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!

Submitted by: Christopher Hathaway

Be Orange. What does it mean to Be Orange? This is not a simple question with one sole answer because, as a value, everyone will define Orange differently and in their own way. OSU as a community is made up of many different people from all different backgrounds of religion, race, ethnicity, moral upbringing, and personal values that are individual to each person. To some Orange may mean freedom in the way of being out on their own and experiencing life through this community in a way they have never experienced life before. To another the value of being Orange may mean bettering themself by being the first generation of their family to attend college. As a whole, Orange can really encompass any value to any person.

If I were to define Orange as it relates to my values I would say that being Orange means doing everything I can to succeed in this community. I define this as my value because I am one of the lucky ones; my parents have worked their entire lives and saved up the money to pay for me to go to college without me having to know the burden of debt. Because of this I want to repay them through my success and well-being. So while being Orange means that I am creating a better future for myself, it is also a way of saying thank you to my parents. Aside from each individuals Orange value, I would say that being Orange as a citizen of this community cannot be boiled down to one certain value, but instead I think it is more of a set of virtues that allow all of our fellow citizens to realize their values and their individual definitions of being Orange. The virtues that I believe are involved in being Orange are compassion, respect, integrity, and honesty. Being compassionate to the members of this community I feel reaffirms every individual’s choices and creates a sense of acceptance which facilitates everyone’s different values. Respect in the community and understanding that we are all different is vital if the community is to be successful because if members of the community feel that they are not respected it may discourage them from achieving their full potential for fear of unacceptance. By integrity I mean doing what is right and for the better of the community while understanding the outcomes and consequences that may come with doing the right thing. Finally, honesty includes being honest to your fellow citizens and not being dishonest for the pleasure of self-promotion, it also means being honest with ourselves and knowing our values and not expecting too much from the community. I believe that when we become members of this community, we assume the responsibility of these virtues and being Orange to help our fellow human beings be Orange according to their own value.

Some things that could help promote being Orange would be community activities or gatherings that promote the Orange community. All inclusive activities such as pep-rallies in the quad create a sense of community and promote compassion and respect. Banners around campus that define these virtues could act as a daily reminder of what being Orange is and might even prompt self-honesty when students see the banners and ask themselves if they have been being Orange lately. There is no single intervention that could cause everyone in the community to act according to these virtues but continually practicing them as individuals helps us move from acting Orange to truly being Orange. Other ways to practice being Orange requires ethics spotting in the community and in our daily lives and reaffirming actions that coincide with being Orange and recognizing and discontinuing actions that do not. Brochures for incoming students that define being Orange and define each of the values involved would supply members of the community with a knowledge of what Orange is so that they can make informed decisions when faced with community based moral dilemmas.

If this definition of being Orange were promoted I believe it would create a better sense of community and create an environment in that each member of the community is supported making it easier for everyone to be Orange! So when you go out today think about your fellow citizens values and help them be Orange by being Orange yourself.

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.