Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by: Elizabeth Graham-Williams

At Oregon State University (OSU), to Be Orange is an honor, a reflection of school values, and a privilege. At a school where “Powered by Orange” is a phrase used and seen almost daily on campus, there are certain values and expectations that go hand in hand with ‘being orange.’ As I began to explore the concept of ‘being orange’ I was surprised at the many values and interpretations that this simple phrase encompassed.

OSU president, Ed Ray, defines Orange through his strategic plan, using the key values to guide us along the path to our final destination in life. He highlights accountability, diversity, integrity, respect and social responsibility as key components in the OSU educational process, and to be successful beyond. President Ray and the OSU community emphasize the importance of ‘being Orange’ not just at OSU but throughout our lives after college. For example, at OSU we practice diversity in order to improve and foster “our ability to welcome, respect, and interact with other people.” Our ability to work well with other people, as we learn at OSU, is an element of ‘Orange’ that we carry for the rest of our lives. ‘Being Orange’ is not about a color or school pride, it is the community, practices and skillset that each student gains and makes them successful for the rest of their lives; that is what ‘being Orange’ is all about.

Taking into consideration the university values and my own personal experiences at OSU, I think that ‘being orange’ encompasses President Ray’s ideals to create a community that promotes leadership and growth both personally and academically. When talking with several of my close friends about values and experiences they have learned and had at OSU, one thing everyone spoke about was the community setting here. To Be Orange, for example, is to be active in your college and university setting because it promotes growth academically but also promotes leadership and communication, both key ethical values that OSU promotes. At OSU, every individual is part of a community; fellow students and faculty are here to support everyone as we grow academically, socially and personally. These are the individuals that will shape the person you become after you leave OSU.

Personally, when I look at OSU and the phrase ‘be orange,’ I think of growth. It is the ethical responsibility of this university to educate its students and prepare them for their respective fields. When I look back at my four years at OSU, I think of where I began and how far I have come today. To me that growth is what makes me a part of the ‘orange’ community. My growth academically, socially, and personally continues to surprise me. The academic knowledge, social connections, and personal confidence that I have gained at OSU to me represent the concept of ‘being orange.’

To ‘be orange’ may vary from person to person, but the core values are the same for everyone. Just as President Ray said of his strategic plan, being orange is a “map of the foreseeable landscape, with some speculation about what’s beyond the horizon.” ‘Being orange’ provides the students the values and skills needed for life, and it provides the community, support and leadership necessary to face what is beyond the horizon.

Submitted by: Jacob Deffenbacher
Oregon State defines being Orange by their core values. These include accountability, diversity, integrity, respect, and social responsibility. In this case accountability refers to good treatment of what the school had provided. The school provides us with a beautiful learning environment, great classrooms, devoted teachers, and a plethora of tools to improve our learning experience. It is our job as students to be accountable to the school and the student behind us to treat what we have been given with care and gratitude. In the large public college setting we are given the opportunity to study and learn along-side students of different beliefs and backgrounds, this allows us to expand our knowledge of the world and the people in it from the comfort of our own University. Integrity can be often overlooked because it is hard to come by anymore, but it is an important value especially in college. As technology continues to advance it becomes easier and easier to take the easy way out and cheat, whether that be on an exam or homework. It is our jobs as students to be stewards of honesty and to make strong integrity an important value in our lives. While it may be a very self-explanatory, respect is an important value to remember. As the old saying goes treat others how you wish to be treated, but is more than that. As a community we should desire the best for each other, and the starts with respect, respect for the University staff as well as our fellow students. I believe social responsibility refers to our responsibility to not only ourselves but to the University as a whole to put our best foot forward in our classes as well as our actions around campus. To represent strong morals and values in our daily lives.
I want be Orange to mean pride and a desire for growth. I want us to have pride in our school and what we have accomplished while we were here. To be able to look at our student community and be proud of what is represents. But to also be proud of our individualism and how even though we may be going through the same motions here at school we are all unique in our own way. I also want Orange to represent growth. That we aren’t to just sit around and watch the world improve around us but that we desire to be stewards and faces of that growth.
In this speech Jeff Daniels from the T.V. show Newsroom is asked why America is the best Country in the World, his response may surprise you.

Although this speech may come from a television show I believe its message and ideas are very important. As American’s I believe it is very easy for us to claim at being the best before actually think about, and some of the statistics that Jeff Daniels shared were quite staggering. He claimed that America isn’t the best country in the world anymore, but it sure used to be. And I would add that it can be again. But that comes down to us, comes down to how we spend these four plus years at Oregon State. Will we be a part of the, “Worst. Generation. Ever. “, or will we be responsible for improving this country, for bringing about growth and prosperity. It is with that in mind that I say Be Proud, Be Orange. It isn’t an arrogant boastful pride of how great at sports you are, or how many parties you blacked out at, or how many woman you’ve slept with, but a pride in the student body, in what we have and will accomplish.

Pride in the student body starts with the individual. Be proud in who you are and don’t let anyone change that. A community isn’t a bunch of cookie cutter copies of people, but a group of individuals, a group of people with differing beliefs, differing ideals, and differing views on how the world works. “If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?” 1 Corinthians 12:17. Everyone has their own role and spot in community, and it is the differences in people that make the community more complete not separated. Each person is responsible not only for their own future but also the future of the community, because it is this generation, our generation that will shape this country for the good or bad in the time to come. It is important to grow as individuals as well as a community and that we direct this growth to help improve the world around us. Whether that be through new technological advances, improvement in the green movement, or even growth in the way we treat and think of others.

