Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by Kellen Clute

Oregon State University uses the slogan “Be Orange” on commercials and other media outlets to advertise their brand as a school and community. But often times this slogan is open to the interpretation of its audience and their values. Because there is simply no universal definition for what is “Being Orange” it presents a great opportunity for people to use their values and critical thinking to imagine, or create what being orange really means. However the university does offer examples as well as values that they associate with the slogan as well as expect their students to act by. Some of these values include accountability, diversity, integrity and respect.  These values are very clear, with definitions on the website to further communicate their goals and intentions as a university.

Although the University has clear goals and values that coincide with the Be Orange slogan, there is always room for more exploration and self interpretation. I for one would pick different values when trying to convey how I think OSU and the surrounding community should act. Not because the ones the university has provided aren’t good or don’t make sense, but because I, like most people in this world have different views values and opinions then those who sat down and created these. Does that make mine any more “right” than theirs? No. But for the sake of this assignment and my own well being am I going to lay them out for you? Yes.

To start I would replace accountability with responsibility and the reason is quite simple. If you first tell someone they are being held accountable it only seems fair you let them know exactly what they are accountable for. Responsibility explains actions, decisions, and power and with attending OSU comes all three of those things. Every day you make decisions based on yours as well as others actions and most the time you are either choosing to exert or not exert your power. What I mean is when I helped an elderly lady cross the street for the hero assignment I was not simply walking across some pavement. I was choosing to use my power as a very large male to stop cars that were previously not stopping and I made the decision to to not act like most people and simply stand by. Actions and decisions like these although little, are overlooked everyday. If this were to change, and more people were stand up and unite as leaders the OSU university and community would benefit greatly.

Pride is another value left out of the Oregon State strategic plan that I think is very important. There is most obviously the pride we should all have in our school. Our athletic programs, our academic success and our school history are all examples of things attending students as well as alumni should take pride in. However more importantly is the pride one must have within themselves to conduct themselves the right way every single day. It is easy to be lazy when you are tired, it is easy to sleep in and skip class or to walk by someone committing a wrong doing, but it is pride that prevents someone from not. It is pride that makes that person day in and day out continue to strive for excellence and to keep making this community a better place.

To be quite honest Being Orange isn’t anything majestic, in fact it really isn’t all that hard. But it does take a commitment and continuous stability both in ones own self and the community as a whole to make this slogan really mean something. However I think if people were to follow the OSU strategic guide as well as what I just laid out it can and will be done.

Submitted by: Sierra Land

People have been fighting for pride since the beginning of time.  What is it that drives us to be proud of something?  Perhaps it’s having something to be proud of.  When someone has nothing in this world to offer, they will always have their pride.  Pride is something that can’t be taken away, which is why people should value it.  When I hear the phrase “Be Orange” I assume it means to be proud of your school.  You can be proud of your school by doing things such as going to class, studying hard for exams, going to sporting events, and wearing school colors.  If this is true then I am the epitome of what being Orange is all about.  Looking deeper into the meaning, when you hear the word Orange you affiliate that with the school colors.  In this sense, being Orange means being a part of the school, the community of OSU, and beaver nation as a whole.

What does being a part of beaver nation mean?  It means that you attend a school whose goal is to improve the state, the country, and the world.  It means you go to a school that has the best looking females in the country.  It means you are being taught by the best professors in Oregon.  It means you are part of a community that loves to compete in sports.  It means you belong to a community that is driven by educating people so they can make the environment better.   The main focus of OSU is to advance, promote, and progress in areas of distinction.  I’m proud to be a part of this nation because I believe in making the world a better place.  A good theory to live by is to leave this world better than when you found it.

With pride comes respect.  You can show respect to yourself and to your school by doing your best work for your professors, and cheering as loud as you can at sporting events.  You get respect when you do these things and more.  People respect you if you go all out for something.  If you show pride in your work then you have something worth honoring.  If you cheer as loud as you can for your school at sporting events, then you are showing pride.  There is no feeling like being the part of the roar of the crowd at a football game after your team scores a touchdown.  Not to mention what happens before the game; all the laughter and good times being had while tailgating.  Being all you can be for your school is what being Orange is all about.

People show respect around school on a daily basis.  For instance, people hold the door open for someone that is right behind them.  This is a simple gesture and it normally follows with a quick “thank you.”  I’ve seen people return something that someone else just dropped.  I’ve witnessed several occasions when someone says “you forgot this” and then hands the person the thing they forgot.  I’ve seen students say “hi” to their classmates when they see them around campus, and because we are all good people we say “hello” back. All these things and more are how people at OSU show respect.

You can also show respect by understanding what it is that your professors are trying to teach you.  Don’t just go to class to earn the A.  Go to learn the material and the concepts that your professor is teaching.  The school entrusts the professors with their superior wisdom.  The students are at school to get more knowledge in the field of their choosing.  Therefore, it is only right for students to put their trust into learning everything their professors teach them.  Another key value is trust.  You need to trust that everything your professor is teaching you is beneficial to your learning.  You need to trust that you are paying for the proper education.  You need to trust that you are learning the skills necessary to be successful in life.

The system is not set up for you to only take classes in the area of your major.  Instead we are told to take baccalaureate classes that shape us into being well rounded individuals.  One can assume that means that we should gain knowledge not only in our field of study but other areas as well.  This notion leads us to believe that if you are a well-rounded individual you are ready for the real world and all real world situations.  That means that the more knowledge you have, the better off you are.  We trust that all the knowledge gained at a University is good knowledge and can be applied to real life situations.  I want to gain as much knowledge as I can while attending OSU because I can use that knowledge to be successful in life.  All of this may be true, but is being a well-rounded individual all we want from attending OSU?

