Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by: Christopher Hathaway

Be Orange. What does it mean to Be Orange? This is not a simple question with one sole answer because, as a value, everyone will define Orange differently and in their own way. OSU as a community is made up of many different people from all different backgrounds of religion, race, ethnicity, moral upbringing, and personal values that are individual to each person. To some Orange may mean freedom in the way of being out on their own and experiencing life through this community in a way they have never experienced life before. To another the value of being Orange may mean bettering themself by being the first generation of their family to attend college. As a whole, Orange can really encompass any value to any person.

If I were to define Orange as it relates to my values I would say that being Orange means doing everything I can to succeed in this community. I define this as my value because I am one of the lucky ones; my parents have worked their entire lives and saved up the money to pay for me to go to college without me having to know the burden of debt. Because of this I want to repay them through my success and well-being. So while being Orange means that I am creating a better future for myself, it is also a way of saying thank you to my parents. Aside from each individuals Orange value, I would say that being Orange as a citizen of this community cannot be boiled down to one certain value, but instead I think it is more of a set of virtues that allow all of our fellow citizens to realize their values and their individual definitions of being Orange. The virtues that I believe are involved in being Orange are compassion, respect, integrity, and honesty. Being compassionate to the members of this community I feel reaffirms every individual’s choices and creates a sense of acceptance which facilitates everyone’s different values. Respect in the community and understanding that we are all different is vital if the community is to be successful because if members of the community feel that they are not respected it may discourage them from achieving their full potential for fear of unacceptance. By integrity I mean doing what is right and for the better of the community while understanding the outcomes and consequences that may come with doing the right thing. Finally, honesty includes being honest to your fellow citizens and not being dishonest for the pleasure of self-promotion, it also means being honest with ourselves and knowing our values and not expecting too much from the community. I believe that when we become members of this community, we assume the responsibility of these virtues and being Orange to help our fellow human beings be Orange according to their own value.

Some things that could help promote being Orange would be community activities or gatherings that promote the Orange community. All inclusive activities such as pep-rallies in the quad create a sense of community and promote compassion and respect. Banners around campus that define these virtues could act as a daily reminder of what being Orange is and might even prompt self-honesty when students see the banners and ask themselves if they have been being Orange lately. There is no single intervention that could cause everyone in the community to act according to these virtues but continually practicing them as individuals helps us move from acting Orange to truly being Orange. Other ways to practice being Orange requires ethics spotting in the community and in our daily lives and reaffirming actions that coincide with being Orange and recognizing and discontinuing actions that do not. Brochures for incoming students that define being Orange and define each of the values involved would supply members of the community with a knowledge of what Orange is so that they can make informed decisions when faced with community based moral dilemmas.

If this definition of being Orange were promoted I believe it would create a better sense of community and create an environment in that each member of the community is supported making it easier for everyone to be Orange! So when you go out today think about your fellow citizens values and help them be Orange by being Orange yourself.

There all kinds of different people that make up the OSU community. All these different cultures and backgrounds give us different points of view. Most of these views we cannot understand because we have only seen life through our own eyes.  When someone here’s Be Orange I want them to associate it with open-mindedness and respect.

To be open-minded you have to be compassionate, understanding, and engaging. You also have to be willing to put yourself out there among other strangers of your community. We have an obligation to our community to get to know those around us. Get to know those around us so that we can listen to new ideas and ways of looking at life. These experiences will open up our eyes and help us notice all the ethical skills we may or may not have.

An open-minded person will listen to whomever they are talking to and engage in a conversation. They care about what the other person has to say. They ask questions when they have them, they never hold back. They apply emotions to their conversations so that the other person feels engaged with you. Being open-minded takes a while to develop in this community I would say you’re orange after returning from your 1^st year. If you come back you’re orange. And know you represent something that is not just your top priority but others as well. When someone says they attended Oregon State University it should automatically turn the light bulb on in someone else’s head. They should associate all these great things I’ve been talking about with your degree.

Someone who is not Orange or not open-minded is an individual who is selfish in all his decisions and thinking. This type of person believes that there way of thinking is the best way and any other way means nothing to him/her. For example at the beginning of this class some of us in the class were frustrated due to the fact that we weren’t open-minded to this way of teaching. I don’t know how my peers felt but I thought that this way of learning and teaching allows students to think on their own. Being told to due an assignment without any step-step instructions helps your brain think more. It’s not necessarily thinking outside the box but just play with your box.

We are all here for the reason, to get a degree. Whether its your bachelors, masters, or PhD your degree from OSU will be the first thing people have to judge you by. We all judge a book by its cover but we don’t notice that we do it. I want them to judge me as a person with character, open-mindedness and caring for those around me.

When I hear the phrase Be Orange it means to have an open-mind to new ideas, people, events, cultures, and values. If these people want to be a part of the Beaver Nation they have to commit to these values throughout their lives. Once your Orange you can’t go back. You have made a lifelong commitment to not just representing yourself but a community that has established itself. We have to strive for education and to promote higher education to the younger generation.

From class lectures, the book, and having conversations with my colleagues I learned that we shouldn’t be part of the system. We are in the situation that we are in because we follow the system. People shouldn’t have fear; we should use the fear of not knowing what’s going to happen to drive is to put a stop to it. We have to put a end the government and corporations reign of taking advantage of its citizens. It’s a shame that the cost of education drives people away. If you have commitment in what you do, you can accomplish anything. And with this knowledge it means nothing if you don’t share it with others. We all have to know how our system works and how we can change it to improve ourselves and those around us.

I have learned a lot from this class, I have learned a lot about myself and how I can be a better person. If you approach your life goals with ethics in mind you will notice how much we take for granted. We put a value on objects that really have no value. It’s sad to see so many people that are oblivious to these ideas. For that reason we have to take use all the skills that ethics gives us to spread the word and get people the information that they need. It’s time that we take back our pride and put a stop to it.

Be open-minded, Be Orange. When I hear someone say Be Orange I want open-minded to automatically pop up in their thoughts. When people read the signs around campus and look at the pictures of the students and staff. The way we show it by our knowledge and how we choose to use it. For me the correct way of using is by sharing that knowledge with others and helping them understand these new ideas. As long as they have an open-mind I believe our knowledge can lead us in the direction that we want to go. All we have to do is pass on the knowledge to those in our community so that as a whole we can be something more then just Be Orange.

-Francisco Flores