Be Good. Be Orange.

“Orange” is a representation of the values that represent Oregon State University, these values are that the administration here at Oregon State want all of its students to embody. These values range from accountability and diversity to integrity. Many of these values are lined out in the OSU Strategic Plan that was put in place by the President in 2004. This plan lays out what accomplishments that OSU wants to do along with the values that the administration wants to instill in its students. These values that are laid out in the Strategic Plan are accountability, diversity, integrity, respect, and social responsibility. Every student is a part of the Oregon State’s community and is a citizen of Oregon State, however the values that are stated in the Strategic Plan are values that state what the required values that one needs to be an exemplary citizen of Oregon State.

While Oregon State as a whole have a definition of “Orange” values students have other values that they also identify with. Many students talked about defining “Orange” as a value of pride. Pride is a high or inordinate opinion of one’s own dignity, importance, merit, or superiority, whether as cherished in the mind or as displayed in bearing, conduct. Pride can be expressed by confidence in oneself or by overconfidence in oneself and his or her abilities. The reason that they give Oregon State this value is for the fact that we stick behind our sports teams even if they are losing. In other words they stated that as students they have pride in our school and what it stands for these values are the ones stated above in the strategic plan. Many people that I asked that gave me values when I asked them why they picked this value they refer to our athletics teams. This is what some believe “Orange” stands for however I want “Orange” to stand for something besides this.

The two main values that I want “Orange” to mean are honor and integrity. One of these values is already in the Strategic Plan and I wanted to emphasize this values importance and the other I wanted to show the importance of this in personal and work relationships between people. The reason that I want this is that if students have honor and integrity they will be desired because out in the work place for the fact that they will have the honor to be trustworthy to others and have the integrity to ask help with problems along with having the integrity to finish their work. Integrity is adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character. Integrity can be demonstrated by one’s ability to adhere to their own principles even when others around him or her are trying to convince them to do otherwise. One example could be not giving into peer pressure.  The reason I believe it is a good value because it requires work and thought to be a person of integrity. This work and thought require a person to take time and be mindful so that they can assess their values so that they can put their values to use when the time arises. Honor is honesty, fairness, or integrity in one’s beliefs and actions. Honor can be shown by simple acts such as not cheating on a test and telling the truth. As a value honor is very simple to do in many cases on a basic level but when a person exemplifies honor they go beyond what is asked of them. Honor requires a person to asses themself and to be true to their beliefs. The reason that I find these values to be extremely valuable to ethics is that they require one to think and asses themselves to see who they are and what values they stand for.

An effective way to introduce and communicate my message of integrity and honesty is to introduce it early by incorporating these values into the first year experience. The reason for this is that people are very impressionable with their first impressions and if students are started with these values they will carry them on for their entire time at Oregon State. This method can be compared to the anti-tobacco message that is given to kids in elementary school. If you introduce a concept early enough people will pick it up and incorporate it into a part of themselves and that is my idea of incorporating it into a part of the new first year experience which is part of the introduction of freshmen to Oregon State then it will be more effective in incorporating it if this were to happen. This method is like the old proverb of striking while the iron is hot.

The implementation of this plan would be most effective by putting a part of Orientation week that all new and incoming freshmen are a part of. This way a majority of freshmen will participate in the event. However this alone will not be enough to have it stick in their minds. Only covering this once will be ineffective in the long term because freshmen like most people will forget about it. And that is why to make this program the most effective there will need to be reinforcement sessions during the school year. Now these reinforcement sessions will not be possible in large groups because of classes and commitments that freshmen will have during the term. My solution for this is to train the Residents Assistance to then teach the freshmen. There are two Resident Assistance per floor in most halls with around 40 for each Resident Assistant. This way there will be smaller groups which will facilitate learning. It is feasible to do this once per term any more would put too much pressure and commitment upon both the Resident Assistance and the freshmen in the terms of time. This is the basic outline for implementation for me it can be tweaked and reworked so that it will be more effective.