It is with that I say be proud, be orange. Be proud of this University and the time you spent here, and when you leave this school live a life that makes the university proud you. When you disperse across the country after your time here be beacons that represent Oregon State and set the bar high for others behind you, show what it means to truly Be Orange.

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Published by: Ariel Chadbourne

Here at Oregon State we have a very specific message to potential and current students: that the students here aim to “Be Orange”. There is no definition as to what it means to “Be Orange”, but as an Oregon State student I think that being “orange” is what you make it. To me, when I think of the term “Be Orange”, I think success, equality, and opportunity. It is amazing how two little words can give students something to strive for. What is more intriguing is that every person at Oregon State has a different vision of being “orange”, so this term can be inspirational to every individual here. But what is it about getting a degree at Oregon State that is so valuable? Ever since I was a little girl I knew that I was going to go to Oregon State when I grew up and it had absolutely nothing do with what classes Oregon State had to offer, it was more about the tradition. It wasn’t until later when I got closer to graduating from high school that I realized that I needed to pick a school that was going to benefit my future the most. After applying and getting accepted into 5 different universities, I picked Oregon State because I thought that it would give me the best opportunity to succeed. I want a degree that will open up doors for me that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. So Oregon State isn’t just a university, it is an opportunity. Be an Opportunity, Be Orange.

Opportunity as a value can be very broad. What kind of opportunity am I looking for? Just the word opportunity can mean so many things, but to me it means the chance to advance in not only my education but also in my business ventures and my ability to build relationships with people here on campus. Being able to expand my education has always been a priority in my life, and after changing my major once already I know that Oregon State really allows me to do that. Also, I am aspiring to be a business woman, and Oregon State has some great connections to internships which would give me the opportunity to gain some knowledge on starting my own business. Also, why does “Be opportunity, Be Orange” not really flow right? This is a value that is really important to me and I almost changed the value that I was using so that it would flow better.  I ended up going with “Be an Opportunity, Be Orange” which isn’t the normal format but I think that in order for the phrase to be versatile it should be able to include every value.

What does being “orange” have to do with opportunity? Well, other people that are “orange” all have the same opportunities as me when it comes to the classes they choose and the places they go around campus. When someone starts at Oregon State they start with a blank slate so they are an opportunity in themselves to grow as an Oregon State student and they could be an opportunity for Oregon State to add another doctor or lawyer or biologist into the world. Whatever route you decide to go as a student here it will open up an opportunity for you to succeed.

The great thing about opportunity as a value is that it is for everyone, and in this case it is for everyone at Oregon State, including the staff. This can apply to present and future instances. We decide on a major which opens up opportunities to take certain classes and gain knowledge in certain fields, then later down the road allows for us to get a job. The opportunities are almost endless with every decision you make while you are at Oregon State. This value is important because it gives students something to strive for and with every university being a little bit different the opportunity here is different than the opportunity that you would get anywhere else.

If an alien crashed from the sky I would probably first off tell him that his name is going to be Bob. Simply because I think it would be awesome to meet an alien named Bob. But from there I really believe that I could push the importance of opportunity on Bob by showing him that he could start with a blank state and have the same opportunity at Oregon State to learn as we do, as long as he could speak English. I would show him all the great things that people can learn here at Oregon State and make him want to have that opportunity. Could you imagine an alien being a sports caster or a therapist?

There are some requirements though in order to take advantage of opportunity including the want to move forward and having dreams or goals that you aim to reach. If somebody were to go out and start doing drugs and things that make them back-track in their goals then they probably won’t have the same opportunity as those who are focus specifically on school and succeeding. Also, depending on the roles of people at Oregon State the values vary minutely. For example, opportunities for students are focused more toward education and building relationships, but as a staff member the opportunity is the ability to spread your knowledge.

In the end, I really want Oregon State students to take this value and let it trigger the light bulb in their head that they have so many options while they are in school and that if they don’t like the path they are currently on then they have the opportunity to change their major and take a different path. That being said, I really would like to see people triggering their talents and go to school for that rather than going for a field they aren’t even interested in because it could give them the opportunity to have a bigger paycheck.

With all of that being said, in order to “Be Orange” you must be a student or staff member here at Oregon State. In order to be a member of Oregon State I really think it is crucial to accept the value of opportunity because it is a big part of moving forward in life and being successful at Oregon State because it means taking advantage of what the campus has to offer. Now this means that people who don’t go to college or want to grow as a person would not be “orange” and therefore would not have the same opportunity that I am referring to.

With all that being said, I whole-heartedly believe that the value of opportunity is crucial for everyone’s future. Opportunity can be anything from the food you choose to eat while you are here on campus or your decision to exercise or not all the way to big life decisions like your career. Every choice you make can come with a different opportunity whether it be big or small it is still significant.

I do think that my choice to reword the phrase in order to fit my value rather than fitting my value to the phrase was a good idea because I think that it is important that students really take advantage of all that Oregon State has to offer in order to get the whole experience. The value of opportunity is one that students should not take for granted and need to be opened up to. In order for students to really see what is out there I think that part of your BAC core should include joining a club for a term. Students get so stressed and think that they don’t have time to go out and join clubs or sororities and really miss out on many opportunities. You could be the next doctor, lawyer, or finder of a cure for cancer. It is up to you to take the opportunities given to you at Oregon State and, in-turn, be an opportunity yourself. Be an Opportunity, Be Orange.