Be Good. Be Orange.

Submitted by Keaton Kirkpatrick

The OSU community at large would define the act of “being orange” as retaining those values that reflect the spirit of our school, and the character of our faculty, staff, and students. “Being orange” involves primarily being tolerant and accepting: embracing the differences in the Beaver community and recognizing those differences as strengths. I also think that “being orange” is commonly described as having an undying school spirit, especially regarding sports. This value is important to those within the OSU community because it helps build camaraderie and a sense of connection within our little sub-culture. With being orange comes a communal responsibility to help out fellow Beavers regardless of sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, or race, and to understand that we are all here in the pursuit of higher education and thus are essentially all working towards the same goal. When an individual chooses to strengthen the OSU community by engaging in thoughtful interactions with his or her peers, we all benefit as a result. As we are all active (and paying) members of this university any improvements to the community in general is a positive thing for all people involved.

            One of the reasons that I chose Oregon State in the first place was the fact that the values exemplified at the university coincided closely with my own. For example, I am a proponent of human equality and the values of tolerance and diversity widely believed to be associated with “being orange” fit nicely with what I hope to gain from my experience here at Oregon State. My educational goals extend beyond just obtaining a degree at the end of four years, in preparation for law school after my undergrad studies I am trying to absorb and retain as much information as possible. I am interested in actually expanding my breadth and depth of knowledge, instead of just going through the motions for four years and coming out on the other side with a degree. I would like the value of being “orange” to also refer to academic focus and ambition in that if I am in an environment where the people around me are focused on school, it would prompt me to be focused on my studies as well. As far as interacting with people in the OSU Community, I would love to see everyone embrace the ideals of tolerance and acceptance, for I believe that an environment that allows people to be proud of themselves is an environment that breeds creativity and ambition.

            Being Orange is more than just maintaining an attitude of tolerance, being orange entails taking meaningful action to promote an atmosphere of diversity and foster a positive environment for all members of the OSU community. Members of any community have a responsibility to care for each other and make decisions based on the appropriate contextual morality. In the context of a university, contextual morality would define moral actions as those that do not hinder anyone’s goals (academic or otherwise) and that do not infringe upon any rights of any students. Since we have been accepted to the university, and paid our tuition, we are then endowed with certain rights that pertain to this idea of contextual morality. My idea of what being “orange” differs from Kant’s ideas of morality in that the idea of a universal maxim does not necessarily apply. For example, a moral act within the context of a university would include appreciating the struggles that are unique to students and acting accordingly, such as being less disruptive during dead week and finals week. This act of kindness is moral and relevant because of the context in which the act is committed in (the context of a university).