Be Good. Be Orange.

Orange Nation

            Wait! For those who have attended or those of us currently attending attended Oregon State University at one point know this title should read Beaver Nation. When traveling around campus one can see “Be Orange” stickers in windows of dorms, cars, and classrooms. Each person on this campus in some way has shown himself or herself to be a beaver, what exactly is a Beaver though? In order to be a beaver and a part of this community it is expected that each person have their own idea of what it is to “Be Orange.”

This concept of being orange is very abstract and has been given means of being interpreted to the will of whoever considers him or her a beaver believer. Orange is seen as a dedication to the school and the values we as a community choose to perpetuate along with a degree that came from OSU. After talking with a few students who also happen to be my roommates they concluded being orange is compassion towards the world and a personal desire to grow and become an educated person. Other topics, which came up, included compassion and integrity. I asked if they could be orange without being a beaver and the simple response was yes. This is important because in the view of my roommates not only do students, faculty, and staff have an opportunity to be orange, but the community around the college also has a chance to be a part of the larger community.

Being Orange could be a different interpretation depending on the reader, however, my definition of being orange is a little different of an idea then the conventional view. I believe being orange is a desire within each person to better oneself. We simply want to take the academically and socially beneficial aspects of being a OSU community member and roll them into a definition including compassion, trust, drive, desire, innovation, community, friendship, and integrity. This list could go on and on. What I want it to mean by being Orange is an instant bond between two peoples who choose to share similar sets of core values. This could bring different morally diverse people into one group with the same set of values and drive behind decision making which could lead to beneficial for all then each group of moral theorists battling for a definition instead of what is right for Mankind.

In order to “Be Orange” it was once only those attending or whom have attended OSU, however, through this assignment I have been lead to believe that anyone in the surrounding community of the college could choose to “be orange” through engagement within the campus. There is not a simple definition of being orange it is up for interpretation based on who is analyzing the action in the view of being orange. Maybe an idea similar to this which has drawn all these people together could be used and applied to all the moral theories and allow all the moral theorists to work together and thus attempting to find an underlying superior golden moral code for all.