Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by Kaitlin Muramatsu

Being orange means you are a part of this Oregon State community. Your actions reflect not only you, but how people see the school. Each person has different values, different things that they think are important. I believe that as a community we represent these different values by the diversity in majors and classes or clubs and activities. One of the great things about being an Oregon State student is that there are countless majors and classes available to us. If we decide to switch majors we have that opportunity; we care able to find where we fit in this school. I always see posters for clubs and campus activities and I see new things to do all the time. If students are passionate about something they can make new clubs to find others who relate to them.
In a time when it seems like everyone is going to college and being a college graduate feels like it means less I want to find a different way to stand out. Our college we choose has a reputation the will precede us, we all want it to be a good reflection and for me that means, I want people to know that I am respectful, I am a hard worker, I am open, and I am creative. The way that we get our school to reflect good things is to do those good things. As much as the school says about us in general it is us that give the school a reputation; our actions as individuals and as a community creates an image for students at the university.
Being orange should mean that we are respectful to others, but also ourselves. Life is a balancing act between others and yourself. We cannot expect to treat others the way we want to be treated when we don’t care for ourselves. Understanding ourselves can be the hardest thing, we are tough on ourselves and don’t see what other see. Why would we speak harshly to ourselves when in the same situation we would give others encouragement? If we can encourage ourselves we can genuinely encourage others. We build a connection with other students as soon as we decide to go to this school, we may have completely different reasons for choosing the university, but we have chosen the same university. We are part of the same community, trying to get an education, to build relationships, and to go from here.
Being orange should mean that we work hard, learn a little of everything even when we don’t want to. Bacc Core classes can be tough, they’re not all classes that we instinctively want to take or think would be fun, but regardless, they are there for a reason whether we agree with them or not, we work hard through the classes. We learn all sorts of things about the world and gain a little knowledge in different fields. I think doing this is good not only to be “well rounded” but we see things other than those that we are focused on and are important to us. It means that we work our hardest, we make mistake, but we learn from them. We grow and improve and do things that are quality, which we can be proud of.
I want being orange to mean that I’ve come from an open community. A place that is welcoming and accepting, and full of people from all walks of life. I want it to mean that I have been in a community full of real people, who are individuals. I want people to see Oregon State and see a university that is a place for equality. I strongly believe in treating human beings equally. I want my school to show that we care about everyone.
Being creative is a special value for me, I want a career that lets me be creative and express myself, so I want to surround myself in a community that values the arts and imagination. I think that society often forgets the value of art and creativity, we are aesthetic beings, we like things that look nice, but it feels like we under value those who create those thing we enjoy. I want to come from a school that recognizes those who do music and art are just as important as those who do math and science. Sometimes we only see one talent, but people are talented at different things and they are all important.
What I want Oregon State to represent may not be the same as others, but at its core I want people to see me as a student from Oregon State and think that I am worth giving a chance to. I want them to think fondly of the school. This involves the things I do, I must do the things that I want from the school; so, I will be respectful, I will work hard, I will be open, and I will be creative.