Benny hugs some fans during the OSU Rally in the Square (photo: Theresa Hogue)

For the second consecutive year, hundreds of Oregon State University alumni, students and fans gathered in Pioneer Courthouse Square to give a celebratory sendoff to Portland-area freshmen, who begin moving to Corvallis tomorrow to begin their college career.

The Rally in the Square served as an opportunity to recognize that not only is OSU the university of choice for many Portland grads, but the dominant campus destination of the area’s best and brightest students.

“Earlier this year, the Oregonian published results from its third-annual survey of top high school graduates from Portland and surrounding area high schools. These are valedictorians, salutatorians and other high achievers,” Susie Brubaker-Cole, head of Academic Success and Engagement for OSU, told the crowd. “And the survey found that for the third consecutive year, more of those students are choosing OSU as their campus destination than any other university.

“In fact, more of them indicated they’ll be attending OSU this fall than the second- and third-place colleges combined.”

Brubaker-Cole, AM 860 KPAM morning host Bob Miller, OSU student and Oregon Board of Higher Education member Farbod Ganjifard, OSU Alumni Association leader Joth Ricci and others kept the crowd enthused with more similar evidence of OSU’s ascent.

OSU cheerleaders kept the crowd enthusiastic during the rally (photo: Theresa Hogue)

The university expects to welcome a record 25,000 students this fall, and is making big strides in academic reputation, technology transfer, research and other areas. And Ricci reminded the crowd that about one-fourth of the university’s 160,000 alumni call the Portland area home.

But the rally was about the extracurricular life of the university, too. Miller interviewed football standout Mike Remmers, a senior who has gone from walk-on status to having started the last 32 consecutive games for the Beavers. Though the football team is off to a rough beginning of the 2011 season, Remmers, a Portland native, was enthusiastic about the opportunities ahead.

The OSU Marching Band and cheerleading squad provided entertainment throughout the two-hour event. But for visitors who wanted a deeper look at what OSU has to offer, representatives of colleges around the university were on hand with information booths, displays and assistance.

College of Pharmacy students providing flu shots were in such high demand, they ran through their entire stock of injections. Engineering students showed off their Mars Rover and other student-created automobiles, while a contingent from OSU’s Hinsdale Wave Laboratory modeled waves in a flume set up just for the Rally. Students in Apparel Design put on a fashion show, and Veterinary Medicine students provided check-ups for attendees who brought pets. Everyone got a chance to celebrate Benny the Beaver’s birthday with a free cupcake.

Booths featuring OSU organizations, a performance by the OSU Dancers and the OSU Pep Band, and plenty of OSU prizes kept the crowd entertained, but one of the biggest draws was a live interview with Beaver Coach Mike Riley, who talked about what fans can expect from Beaver football this season.

OSU Dean of Student Life Mamta Accapadi encouraged OSU’s incoming students to embrace the spirit of being Powered by Orange, and Benny Beaver received a birthday cake from several OSU Dancers to honor his official birthday, which is Sept. 18.

The rally was held in Portland in recognition of the growing number of Portland-area students who are enrolling at OSU, especially high-achieving students, who for the second year in row are choosing OSU more so than any other university, according to surveys conducted by the Oregonian. In 2009-10, nearly 7,200 OSU students enrolled from Multnomah County and the four other Oregon counties comprising the extended Portland metro area

OSU's Class of 2020 (contributed photo)

These Palm Spring, Calif., kids are already planning on becoming part of OSU’s Class of 2020, and each Friday, they don the black and orange OSU t-shirts that they received from Ellen Ford, coordinator of Precollege Programs at OSU.

Their teacher, Jennifer Geyer, isn’t an OSU alum, but her husband Erik is (Class of 2002), and she has turned her classroom into a sea of orange and black in the hopes of getting her students enthusiastic about college.

Cielo Vista has a program called “No Excuses University,” which encourages teachers to partner their classroom with a university that strives for academic excellence. Geyer chose OSU because her husband and other family members had attended the university.

“Our purpose is to teach students, families and community members that all children are capable of endless possibilities,”
Geyer said, “therefore removing the stigma of excuses that keep so many of our students from developing their dreams into reality.”

By instilling school spirit into the youngsters, and making them enthusiastic and interested in things like Benny Beaver and OSU football, the students are starting to feel that college is a real possibility for them.

“The prospect of getting to become a student at OSU has been a great motivation for everyone in my class,” Geyer wrote in a letter to Ford.

Geyer uses the kids’ enthusiasm for Benny Beaver in particular to encourage them to be responsible, trustworthy and fair. Those students who meet their character goals each week can earn a special Benny award.

“Our students are growing up to be students you would be proud to have at OSU,” she said.

Each Friday, the school gathers for pep rallies to demonstrate their excitement for learning and their allegiance to their own university.

“Imagine 20 little first graders singing the words to the Oregon State Fight song and chanting “O-S-U” like true future alum,” Geyer said.

The students in Geyer’s class come from mostly lower socioeconomic households, and many are minority students. For many, they may become the first in their families to go to college. Geyer has had parents respond very positively to their children’s interest in OSU. In fact, one parent sent a card to Ford at OSU to personally thank her for sending OSU gear to the classroom.

Ford has begun exchanging letters with the Cielo Vista students, and sends them surprise packages with OSU gear inside. She shares things like her own love of reading, and the things that go on at OSU, from basketball games to scientific research.

Now Ford has a stack of letters from students who tell her everything from their eye color to what makes them special.

“What makes me special is I am a fast swimmer under water,” wrote one. What makes me really special is I am good at playing basketball,” wrote another.

But what really makes them special is that these 6 and 7-year-olds already have their eyes set on college, and becoming future OSU Beavers.

~ Theresa Hogue