Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by Sam White

People from outside our university may associate Oregon State by our loud, conservative, obnoxious fans that wear orange and black, but from the inside we know we are much more than that. The Oregon State University Strategic Plan has the perfect “landscape” of how our university should be defined and demonstrated. Accountability, diversity, integrity, respect and social responsibility are all values that we should strive for while attending OSU. This is a bench mark for our values at OSU but being “orange” is most certainly subjective. Being “orange” is something to be earned and shared which is why the value of loyalty is so strong within our university. I have focused on this value because it is something that we all share and is often demonstrated. It is what brings us together intellectually, athletically and socially.

What it means to be “orange,” is to join together and to be a part of something that is bigger than yourself and to strive to make people around you better. We are a community filled with intelligent, good spirited, dedicated people, all of which who are willing to make a difference. Loyalty is often associated with the sports teams and how we will always root for them not matter what. But, it also extends to the classroom where we feel that our education is each others responsibilities. We can not learn on our own, which is why being “orange” is having the back of your counterparts no matter where you are on campus. This value seems to be underrated because it is something that is constantly happening around you. Discussion boards, study tables, cheering at sports events, tutoring session are all examples of how we know we are loyal to one another. It shows that we care about the well being of one another and that is something to be proud of.

When asking peers from our OSU community what it meant to be “orange,” the words that came up most often were hardworking and passionate. These are two values that I believe everyone can relate and agree with because they are both aspects of daily life that bring us together. Passion does not only bring us together during social and sports events but love for getting better in our community and our academics. With this, I believe hard work comes hand-in-hand. These are two simple, yet essential parts of being a part of the Oregon State University community. You can also associate this to achieving eudemonia, because these are very natural and distinctive parts of human life. It helps us be reasonable, functioning human beings. The other answers I received had to do with our sports programs, which correlates to what people outside the Oregon State community believe us to be. These seemed to be shallow and unethical answers because of the lack of depth and thought they had behind them. I believe this because we are much more than our sports teams make us out to be, a lot more.

With strong loyalty we have achieved so much in all aspects of our university. Being “orange” means that you are part of something special and larger than yourself. With that, means that you must care and protect people and things within the group. It is a value that is sacred and not something to be looked passed. Go Beavs.

Submitted by Stevie Coury

As we were sitting in class one day, we all realized who walked in the door. It was benny the beaver, the schools mascot. We brought benny in class to talk about what it means to be orange. Everyone is going to have a different opinion about this because there is no right or wrong, it really is what you think. The things I most remember coming up were integrity, responsibility, caring, and respect. Those four to me stood out the most and really made me think what it means to be orange. The one I chose in class and shared was respect. No matter where you go around this campus or whom you meet, I feel like there is respect. I will talk about of few of these and tell you how they fit to being orange.

I believe the most important one to me is respect. Like I said above, that’s what first came to my mind when asked about being orange. I feel like everywhere you go on campus people respect you and where you came from. I don’t feel like there is any discrimination in this college. If you notice, we have a lot of foreign people, and I’m friends with even a couple, and I don’t feel any different then they do. Respect is something that is not always easy to find. I have had cousins visit here and they can’t get over the fact of how nice people are here when they come visit. They said they have been to other college’s campus, same with me, and it isn’t the same as it is here at OSU. From the bus drivers, to the teachers, to the people who work in the MU I feel like OSU is a community that respects one another.  The next value I am going to talk about is caring. Here at OSU caring is a big value of our everyday life. Students have to care about their grades everyday in order to get good grades, and care about their surroundings. We are all here to get the best education we can, so you need to care about your grades and if you don’t your in the wrong place. Also I feel here at OSU you care about your surroundings. Nobody knows everyone on campus, but I bet mostly everyone cares enough about this school and environment we live in to do things for other people even if that is picking up their lunch trash. I have been to the OSU dinning halls and seen that happen before which is clear to me that people care about one another. The last value I will talk about is responsibility. Responsibility can be looked at in many different ways. You have your responsibility as a student in the classroom and whatever you do outside the classroom. No one is going to tell you what to do each day, you have to pick your pathways and decide if it is right or if it is wrong. College is about maturity and responsibility, and this is a big thing at OSU because of the great community we have surrounding us.

In conclusion, being orange can mean a million different things. There is no right answer or wrong answer. I truly believe what we have here at OSU is special and not found just anywhere. Respect is my biggest belief of what is truly means to be orange. Everywhere you go on campus or around the campus you feel respected and like you’re apart of something bigger then just going to school here. I believe that is a big part of why OSU is such a successful school and a great place to be.

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.

Oregon State University was a great choice for me to advance my studies after high school and begin my adult life. Along with the other privileged countries in the world, America shall be thanked for its easy access to education. Now whether or not this particular education is being used to its full potential is another topic. I would like to compare what this school has done for me as an active enrolled student to what it means to be a citizen in the United States of America. Oregon State is a miniature nation that bleeds orange and values the concept of a team.

