In case you've been studying too hard for your midterms, living under a rock, or for some reason have been unable to access any recent news about Oregon State, let me catch you up on what you've missed.
The weather was foggy, our basketball team continued to win its games, and also one of our colleagues decided to film a porno in the library.
In turn, the entire campus proceeded to lose it.
Since the video's initial release, Kendra Sunderland, who is now better known as "Library Girl," and news about her recent arrest has gone viral. News outlets including CNN, The Huffington Post, MTV, and even Playboy jumped on the story within a matter of hours, putting Oregon State in the less-than-desired limelight.
The saddest thing about all of this is not the fact that Sunderland got arrested and charged. At the end of the day, fines can be paid for and criminal records can be expunged. What can't be fixed with such immediacy is how the outside world views Oregon State, its students, and its faculty.
However, there's an old adage that goes, "Sometimes when the universe closes a door, it kicks open a window," and as weird as it sounds, it applies to our situation. We have two options when it comes to dealing with this public relations crisis: We can either sit back and let one girl's idiotic choice define who we are as a school, or we can show the entire country what Beaver Nation is really about. I say we do the latter.
Beaver Nation is more than just the people who go to Oregon State, its faculty, or its fans. It's something bigger than ourselves. Beaver Nation is based on school pride that no other school can match. It's based on scholarship, and it shows since not only are we the top public research school in the country, we have one of the highest average GPAs in the PAC-12 conference.
We have a thriving Greek community that raises thousands of dollars for their respective philanthropies. It is a community based on brotherhood, sisterhood, honor, loyalty, academics, and so much more. Additionally, our Greek system is all about improving both the Oregon State and Corvallis communities; members will go above and beyond their callings as Greeks and volunteer on their own time.
Oregon State's athletic program is that unlike any other. No matter, we are proud of all of our teams and we are always classy in the face of winning or defeat. Our students know our football team may not be the very best, but that doesn't stop them from standing for hours in below freezing temperatures to cheer on their team.
More than anything, Beaver Nation has a pride that runs deeper than any fact or statistic. It's more than our overflowing student sections or our seemingly never-ending Dean's List. Oregon State students are happy here to say the least. They know that Oregon State isn't just a university; it's their home. They take pride in everything they do and try their hardest to get the best education they can.
That is what is what Oregon State and Beaver Nation is all about. It's not about a young woman making a terribly stupid choice. Soon enough, another student's idiocy will go viral and people will forget about "Library Girl." In the mean time, remember why you chose to go to Oregon State and why you're DAM proud to be a Beaver.