Submitted by Molly Amo

So, we’re faced with this big question, what does it mean to be orange? My opinion of what I think orange is has definitely shifted from the beginning of the term until now, the last week of the term. Throughout the course, I’ve learned so much about the various philosophy terms and myself, a combination that provided me the ability to change my position on what I think it means to be orange.

Coming into this class as a senior, I was not accustomed to the great amount of disclosing and sharing of values with my fellow students. It was all rather a shock to me; though a pleasant shock. This entire term has molded my brain to know how to interpret situations and create well-developed opinions that were indeed morally right. Group and class discussions were very beneficial to me in regards to the values we spent time analyzing. Enrolling into this class, I think I was immature in a way that accepting another’s opinion was somewhat difficult if I saw it as morally incorrect. Morally wrong (according to Molly). One exercise we completed in particular that I really liked had us respond to an argument as if we favored the opposing side. This skill taught me to not only be more open-minded and understanding of situations, but I’ve improved my processing and am able to comprehend why one feels the way he or she does.

Oregon State University is a public, higher education institution that greatly emphasizes an effort in a sense of respect and veracity. The “Be Orange” Campaign means something different to each individual, but to me, being orange has a deep significance. “Be Orange” means be encompassed with integrity and be respectful. Oregon State is devoted to serving its students, staff, faculty, and alumni with full responsiveness. Under Oregon State’s “Office of the Dean of Student Life” webpage, student values are shared and defined. Specifically, I looked at Integrity and Respect, as to me, are the combination of values that define what orange is to a tee. These two values productively create an environment (mentally and physically), in which anyone affiliated with Oregon State is able to prosper and cultivate off one another.

The term “Be Orange” is not just a slogan. To many, it might be just that. But Oregon State did not create this motto for no reason at all. Being orange represents a wide variety of values, but mostly, it represents values of character. As I strive to achieve my life goals, when I receive my degree upon graduation from Oregon State, I want it to represent the hard work and energy I put in during my time here. A degree shouldn’t just exemplify the A’s, B’s, C’s (and maybe even some D’s) you received during your time as an undergraduate. To have a degree from Oregon State, means I’ve experienced many social engagements and have had experiences that people without a degree presumably have not encountered. My degree will symbolize the journey I went on where I learned what it means to be respectful and respected, as well as performing things with great integrity.

Some might think that just the students are expected to use these values of respect and integrity, but I feel everyone (students, faculty, staff, and alumni) are expected to and entitled to practice these values. We have learned that ethics are such a big part of our lives and exist in our day-to-day activities whether we are aware of it or not! Respect and Integrity go together hand in hand and are a part of an ethical relationship we learn to forego in our time here at OSU.  We learn from example but we learn mostly from experiencing things hands on. In our 4 (or 5) years year at this University, we grow and learn to treat ourselves as well as others with dignity and honor.

My value of integrity is important because having a strong set of moral values and living up to them will really take you far in life; whether it be in terms of your career, personal life, in a relationship, or family life. My value of respect is also extremely important because “treating every individual with dignity, honor and generosity while valuing their humanity” is going to better ourselves for the future.

This value requires actions of being true to yourself and doing what is best for your community (in this context: Oregon State University). The telos (goal or aim) of my value is to improve everyone and their outlook on life. After developing a firm belief of principles and ideas throughout this ethics course, I’m able to “spread the love” and continue being orange after I graduate. I will fulfill my mind with integrity and treat not only others, but also myself, with great amounts of respect.

But why? Why is integrity and respect so important? Why is it emphasized so greatly at this college? For one thing, if you have high integrity, you are trustworthy. Oregon State helps mold it’s students, staff, faculty, and alumni, in the way that it communicates the idea that if you can’t trust someone, why would you want to surround yourself with them? Having strong moral principles should be of the utmost importance for each and every individual. On a separate note, respect is important because without this value, we’d probably all be savages. You get what you give in life. Respect should be earned, not demanded! These values are so important to me and apply to big actions and moral decisions in our daily lives. Ethically speaking, these two values exclude no one. Respect and Integrity really applies to us all. Students are vastly affected by these values a bit more than others, because at our average 18-22 year old age, it is easier to instill these values into our young minds.