Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by Rodney Fischer

When you think of the Oregon State Beavers and our “Be Orange” motto, what does this motto entail? Is it pride and excellence? Is it compassion and integrity? Or is it a compilation of core values? Oregon State claims five core values on the OSU Strategic Plan (http://catalog.oregonstate.edu/ChapterDetail.aspx?key=2) including accountability, diversity, integrity, respect, and social responsibility. But should “being orange” simply consist of recognizing and occasionally acting according to these vague definitions of core values? Take for example the definition of diversity, it isn’t a definition at all, but rather an idea that is open to interpretation.

OSU defines diversity as follows: “We recognize that diversity and excellence go hand-in-hand, enhancing our teaching, scholarship, and service as well as our ability to welcome, respect, and interact with people” (see link above). The strategic plan fails to actually define their claimed values with explicit definitions, and the plan omits the importance of practicing these values. These lackluster definitions offered by OSU for these core values form a basis for the meaning of being orange, yet the offered list lacks in quantity and passion, but more importantly deprives viewers of the direction of how to be orange and why a student would want to be orange. I will unpack a couple of omitted values necessary to be orange including optimal effort and courage, followed by direction on how to be orange.

To be orange means to perform to the best of your abilities. To be orange you must transition into the post-graduation world and continue your orange lifestyle. That means waking up every morning with a purpose and will and plan to succeed. It’s waking up for your 8am class, staying in the library until midnight, and doing homework on Sundays. Being orange means you are always striving for success. The importance of ambition is stressed because this is what will help students of OSU become successful individuals who may positively contribute to society. Students strive to be orange because that is what will help them conqueror the struggles of life.

The OSU core values include integrity and respect, but in order to practice these values to be orange students must be courageous; courageous enough to stand up for what is morally right even if you are the only one standing. Courage is the willingness to confront an uncomfortable situation, which is many times dangerous, painful, or against social norms. Being orange means you will look fear directly in the eye and say “get the hell out of the way, I have shit to do.” Students should heed this working definition and example of courage, as it reminds us courage is an honorable yet difficult value to practice. Being orange is the maintenance of integrity despite distracting surroundings such as pain or danger, as well as recognizing that immoral inaction is as equally wrong as immoral action. Because those who are orange stand up for what is right.

But how does an OSU student become orange? And will becoming orange benefit you? The addition of OSU’s core values and the two added above all aim to achieve one goal of being orange: to become good people. In order to be orange, students must act with moral judgment. To act with moral judgment, we ought to follow the consequentialist moral theory. To narrow consequentialism down further, we must heed a form of utilitarianism called act-utilitarianism which says that “right actions are those that directly produce the greatest overall good, everyone considered” (Vaughn, 70). Act-utilitarianism is an idea that promotes the greatest good for all. Sometimes, we students face difficult and disquieting situations that call on our moral judgment to guide our imminent action or inaction. It is during these times where we must respond with moral judgment; we must recall act-utilitarianism to ensure our actions produce the most good for our surrounding OSU family. So, abiding by this consequentialist theory (act-utilitarianism) will ensure intended moral judgments.

The idea of utilitarianism begs us to examine the consequences of our possible actions before acting. Act-utilitarianism also forces us to focus on impartiality, where impartiality is justice based on moral, free of bias, objective criteria. These are ideas that most OSU students would want to be known for. Finally, this form of utilitarianism obliges us to act for the well-being of others, as we must consider which actions will produce the greater good for everyone. Being orange means being the best moral person you can be. To be moral, students must practice act-utilitarianism, and logical moral theory must acknowledge the principle of beneficence. And to practice true courage, students must act with moral contemplation. Therefore, to be orange we must all strive to be act-utilitarians so that we may implement courage into the OSU community and the future of our society.

