Authentic Orange

Submitted by Katharine Jesse

In any community it is extremely easy to get lost in the crowd. That being said, it is even easier to get lost or become just part of the herd when attending Oregon State University due to the sheer size of enrollment being just over 30,000 students. Students of Beaver Nation are expected to exude characteristics of “being orange” because being orange is what defines the a Beaver. However, inherent with being part of the orange community, one must first be his authentic self because ultimately it is individuals that create a unique and diverse community. Authenticity is a major component of Existentialism. Authenticity can be defined as being genuine and faithful to who one wants to be. This is based of their desires, motives, ideals, and beliefs and expressed through ones actions. The Existential theme of humanism, ethics, and freedom are all facets of authenticity.
Living out truth is necessary to “be orange.” This is because multiples of truths create a diverse community, formed of many perspectives. Nietzsche describes truths as “illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are; metaphors which are worn out and without sensuous power; coins which have lost their pictures and now matter only as metal, no longer as coins” (Nietzsche, On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense). Ultimately, truth is a poetic and descriptive way of describing the world that is unique to every individual (Lecture, 5-26-15), thus every person possesses their own truth.
Practicing humanism is large part of being authentic on the Oregon State University campus. Humanism can be described as the pursuit of identity and freedom, and values and meaning in opposition to social, political, and economic pressure for conformity (Lecture, 5-7-15). The Orange community is very diverse, with many different ethnicities, ages, majors, economic status’, backgrounds, and perspectives. Because of these differences, it is important to respect everyone as basic fellow human beings and while also being true to ones own beliefs with regards to politics, social issues, and economic pressure. If one is not true to there own beliefs they risk becoming part of the herd.
Being part of the herd or crowd is dangerous. It is easy to get swept into while on Oregon State’s campus, because one wants to fit in and be just like others who are ‘cool’. Ultimately, being part of the herd makes an individual irresponsible because one is not forced to be completely responsible for ones own actions (Lecture, 5-5-15). Thus there actions are not uniquely their’s because they are living a life of bad faith.
Due to our humanity, everyone has freedom, freedom to create and freedom to choose values. Freedom is reflection, freedom is transcendence, and freedom is responsibility (Lecture, 5-21-15). As part of being Orange, one must question the different facets of community they are part, to understand, for themself, why they are part of the Orange community. One must understand that they will always be part of the Orange community because they will be alumni’s. And thirdly, being orange requires you to bear the responsibility exuding the values that are part of Beaver Nation.
Finally, ethics play a roll in authenticity. Sartre asserts that when choosing for self, one chooses for all humans (Lecture, 5-21-15). He means that when one makes a choice for how one thinks something ought to be, it implies that that person thinks everyone else should do the same or think the same because it should be good for humanity as a whole. This is because ethical considerations define individuals and societies alike. Ethics relates to the question of how one is to use their freedom to be authentic.(Lecture, 5-7-15) So, in relation to the Orange community, it is important to think how one’s own actions, as molded from their individual ethics, effects the rest of the community. Do your actions exude Orange?
In conclusion, ones existence straddles between an already and a not yet. Or in other words, who one is and who one wants to be. The crux of one’s existence lies in authenticity. This is becoming who you are and living out one’s personal truth through humanism, ethics, and freedom. All being Orange requires is that one lives a life exuding their own personal beliefs, by taking charge of one’s own freedom, ethics, and humanism. And also, to always be a Beaver believer. Go Beavs!