stress, improve sleep, etc. I remember one detail specifically where it explained that if you show yourself more self-compassion, than you’ll have more to give to others. I believe that would directly coincide with being compassionate towards one another and being orange because everything starts with you, so if you help yourself before others, you’ll have more to offer. This one little small change can indirectly improve the OSU community and make it an even better place to live and make being orange a sign of gratification.

In conclusion, I’ve given my perspective on what being orange means to me, however there is no definite explanation on what being orange means. Being orange is totally subjective because it may mean one thing somebody and another for somebody else. There will never be a right or wrong answer so being orange can be several different things. Overall, I truly believe if we can keep inspiring one another and show compassion towards one another as well as self-compassion, I think we can improve as a community and attest why being orange is special.