Be Full of Purpose Be Orange

Submitted by Margo Botti

Each student at Oregon State University has different reasoning as to what it means to Be Orange. For me, being Orange means having a purpose. Not just having a purpose, but also being full of purpose. Each of the 27,925 students have a reason and a purpose for being at this University; whether they know it now or figure it out in the future, there is a purpose. Living with a purpose while attending one’s time at Oregon State requires engagement with what’s going on. Posted all around campus are “Be Orange Banners” symbolizing what it means to Be Orange. We each have different values and attitudes, which decipher the degree to what we see Orangeness as. When we come together as one community, the characteristics OSU values according to their Strategic Plan are: accountability, diversity, integrity, respect, and social responsibility. There is a purpose behind how students live those values out each day. There is a purpose we are here at Oregon State, in the community each of us are in, and behind the legacy we will leave. We all have a purpose, and I believe we should live our purpose out to the fullest of our ability and capacity.
There is a reason I, and all of the other students are here at Oregon State. We all got accepted. The term accepted goes along way. Sometimes we lose thought of what it means to be here at the University, myself included. An amazing division one University wanted each one of us- we were picked by a group of people because they wanted us and chose us. It is our responsibility to make ethically sound decisions while we are here and to be aware of the core values OSU stands for helps to create a healthy successful community of students. We are chosen to be here and have a purpose behind that choice. We are accepted here, as one community and one body of people. With the diversity among the students, there is something we all have in common; we all got in to the same University. There is something special about feeling wanted and accepted and I think we forget that when we feel lonely or rejected. There’s a purpose that we were chosen an accepted and that is not something to take lightly. Knowing that we are all chosen to be one community makes us Orange. At OSU we each live out a different purpose, but we are all apart of one community- the community of Orangeness. We live out Orangeness in the many reasons why each of us are here. Being Orange may look different for all of us, but there is a purpose behind the activities we engage in, the paths we take in college, and the communities we are attracted to. Looking at it from a counteractive viewpoint, some students may not want to be here, and do not see the opportunity and positive experiences available to them. But I would argue to step back and see the purpose that will come from it. I believe we are all here for a purpose. At Oregon State we are people with a purpose, and should desire to live that out to the full.
I have been so incredibly blessed by the community I have at Oregon State. To me, there is so much meaning and purpose in that. Community is something I value immensely. I always tell people that the most important elements to have in college are community and accountability. My community encourages me and builds me up in my life and in my faith, and I in return am able to be a blessing to them. I have seen the purpose in why I have the community I have here and I want that for every student. Being involved in a community gives the opportunity to be compassionate towards other around you, and also compassionate to oneself, because they are plugging in to an environment where they feel they belong and are loved. The friends we choose in college are the ones who share in the triumphs, and mourn through the trials. We have a purpose for the people whom we affect and influence in our communities, and those who affect and influence us at OSU. Other people may not say that community is something that they think of when faced with the concept of being Orange, but I can assume that it is a part of their life here at Oregon State.
After leaving OSU, we will all leave behind a legacy. We are here for a purpose, and will leave with a purpose. After college everyone goes in different directions, but one thing we all have in common is that we get the opportunity to leave a legacy. If there is a purpose for us being here, what we leave behind is purposeful. Being Orange is something one can identify with for a lifetime. Being part of the Orange community also involves leaving the physical state of the Orange community as a student. I want to leave behind a legacy that makes people feel blessed because they knew me; I want them to remember me for the positive impact I made in their life. We were here, and we were Orange, how do you want to make the years here purposeful? What will your legacy be?
After asking people around me what it means to be Orange, some of the answers I received were: “being a Beaver fan,” “being concerned for the campus,” “being present,” “welcomed,” “being a student here,” “diversity,” and “people who are always friendly.” We all define Orange with different ethical values and attitudes we have. I value living life with a purpose, not just in my four years at OSU, but in the years I have lived and continue to live. Because I have compassion for myself, I will take what I think it means to be Orange and lay it at the world’s feet. I’m living life full of purpose, being Orange is living full of purpose. We have a purpose whether we see it now or see it in a year. Find your purpose and leave your legacy.

Submitted By: Patrick Foley
Be Orange
Being orange can be classified into a lot of different categories and will be different from person to person. In general I think it means how you would want to be classified as a person graduating from Oregon State University, meaning what are your values, education and career goals, and how you interacted and contributed to the campus community.
I believe that everyone is different in what they want people to think about them. If someone doesn’t care what other people think then that person would most likely not be very friendly, but they could still have good values. But for me I have high values which I think can rub off onto other people. I try to be very respectful and nice to everyone I meet, hold the door open for people, try to start conversation with kids in my classes, the list goes on and on. I feel like if everyone was to try and do one of these things then the campus as a whole would be a nice place to be, just like it is. This could tie into utilitarianism, see everyone as equal and do an act that produces more pleasure than pain. Also we can relate to Kant’s universal law theory which states to act in a way that you would want people to act towards you, basically the same thing as the golden rule we learned when we were young.
Being orange can is something that people should want to associate with their career goals. If you wanted to get a job and the employer knew you graduated from Oregon State then you would want him to associate you with a school that has a good reputation. Having a good reputation starts with the students and how they act which ties back into Kant’s universal law. Being orange can also tie into your educational goals. For instance you couldn’t really have a successful time in school if everyone was rude to you or you weren’t having fun. The University has a reputation to uphold and all the professors play just as big of role in it as the students do, so if you want to get the most out of your education then having the professors try and teach in a way will benefit the students the most. But in order to do so the students have to want to learn and be respectful towards the professors which is a definition of good, act in a way that produces more pleasure than pain.
All the points stated above on how to be orange contribute to the OSU community are dependent on how engaging students are. This can be done in a lot of different ways, for instance the increasing diversity at schools in across the country can be a good thing because it gives the opportunity for students to learn about different cultures and become friends with those other kids. There are also lots of different clubs that students can join to help with different things around campus. For instance all the art and posters around campus different student organizations are in charge of all of it. This can also help tie in with future careers, it can demonstrate to employers your leadership and organizational skills while maintaining the ability to carry out important tasks.
I think there is a variety of different ways to get being orange across. It can’t simply just be implanted in one day, it has to be done in many steps and can take a long time but it all has to start with each person wanting to be orange and to do what they feel would benefit the OSU community as a whole.
In conclusion I would like being orange to mean a wide range of things. The most important though is for each individual to be able to express good character traits, like being respectful. I would also like for the school to have a good reputation with people that didn’t attend, for instance future employers. I would want them to believe that OSU is a credible school that had lots of good people that showed me how to work hard and gave me the knowledge required to work there. I also think it means doing things out of your comfort zone like engaging with people from other countries and even different ethnicity. If we get a majority of the school acting in this manner or even a similar one it would be even more enjoyable then it already is, and it would give the school an even better reputation.