Authentic Orange

Submitted by: Aaron Sprunger

In relationships we are often reminded to be “real”. Being “real”, being authentic it’s all the same, everyone is saying to be your true self. As an Oregon State University (OSU) students, faculty and staff we have a relationship with our school, but how can we be authentically orange? First, one must understand what it means to be authentic and second, what it means to be orange.

Authenticity is not something others can give to us, but rather something we must establish on our own. As Sarte says, “the absolute character of the free commitment” (Satre, Existentialism Is a Humanism, pg. 11) is at the heart. This means that when we come to school, we have the choice to commit to whatever it is that we like. As Socrates says, “If I do not reveal my views on justice in words, I so by my conduct” (Socrates 469-399 BC, from Lecture, 4/2/15). The commitments that we make as we go through our days define and shape the individual that we are and will become. We have already taken the first step by applying, accepting, and attending (or being otherwise associated to) OSU.

After taking the initial step, we are now part of something larger, which in part defines us. In the words of Heidegger we are part the “they” (Heidegger, Being and Time, pg. 226), the OSU faculty/student body. As the they, the outside world views us as a singular “body”. This “body” has specific characteristics that others will not. For example, students from OSU are all exposed to a multicultural environment on campus given students a certain familiarity with people from different backgrounds. Contrary to Socrates as we become part the “herd” (Nietzsche, The Gay Science, pg. 130) it is as though we are following a larger mass, removed from our individual choices. Following the herd we lose the individuality that Satre and Socrates believe humans to have.

As OSU students and faculty gain identity as part of OSU, we must consider what it means to be authentically orange. Do you have to take on campus courses? What percentage? Do you have to participate in OSU activities outside of class? How many? How far does the OSU community spread? Do people that work close to campus and participate in OSU events but aren’t students qualify as being authentically orange. It is my belief that to be authentically orange one must embrace the OSU community and the environment it provides. This means being on campus regularly, participating in clubs and other available resources on campus. As discussed in lecture (Lecture 5/26/15) to be in bad faith one must be “both the liar and the deceived.” Students and faculty that are beyond the OSU Corvallis campus cannot fully understand what it means to be authentically orange. However, it is likely that they are acting in bad faith because as remote students and faculty they do not know what they are missing or not a part of. Thus they speak a non-truth and are deceived as to what it means to be authentically orange.

Being authentically orange isn’t difficult but it requires an individual to make the choice that they will bleed orange. That they are going to embrace the OSU community and all that it has to offer. Be it sports, using facilities, clubs, or anything else that is connected to OSU. Get involved, build a relationship with OSU and be authentically orange!