Be Good. Be Orange.

Be Orange

Orange symbolizes the color of our school, Oregon State University, while it also represents the culture of Beaver Nation, one that prides itself on being innovative and daring as we plow through the first two decades of the 21^st century.  We are a school that strives hard to achieve excellence by providing exceptional service to the student body past, present and future, and to the community, the nation and the world that OSU is rooted.

To me, “Be Orange” means to stand out and be well natured and community-minded.  These are the values that I am inspired to live by as a student of Oregon State.  In looking at the OSU core values, I find that the university has laid out terms and definitions to communicate a broad spectrum of ethical points that give OSU students a competitive advantage when it comes to manifesting a positive world view.  Among these points, the value that stands out to best represent Oregon State University and the “Be Orange” campaign is, social responsibility.  Being a part of something greater than the sum of its parts is what bonds my fellow beavers to a vision of what we hope to achieve upon graduation, as well as what and how we plan to contribute to society.

According to the OSU website, social responsibility is defined by our contribution to society’s intellectual, cultural, spiritual and economic progress, and well as our collective well-being to the maximum possible extent.  As a business-minded student, I see that my aims to engage in learning and developing socially responsible business practices are in line with the university’s core values.  Social responsibility and sustainability are also listed as a top seven learning goal for graduates of OSU.  Under the leadership section on the OSU website, it states that, “As an OSU graduate, you will develop the capacity to construct an engaged, contributing life, and to engage in actions that reflect an understanding of the values of service, citizenship, and social responsibility, and demonstrate global competence by understanding the interdependent nature of local and global communities.”

While this is an action-packed statement full of meaningful representation, I have come to understand that it is not so easy to communicate such broad, all-encompassing values such as Social Responsibility and Sustainability.  That is where the slogan, “Be Orange” comes in.  The statement, “Be Orange” is a simple way to illuminate the high standards OSU strives hard to meet day to day, year to year.  Although, “Be Orange” might not capture the imagination of its intended audience, this Oregon State Beaver is surely up to the challenge to expand the notion of what it means to be accountable, integral, diverse, respectful and socially responsible.  To me, this is truly what being orange is all about.

Every system that you unpeel

Each flattering effort that goes unseen

We live to tell of the athlete who is full of zeal

The researcher who is discovering the patterns of all that is green

The thinker, the designer, the creative mind in us all

We stand up tall undivided

Never letting our community fall

We are Orange.