Being a beaver has taught me what its like to be a young adult growing up in America. I first began in the dorms with plenty of time, money and excitement. Not knowing where and how to use these things was the only challenge I had to conquer. I make this comparison of being part of the student body to being part of the American constituency because we don’t become great students until the fourth or fifth year of college. In the same way we do not become good nationals until we are forty of fifty, when we’ve learned where to invest, when to save, when to work and when to celebrate.

In the simplest terms, to be a part of OSU all you have to do is pay a few dollars. To live in America all you have to do is pay a few taxes. In return the school will provide you with protection such as campus security just as America watches over us with the Navy, Army and Air Force. Now once we have paid our dues to become a citizen or student, it is up to us how we want to spend are time and enthusiasm. We are free to study what we want, when we want and we are free to work for whom we want, where we want. We are free to be involved in the schools council or support the school sports teams and we are free to be involved in America’s legislation or support America’s teams. With an antagonistic view to all this freedom, America and OSU both have their problems, restrictions and regulations that not everyone will agree with. These rules and guidelines set forth by both the Dean and President of the United States may be seen to hinder some groups of people but they are necessary in keeping a functioning academia and democracy.

From an ethical egoism perspective, “the right action is the theory that advances one’s own best interests” (78). As students and citizens we have a responsibility to ourselves and an obligation to promote positive good. “Pleasure, happiness, power, desire satisfaction, capital, self-actualization” are some of feelings we are accountable to pick on our own level of satisfaction. Everyone will and should have a different level of what a correct action should be and whether it expands their own comfort (78). I respect OSU just like I respect America. I understand now that being orange means being a team player. You have a mutual appreciation for your coach (Dean/President), the referees (Faculty/Governors) and your teammates (Students/Residents). If you do you role in the big play, your team will win. At OSU I can put in any amount of effort into my education as I choose. In return OSU will evaluate my effort and compensate me to level deemed fit. In this same way I can work a minimum wage job or I can exert myself to the extant I want my wealth to go. Many may argue that the cliché ‘you only get out what you put in’ does not apply to everyone but after my college experience I suggest this to be 100% true.

From my freshmen year to my senior year I was provided with the tools I needed to succeed. Whether it is in the form of a computer lab, a gymnasium or tutors, they were there at my expense and I was free to exhaust those resources to their maximum or minimum. It takes sacrifice to earn and prove citizenship in the United States yet we forget we obtain rights such as free speech, voting privileges and the right to start a business. The relationship between OSU and me is more important than my degree. The degree is a perk, just like the right to bear arms. Being orange means we are team players and we know what it takes to win. I know that I can be a bench player or a star and the choice is entirely up to me. From the person who washes the jerseys, to the team’s manager, to the people that build the court, it takes everyone playing their own role to reach victory.

Submitted by Reed Oxsen

To be orange to me means that you complete a degree at Oregon State University and any level. This shows responsibility because there is a lot of time and sacrifices that have to be made to complete a degree at Oregon State. This is also a value that I want people to associate with when I get my degree.

Responsibility is to be accountable for something within ones power. This value reflects being orange because if you conduct yourself and act in a responsible manner people are going to be positively affected. Does just the pure fact that you act in a responsible way make you orange? Not for my definition. Responsibility is a characteristic that goes along with being orange, but being responsible does not make you orange. This is important to discuss because then everyone who does a responsible act would be considered orange and that is not the case. In completing a degree from OSU, responsibility looks like this. Good time management, completing assignments on time, going to class, interacting and communicating with others respectfully and putting in the effort to complete the degree. I would not include professors at OSU in my definition of being orange unless they graduated from OSU because even though you work for the university the experience that was gained by the professor is from another institution, so they are not truly orange because they did not go through the OSU system.

Oregon State has expressed the importance of community as a part of being orange, but I don’t think they do a good job at bringing the sense of community to OSU. A recent example of this would be with the unveiling of the new logo. Majority of the students were not so thrilled with the look of the beaver. If Oregon State wanted to show community they could have offered several different designs that students could have voted for, that way OSU as a community would feel like we have more of a say in what we identify ourselves with. Oregon State stated that the reason why the university chose the logo was to further the athletic program in recruiting. Athletes make up a small portion of the OSU student body, so to make a logo with the intention to cater to them does not promote the value of community that the university markets to us. By OSU saying they promote community and then endorse something that does the exact opposite is unethical and shows a lack of responsibility, which is a value that I identify with being orange.

Another motto that OSU has is that we are Beaver Nation. What does this mean? I looked up what the university defined this as and all I could find was information about the success of the athletic program and the athletes that are excelling in the classroom as well. When I think of Beaver Nation I think of the past and present students of OSU. The definition of nation according to Merriam-Webster is as follows, “A large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.” Only having information about the athletic program does not fit this definition because the athletic program is not something that everyone at OSU is united in common. Many students don’t even go to athletic events, so to have that as the focus does not fit the definition of Beaver Nation. It should be of the education OSU provides because athlete or not everyone has to take classes.

When I graduate I want my degree to show that I am a responsible person who knows how to complete something that they start. I don’t want my degree to looked upon as something that was given to me, but something that I worked hard for and earned because then people are more likely to take what I say as something that is important and credible. If my degree means something that is viewed in a positive way by others then not only do I benefit, but the University does as well.