I'd proudly rep OC State

The people are friendly, the temperature’s always perfect – even when it's not sunny – and the best cities in California are all within a short drive. Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Diego, Long Beach, Newport Beach, you name it, you can be there in a day. I’m talking about Orange County; the heart of Southern California, more specifically Fullerton; the heart of Orange County.
I love this area, and I love this school, there’s plenty of reason to have pride in it, so there’s no reason not to have a little school spirit.
Lately the issue of school spirit has been a hot button around the Cal State Fullerton campus. Some people believe the only thing that unites students is the shared disdain for this commuter campus of a university abbreviated CSUF.
Now I’m no stranger to the idea of using contempt of school as a way of bonding with fellow students, growing up, from grade school to high school that was the thing to do. After all, it is what we wake up early for everyday, spending all day in a classroom, following authority, working on tests, quizzes and all kinds of busy work. It’s not hard to sling rocks at.
But once you enroll in college, school is not a forced activity; you made the bold decision to continue your education, not to mention pay a hefty tuition just to make it happen. So as long as you’re going out of your way to continue your schooling you may as well take pride in it.
How do you display pride? Do you paint yourself with school colors and run around with a giant mascot head? No, although that works for some people. Try investing some time in your campus, see what it has to offer. Check out a sporting event and cheer on the athletes who are working their butts off to represent us – it's free and you might become a true fan. Join a club, or even see what all the fuss is with Greek life, you might meet some good people. The common trend of each on-campus suggestion is you won’t be alone in the activity, and it might just unite with fellow Titans in someway other than having spite for your university.
A wise way of upping school spirit and bringing some desired attention would be to change the name back to Orange County State, the school's original name upon its inception in 1957. I don’t know about you, but I would be just a little bit more proud to represent OC State as home. Fullerton sounds like just another city in California, not a very striking title. I realize plenty of Fullerton residents don't like the superficial imagery that comes saddled with "The OC" but think about how much more marketable it would be. Students from all over the nation would be more enticed to enroll and see what it’s about. I believe the attention our school would garner nationally if it was OC State would put us on the map.
We’ve been progressing immensely in many areas each year since I’ve been here. The school has become more physically attractive with construction additions all over campus. The majority of the athletic programs are vastly elevating in performance each year, with nothing but potential in the future. Day-by-day CSUF moves closer to becoming the top state university in California, hands down, and I think the expressive name-change would put us over the top.
What’s wrong with being proud of where you’re from? I love seeing alumni succeed from my school; anytime I hear I see a famous alumnus of CSUF do something spectacular I stand up and represent “Cal State FULLERTON!” I would love the opportunity to shout “O-C!” We could create some eye-catching OC logos, a catchy OC chant and even a cool OC stomp dance … maybe I took it too far with that.
You get from school what you put into it, and you can spend your days in college hating on your alma mater because of what it doesn’t have, or you could make the best of your time here. This is your one college experience; are you going to look back on how you rebelled against school spirit with spite for your own campus? Or would you rather create some memories today that you can look back at with fondness? The choice is yours.
GO OC STATE!