Be Respectful. Be Orange

Submitted by Megan Hall

What does it mean to be Orange? Being Orange can have many different definitions depending on who you ask. “Being Orange” in its simplest terms can be described as upholding to Oregon state Universities core values which are: Accountability, Diversity, Integrity, Respect, and Social Responsibility (listed in OSU’s strategic plan). These words can have many different meanings to the students, faculty and the Corvallis community, therefore I believe it is important to define these words as I see them.

Accountability: taking responsibility for our actions and the results of your actions.

Diversity: having variety in all aspects of life including race, religion, age, sex, opinions, and ideas.

Integrity: honesty, upholding true to one’s self.

Respect: showing appreciation for the worth of someone or something.

Social Responsibility: acting in a way that benefits the society as a whole.

I see demonstrations of these core values every day on campus through advertisements, school programs, sports, community outreach programs, and actions of students and faculty. The value I see the least and truly believe needs the most improvement is respect. I don’t necessarily believe people are disrespectful to others, thought I have seen that as well, but I see a lot of people being disrespectful to themselves. I often hear other students talk badly about themselves or listen to the bad choices they have made involving their person life and or their school career and it demonstrates how little respect they actually have for themselves. It makes me wonder, if they do not respect themselves, how can they possibility be living up to the core values of the very school they go to? How can they be Orange?

Being Orange to me means being respectful to all of you come intact within our school, the community, and to yourself. I believe that learning how to be respectful to yourself and others will enhance the educational experience and atmosphere that will increase the success Oregon State University students achieve while attending. Respect is integrated into the other four values listed in the OSU’s strategic plan and believe it is important for us as a school and a community to start respecting ourselves.

Respecting yourself takes a great deal of patience and involves self-compassion. You have to understand that you will make mistakes in life and be able to learn from the outcomes of those mistakes, instead of allowing those mistakes to control you and lead to more mistakes. We need to understand that

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.

Submitted by: Colter Rodman

            My senior year of High School I applied to 3 colleges; Oregon, Oregon State, and Northern Arizona.  I was accepted to all 3 but eventually chose Oregon State because I knew I wanted to pursue a degree in engineering.  Since moving to Corvallis I could not be happier with my decision.  Oregon State has a campus filled with intelligent, hard working, good natured people.  This does not come from the individuals that Oregon State accepts into their university, but from the community it fosters.

College is a very important time in a person’s life, we move away from home and experience life on our own and it is around this age that we become adults.  We are responsible for our own actions and lose the protected environment of high school and home.  This is where our moral compass is forged.  Our parents have influenced us and sent us in the right direction.  Now we must make our own decisions on time management, dedication, we must find a balance between work and play, but more importantly, right and wrong.  The environment you are placed in (which school you choose) can heavily influence you as a person.

This is the reason the “Be Orange” campaign is so important, through this campaign Oregon State intends to help us on our moral journey.  The campaign encourages students to be personally proud of their school.  Through school and personal accomplishments Oregon State encourages students to have a “head held high” mentality.  If each person has this mentality, then the Oregon State community will have this mentality, and if the school has this mentality, we can start to make a visible difference to those around us.

If you were to walk around Oregon State and ask students what they thought it meant to be “orange” common descriptions would include the words commitment, spirit, hard work, and care.  These are all values that students feel we encourage and embrace as a school.  You can see this on a day to day basis as well.  Whether you walk into a class room on a Monday and see the work students put out or head down to Gill Coliseum on an evening to catch a basketball game.  Students here care about their school as well as those they go to school with.  The community that this school creates benefits everyone around it and is one of the main factors for the growth of its students.

Until this term I had not thought seriously about the community I was a part of, I went through my day thinking about what I had to do to make it through college.  This class, however, has opened my eyes.  I now see that I cannot think of just myself as I progress through this institution, but must do my best to help others around me.  Oregon State is more just a University, it a community which we must all actively take part in to improve.  The community is much larger than most students notice, we are comprised of not only students, but faculty and alumni as well.  All of us play our own roll, allowing our university to grow from all fronts, and the more we interact, the more we grow.

When I think of being “orange” the word that comes to mind is help.  Oregon State and its students do a tremendous job of helping others.  From the classroom, to the streets of Corvallis and beyond, students from OSU help each other and those around them.  Acts range from helping classmates on homework assignments or volunteering at a boys and girls club.  A fantastic example of students helping others happened on Friday; the surprising snow dump left many cars deeply embedded.  No matter where you went around town you could see students helping get cars out of deep piles or helping put chains on others cars.  If someone is in a tight spot, help will be provided from the community.

These acts don’t stop once a student graduates either; the values that a student learns at Oregon State are also taken in to the professional world.  As a Construction Engineering student I am in a field where a lot of the professionals I interact with are graduates of Oregon State.  When I talk to someone who is not, they could not speak more highly of our institution.  Our graduates are known to be enjoyable, spirited employees as well as embracing a strong work ethic.  This demonstrates the lasting effect Oregon State has on its students.

When people ask me where I go to school or what I think about my time at Oregon State, I could not give a more positive response, which is saying a lot since I come from a family of ducks.  I am proud to be a part of this community, of what this university has taught me, and what I have learned from others along the way.  I would consider this the place where my moral compass was forged, where I learned to make many of the decisions that make me who I am today.  The community at Oregon State is strong and supportive and has given me a great college experience.  GO BEAVS!

It’s that time of the year!

PHL 205 students: Here are the instructions for your assignment!

Be Good. Be Orange.

Your assignment: Demonstrate your ability to use your ethics skills (as defined in syllabus and class) to answer the question: “What does it mean for you to Be Orange?”

Skills being assessed:

• Compassion (for self & others)
• Moral imagination
• Ethics spotting
• Epistemic accountability (remember: accountable ignorance, appropriate use of evidence, proper citation, etc.)
• Value Communication
• Evaluation & Argumentation
• Engagement

Successfully completing this assignment will require:

•  Identifying existing definitions of “Orange” as a value (e.g. OSU Strategic Plan, University marketing and news materials, OSU logo, etc.)
• Clarifying and communicating your own values and educational goals within the context of the OSU community (What do you want orange to mean?)
• Determining and using the most “effective” format/method for communicating your value message (consider: style, media, format, etc.)
• Demonstrating “engagement” and action skills. One possibility: revisit other ethics “actions” or “interventions” discussed in class and your “OSU Report Card assignment”

Guidelines

Audience: your professor (remember course goals!) and blog readers

Objective: Provide student accounts of the value of “Being Orange” for the purpose of refashioning higher education (e.g. PHL 205 as back core requirement)

Format: Reflective blog entry on Be Orange website (*approximately* 3 pages).  Other formats welcomed but must be cleared with professor.

Assessment: Creative Thinking Values rubric (see course syllabus) and in-class checklist (12/5)

Deadline: 12/13/13 by 5pm

Posting Instructions (MAKE SURE TO READ THIS!)

1. Login with ONID information: Be Orange.  Start a new post (using dashboard on left side of page).

2. Title post as: “Be [your value]. Be Orange.”

3. First line of post should be: “Submitted by [your name]”

4. Include text in box provided.  You may save and edit prior to submission.  Insert media and links, as appropriate.

5. Tag post by clicking “begood” category (in right side box)

6. Add three “tags” to identify your post, using the box on the right side of the submission page.  One of your tags must be the value identified in your post title.