When I graduate I want my degree to mean that I have all the knowledge and skills necessary to make the world a better place, especially in the field of Exercise and Sport Science.  I want it to mean that I made lots of memories at OSU that I can tell my grandkids.  It’s a common saying that college years are the best times of your life and if that’s true then I will have some great stories by the time I graduate.  I want it to mean that I have more education than any of my family members before me.  It means a lot when the next generation is more educated than the previous generation.  I want to hang my degree proudly and say that I was smart enough to achieve that.  I want to honor my degree by honoring everything I had to do to get the degree.

Another value that I affiliate with being Orange is success.  What I want most out of life is to be successful.  Sadly, one of the main ways people measure their successes is by how much money they make.  Sure I would love to make a lot of money but that shouldn’t be what makes me successful.  I measure my success by determining how far I have come and how much I have accomplished.  If I do what I set out to do then I will be successful.  If I obtain a degree from OSU and get into a career related to sports I will be successful.  If I improve the Science of Sport in any way I will be successful.  If I am kicking back with my dad overlooking Lake Tahoe from my condo then I know I am successful.

I am proud of my school.  I am proud to say that I attend Oregon State University.  I am proud of all the knowledge I’m learning. I am proud to be a beaver.  I respect my school, my professors, and my classmates.  I always strive for success.  I will one day be proud to say that I am successful.  I am Orange.

By Kyle West

Being an orange student at Oregon State University is preparing me to be successful in my future career within the construction industry.  Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose or the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted.  Success is the value I chose because we all are aiming to be successful in life and our degree from OSU is our ticket to get there.  There is a reason why I attend this school because I know that success will follow after my time spent here at OSU.  As a student, I have gained knowledge, respect, and responsibility within the past two quarters that I’ve been attending our “be orange” institution.  Being orange not only defines us as students at OSU but also shows our strong values we have towards the university.  I believe that the education that I deserve and acquire here on campus is the stepping-stone in my lifetime that will set my future up for success.

Oregon State University is one of the top leading schools in the nation.  When we talk about success related to our school it could mean success in a few different ways.  Our university is successful because they have created an institution that thousands of young adults want to attend so they can leave here with a degree that means something to them and to the work force.  OSU also has some of the most successful and knowledgeable professors in the nation and as students we are lucky to be taught by such successful people.  OSU’s core values consist of accountability, diversity, integrity, respect, and social responsibility.  Our institution believes that apart of being orange relates to these five core values and I do agree with them, but success should be added to their list.  If I were an incoming student at OSU, success would be a core value that would catch my eye because every student wants to be successful within his or her time here at this university.  I want my degree to show that I am a hardworking individual and have accomplished something that many people don’t have the opportunity to do in their lives.  Without OSU I would not be orange and I believe that it would be much harder to become successful without graduating with a college degree.

Success not only means having a bright future but it also means being successful within my courses I take here at OSU.  From attending construction speaker meetings here at OSU, I’ve learned that top construction employers are looking for graduates from our school for promising careers and internships.  They believe that Oregon State University teaches the required courses that help develop our critical thinking skills in order to become successful within a certain company.  Many of the guest speakers at these meetings are OSU alumni and they have experienced within their company that OSU graduates are some of the top students they choose to become apart of their company.  Oregon State alumni also represent our university and their success reflects on our institution showing current students that your degree will set you up for a bright future.  Our degree shows that as students we have gained an amount of knowledge for us to be successful within a certain field.  Students take on a lot of responsibility towards earning their degrees and it shows that we are capable of difficult tasks and that we are efficient and dedicated learners.  With the knowledge that we have gained through courses here at OSU, employers know that we have put in hard work and dedication so that we will have a successful future.

Before this assignment I never considered what the “Be Orange” signs were about or the values that were behind being orange because I had never thought much about being orange.  I do see myself as a student here at Oregon State but I believe that our “be orange” campaign is to attract new students so that they feel like they will belong within our institution if they choose Oregon State.  I have set values that I do cherish here at OSU like success, responsibility, and knowledge, but I don’t believe that the institution is trying to attract current students to question these signs.  I do believe that I am orange because I belong to this university as a student but I don’t believe that the slogan “be orange” will ever have an effect on students after they graduate.  OSU Alumni would rather take pride in the color orange and remembering the memories they shared while here at OSU.  I don’t believe that graduating students are voicing their opinions to their friends and family letting them know about how to be orange and certain values they have towards being orange.  We are already orange in our own ways.  When we submitted our Advanced Tuition Deposit to confirm OSU as our school we became orange at that moment in time.  After that it doesn’t make sense for the institution to tell students to “be orange” since I believe we already are.  Once I graduate and become an Oregon State University Alumni, I will always see my self as orange, but I don’t understand why we have signs that say, “be orange” when every student attending and alumni have their own orange moments.   Each student has their own values that they share at Oregon State and I believe that success should be apart of each student.

Ultimately, being orange shows a sense of pride that each student should have whether you are a current student or alumni.  Being orange shows that you are successful, will be successful, or already are successful.  Our great university gives each student the tools and critical thinking skills that we will use after we graduate from OSU.  We are being taught to be successful within our majors and to always work hard towards are goals so that we can have bright futures.  Being orange is not only wearing your colors on game day, it’s taking pride in your school and in your education here at OSU.  To Oregon State students, orange isn’t just a color, it’s our life.  As an OSU student I am certain that the education that I am receiving here will give me the successful future that I have always dreamed for.